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I Shot the Buddha

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I Shot the Buddha

By: Colin Cotterill
Narrated by: Clive Chafers
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About this listen

A fiendishly clever mystery in which Dr. Siri and his friends investigate three interlocking murders -and the ungodly motives behind them.

Laos, 1979: Retired coroner Siri Paiboun and his wife, Madame Daeng, have never been able to turn away a misfit. As a result they share their small Vientiane house with an assortment of homeless people, mendicants, and oddballs. One of these oddballs is Noo, a Buddhist monk who rides out on his bicycle one day and never comes back, leaving only a cryptic note in the refrigerator: a plea to help a fellow monk escape across the Mekong River to Thailand. Naturally, Siri can't turn down the adventure, and soon he and his friends find themselves running afoul of Lao secret service officers and famous spiritualists. Buddhism is a powerful influence on both morals and politics in Southeast Asia. In order to exonerate an innocent man, they will have to figure out who is cloaking terrible misdeeds in religiosity.

©2016 Colin Cotterill (P)2016 Recorded Books Fiction Genre Fiction Historical International Mystery & Crime Magical Realism Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fantasy Magic Crime

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All stars
Most relevant  
Dr Siri also appears to have changed his name (or pronunciation of it) and most of the characters seem to have the sudo-Irish accent. Anyway. If you can get past the reader, it’s a cracking story, as always.

Good story, not keen on new reader

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I have listened to the first 4 books in this series by Colin Cotterill. The first read by Gareth Armstrong, he was brilliant. Then the following 3 read by Nigel Armstrong, he was absolutely brilliant. Then Audible miss several books out of the series and go straight to this one. What a terrible shame, what a shock to the system! Whoever asked Clive Chafers to read should be shot! Pardon the pun! He is dreary, boring, and puts no inflection in his voice to reflect the characters he is quoting. They all sound the same in the lame droning voice he has, so you can barely follow the story. COME ON audible, I am not the only person to complain! I am asking for my credit back and will be for the next in the series.
I could comment on the story, and I should, as it is funny, witty and interesting, but with that voice...… I could never recommend.

Fab story, spolit by boring dreary narrator

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The story was very good, a bit confusing if you took a long break between listening to chapters, as the story is multi-threaded.

Perhaps I was spoilt listening to other Sri books but the vocalisations in this book in my opinion was poor, having west country accents for rural folk was not endearing.

Good story, poor vocalisation

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What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

As usual Colin Cotterill seemed to have written a good yarn but it was totally ruined by the narration which was abysmal. It was stilted, toneless, humourless and totally inappropriate for the book. Had to stop listening and buy the book instead.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator should have been chosen more carefully and should have an understanding of the humour in the book - it seemed to pass him by.

Any additional comments?

Don't bother with this audio version - buy the book and enjoy the characters and some fun.

Awful narration had to stop listening.

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Unfortunately Clive Chafers is the wrong person to narrate this book - he mispronounces the characters names - particularly the main character, and it spoils the enjoyment of the book. The reading reminded me of amateur dramatics rather than a professional reader.
It was his narration that ruined the last book for me too whereas the first few books were marvellous with different narrators and a very different approach to the reading.
Disappointing to say the least.

Wrong person reading

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