The party of the dead

Set in Laos in the 1970s, El guateque de los muertos follows Dr. Siri Paiboun, a sharp and stubbornly independent doctor in his seventies who has been appointed (against his will) as the national forensic doctor of the new Lao republic.  When a mummified arm turns up in a politically sensitive place—near the president’s new mansion and a Cuban hospital—Siri is sent north, where the wounds of the recent revolution are still visible in everyday life.
As Siri digs into the case, the investigation collides with state pressure, uneasy alliances, and the realities of a young nation trying to control its image ahead of an important celebration with Vietnam.  Meanwhile, his kind-hearted assistant Mr. Geung is taken to a re-education camp far from the morgue, and his attempt to get back home becomes a tense journey of its own.
This is not just a mystery novel: it blends criminal intrigue with political satire, historical atmosphere, and dark humour, anchored by an unconventional cast and a vivid sense of place.  Siri and nurse Dtui also face intensely personal complications along the way, including a marriage proposal, encounters with Cuban Santería, and a frightening sacrificial ritual.
If you like crime fiction with wit, character-driven storytelling, and a setting you don’t see every day, this novel delivers a distinctive reading experience—clever, human, and bitingly funny.  It’s also ideal for readers following the Doctor Siri series, as this is the third book in the series.