Dr. Siri Paiboun of Laos - "reluctant national coroner, confused psychic, [and] disheartened communist" - employs forensic skills and spiritual acumen to solve a series of bizarre killings. Could an old escaped bear be mauling Vientiane citizens? Or is it something more mystical - say, a weretiger? When Paiboun is summoned to the capital to identify the nationality of a pair of charred bodies, he quickly flags them as Asians killed in a helicopter crash, and his ability to connect them to the royal family annoys Communist Party leaders. As Paiboun learns of an effort to get the remaining royal family members out of town, he's arrested, accused of damaging government property.

"World of crime"