Don’t Eat Me opens with a harrowing scene, a woman going in and out of consciousness counting the eyes of the starving animals caged with her, waiting for her to weaken so they can devour her. Investigating her death, Chief Inspector Phosy discovers animal trafficking and judicial corruption. With the assistance of Dr. Siri and friends, her murder investigation brings them all into serious jeopardy, including a trial charging Inspector Phosy of corruption. It’s a complex, full plot with many twists and turns.

Don’t Eat Me is the thirteenth in the Dr. Siri series, one of my favorite mystery series of all time. I seldom go to book readings or author meet and greets. I went to listen to Tess Gerritson read from “Harvest” at Powell’s Books, but mainly because we were in an AOL book group together and she asked for moral support as it was her first book. Colin Cotterill is the first and only author I went to listen read purely because I am such a fan…and it was way out in Beaverton, too! This is just to let you know how much I love this series and love his books because sadly, this book was a disappointment.

So, for me, I enjoyed Don’t Eat Me but then, I was happy to catch up on what’s happening to these characters I have come to love. I loved catching up with Siri and Civilaii’s friendship, Phosy and Dtui’s marriage and their daughter Malee, Geung’s romance and of course, Daeng’s noodle shop. All the beloved characters were there and we got caught up over several meals at the noodle shop.

However, as I read this, I realized the book would be incoherent to anyone who had not read the rest of the series. So much of what happened is dependent on knowing the characters’ history and character. This was also one of the more unlikely of the Dr. Siri books, and yes, that includes the ones with ghosts helping to solve the mysteries. So, all I can say is if you love Dr. Siri you will like Don’t Eat Me. If you are new to Dr. Siri, read “The Coroner’s Lunch” and the rest of the series. They are a revelation of wit and humor and reveal a whole new world and worldview. They are wonderful and having read the other books, Don’t Eat Me will make perfect sense.

I also must say, I value Colin Cotterill’s commitment to justice for not just the people of Laos, but for animals. This book tackles the issue of animal and people trafficking. Colin Cotterill also is bringing books to Laos and funding a teacher training program.

Don’t Eat Me at Soho Press
Colin Cotterill author site

★★★
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/dont-eat-me-by-colin-cott... ( )

international-crime-and-mystery, murder-investigation, suspense, languages, law-enforcement, laugh-out-loud, animals, trafficking, supernatural, support-system, friendship, not-quite-horror

Another fascinating tale and morality lesson with Dr Siri Paiboun to take us out of our comfort zone into things we'd rather hide from. You'll find that a particularly horrible pun when you read about the disgusting aspects of trafficking animals and humans, especially as these activities have grave impact on the murders. Of course there is a secondary plot, but no spoilers here.
There does continue to be lots of humor just as we've come to expect, and it softens the awful stuff without diminishing truth.
I need audio, and Clive Chafer continues to give a masterful performance. ( )

Once again Dr. Siri and his friends, dedicated communists all, fight a battle against murder, bureaucracy, and deeply rooted corruption. In many ways, readers can forget all about these characters being communists if they want to because Dr. Siri and the gang spend their days being good people who try their best to do the right thing. You can't ask for more from anybody now, can you?

Don't Eat Me has Colin Cotterill's trademark humor, especially in the scenes dealing with Siri, Civilai and their movie camera; however, there is a serious side, too. The seriousness comes wrapped in the mystery of the woman's skeleton when they have to deal with bureaucracy, the black market, and a system that is rotten with corruption. And when things get very dark, that's when something marvelous happens: the Noodle Revolt. The only thing I'll say about the Revolt is that it alone is worth the price of admission. (It's a two-hanky scene. At least.)

I love this series. I've loved it since the very first book, The Coroner's Lunch. Yes, it makes me laugh, and yes, it makes me think and learn, but most of all, through his wonderful characters, Colin Cotterill reminds me that all people have value-- and that the majority of us are good at heart. In this day and age, this is something we all need to be reminded of. ( )