The Motion Picture Teller

Written by Colin Cotterill

Narrated by Steven Crossley and Amy Scanlon

Thailand, 1996: Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Mail service, hates his job.

The only bright spot in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars, particularly the actresses, and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema—until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali’s store.

Bangkok 2010 is a dystopian film set in a near-future Thailand—and Supot and Ali, immediately obsessed, agree it’s the most brilliant Thai movie they’ve ever seen.

But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Who would make a movie like this and not release it, and why?

Feeling a powerful calling to solve the mystery of Bangkok 2010, Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers that powerful people are dead set on keeping the film buried.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781705088234

Colin Cotterill

Colin Cotterill (born 2 October 1952) is a London-born teacher, crime writer and cartoonist. Cotterill has dual English and Australian citizenship; however, he currently lives in Southeast Asia, where he writes the award-winning Dr. Siri mystery series set in the People's Democratic Republic of Laos.

Reviews for The Motion Picture Teller

[HD03 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've listened to all of the Dr. Siri books, & so I've been looking through Cotterill's other novels for something I'd enjoy. Frankly, I've not had much luck - ruined by Dr. Siri, I guess.

But The Motion Picture Teller is pretty good, and though not quite up to Dr. Siri, very entertaining. The exposition of the movie that is at the center of the story comes across very well in audio, possible better than in print. The story has an ending that I doubt anyone could predict. Support and Ali are good characters, & I hope this does not turn out to be a standalone novel.

[cathyskye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am a long-time fan of Colin Cotterill. I love his series of historical mysteries featuring the septuagenarian coroner of Laos, Dr. Siri Paiboun. Cotterill has a double-edged sense of humor that can be gentle with humans yet skewer political ideology. I don't know how he does it, but over the years, he's made me laugh while simultaneously seeing the truth of things. I jumped for joy when I came across The Motion Picture Teller because it has been a long three years since his last book.Supot and Ali are the lovable yet hapless characters that Cotterill creates so well. While readers can be amused at their feckless ways, they're also learning about life in Thailand, both the average Thai's daily life as well as how the country's politics affects everyone. In The Motion Picture Teller, Thai life under military regimes is touched upon subtly yet powerfully. So much so that readers may wonder how the people of Thailand can be so well known for their smiling faces.I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Being with Supot and Ali in the video store was like a trip down Memory Lane for this movie buff, and Cotterill's descriptions of Western movie posters being "translated" for the Thai audience certainly had me cringing and laughing. But once Supot decided to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Bangkok 2010, the story unraveled a bit, leaving me vaguely dissatisfied. Even though I didn't find The Motion Picture Teller to be a complete success, it was still wonderful to spend time in Colin Cotterill's world again. Please don't make me wait another three years for a new book!(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)