Who would have thought ...

Authors are always looking for a hook, a way to be different, interesting, and enticing to the reader. Colin Cotterill writes a wonderful series set in communist Laos with the main character the national coroner, Dr. Siri Paiboun. The novels have a well plotted mystery involving superstition, government bureaucracy, and insightful, if primitive, forensics. Dr. Paiboun, based in Vientiane, exposes the reader to this fascinating culture struggling to modernize in the midst of poverty and dismal economic conditions. In Disco for the Departed, the story moves to the former royal seat of Luang Prabang where he meets the deposed king tending a royal orchard.

The series stands at four titles including 33 Teeth, The Coroner's Lunch, and Anarchy and Old Dogs. I recommend them to those who like mysteries and are looking for something off the beaten path.

Not so far off the beaten path but still not your usual mystery, are the stories about my favorite Bangkok detective, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the only uncorrupted cop in Bangkok. John Burdett writes this mystery series and the titles are Tattoo, Bangkok 8, and Bangkok Haunts, so far. The milieu might be a tad seamy for the weak hearted. The sights and smells of Thailand are quickly at hand as Sonchai takes us deep into the Bangkok underworld to ferret out serial killers and drug traffickers.

While I'm in the Far East it would be a crime not to mention the grippingly tense series featuring assassin John Rain. Barry Eisler hits just the right notes with these finely crafted thrillers that range the globe from Argentina and Paris to Tokyo and Hong Kong. I got hooked with my first contact Rain Fall up to the latest, Requiem for an Assassin. This series has been around for a few years and there are 6 titles in the run. From the beginning: Rain Fall, Hard Rain, Rain Storm, Killing Rain, The Last Assassin, and recently Requiem for an Assassin. Our library owns 5 of the series but we are missing Hard Rain which I will try to get.