"Purely entertaining. . . . Elements of the ritualistic killings are pretty gross and the spooks can be scary; but as the author gently points out, life would be dreary without a few thrills."- The New York Times Book Review "Cotterill's writing is both evocative and educational."- Entertainment Weekly "Readers who enjoy Eliot Pattison's Asian thrillers . . . will find that Cotterill shares the same sardonic view of Asian communism mixed with a touch of mysticism . . . a quality that sets the work of both authors apart from most mystery fare."- Library Journal (starred review) Dr. Siri Paiboun is summoned to the mountains of Huaphan Province, where for years the leaders of the current communist government hid in caves, waiting to assume power. Now a major celebration of the new regime is scheduled to take place, but an arm is found protruding from the concrete walk laid from the president's former cave hideout to his new house beneath the cliffs. Siri must supervise the disinterment of the body attached to the arm, identify it, and determine the cause of death. The autopsy provides some surprises, but it is his gifts as a shaman that enable the seventy-three-year-old doctor to discover why the victim was buried alive and identify the killer. Colin Cotterill was born in London and currently lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He received the Dilys Award for Thirty-Three Teeth, the second mystery in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series.