The Scent of Sorrow

A train pulls into Nakhon Lampang station, and a young man steps off looking like a complete mess. His old friend greets him with an insult about his cologne. That is the warm, prickly welcome at the start of The Scent of Sorrow (ซิ่นกลิ่นโสก), a period mystery set in Lampang after the Second World War.

Wassa, played by Pharinyakorn Khansawa (Yim), and Pi Khan, played by Koraphat Lamnoi (Tutor), share a history full of boxing matches, northern dialect lessons and promises that did not quite hold. Their reunion has barely begun when the town starts to shake with a string of murders.

Each victim carries an old Lanna dharma script carved into the body. Witnesses speak of a ghostly lullaby, sung by what locals call the red sinh ghost. The only real clue is a red sinh skirt woven with dok sok, ashoka flower patterns, that once belonged to a noblewoman. When one carved symbol can spell the name Wassa, suspicion falls close to home.

Wassa dreams of the red sinh ghost, and the dreams feel real. Pi Khan believes him even when the police inspector does not. The list of suspects grows: Boss Rewat, Sema, a young man devoted to repaying a debt, the kind noble Lady Saisok and the rebellious Lady La-ongthip. The secret buried in that red skirt is waking up, and everyone in town has something to hide.