The Merry Misogynist
The Dr. Siri Investigations, Book 6

In 1978 in povertystricken Laos, a man from the city with a truck was somebodya catch for even the prettiest village virgin. The corpse of one of these bucolic beauties turns up in Dr. Siris morgue, and his curiosity is piqued. The victim was tied to a tree and strangled, but she had not, as the doctor had expected, been raped. And though the victim had smooth, pale skin over most of her body, her hands and feet were gnarled, callused, and blistered. On a trip to the hinterlands, Siri discovers that many women have been killed in this way. He sets out to investigate this unprecedented phenomenona serial killer in peaceful Buddhist Laosonly to discover, when he has identified the murderer, that not only pretty maidens are at risk: seventythreeyearold coroners can be victims too.