Many a crime fiction reader sighs with resignation when they encounter something over-familiar in the genre they love "Oh, no!" is the lament, "Not that plot again!" Or not that kind of character or even locale. Those individuals suffering from such crime fiction fatigue can happily turn to the eccentric and unusual novels of Colin Cotterill, confident in the knowledge that they won’t encounter anything that is clichéd or shop-worn. As his latest book, The Merry Misogynist, reminds us, one can confidently expect that he is quite unlike any other author in the field, delivering quirky, brilliantly plotted (and often hilarious) filigrees of invention that rejuvenate the tired police investigation novel.As admirers will know, his investigator, the elderly Dr Siri Paiboun, is a truly memorable creation, a dogged, honest official in the often lunatic world of 1970s Laos who (along with his trusty morgue team) painstakingly uncovers the truths behind some elaborately concealed killings. In the new book, girls from the country are being married and then savagely murdered, their bodies tied to trees. In previous cases, Siri has often taken on his assignments reluctantly, but the thought of this ruthless monster cutting a swathe through his victims inspires him to bring all his unorthodox methods to bear in tracking down the killer. But the investigation is almost derailed by a figure called Crazy Rajid. Rajid, a fey figure on the fringes of society, has been experiencing flashes that warn him he is in considerable danger. A dual investigation -- and a sorting out of some baffling and highly misleading clues -- leads Siri and his team into an encounter with dark secrets of the past and a centuries-old temple in Vientiane.Readers who have enjoyed such delightful earlier entries from Colin Cotterill as Anarchy and Old Dogs and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Cotterill"s titles echoes the surrealistic humour of his books) will know what to expect from this latest entry; it’s quite as bizarrely diverting as its predecessors. --Barry Forshaw