FROM STETTIN TO LAOS

I have just finished reading Stettin Station by David Downing, an exciting Second World War spy thriller and my review will appear on Euro Crime. I seem to have read a large number Nazi themed books recently and all this wartime tension can prove a bit wearing, so it is time for a break.

Therefore I have moved on to read The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill, which possibly will be a lighter read because Dr Siri Paiboun, National Coroner of Laos, seems from the first few pages to have a wicked sense of humour.

'And what do you put the loss of blood down to?' Judge Haeng asked........

'The body's inability to keep it in?' The little judge h'mmed and looked back down at his report. He wasn't even bright enough for sarcasm. "Of course, the fact that the poor man's legs had been cut off above the knees might have something to do with it.'