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Jimm Juree #3
The Axe Factor
Since Jimm Juree moved, under duress, with her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she has missed her career as a journalist. In Chiang Mai, she was covering substantial stories and major crimes. But here in Maprao, Jimm has to scrape assignments from the local online journal, the Chumphon Gazette. This time they are sending her out to interview a local farang (European) writer, Conrad Coralbank, who writes award-winning crime novels. At the same time, several local women have left town without a word to anyone, leaving their possessions behind. These include the local doctor, Dr. Sumlak, who never returned from a conference, and the Thai wife of the aforementioned Conrad Coralbank. All of which looks a little suspicious, especially to Jimm's grandfather, an ex-cop who notices Coralbank's interest in Jimm with a very jaundiced eye. And now a major storm is brewing. Who knows what it will blow in for Jimm and her family?
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2013
19 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Colin Cotterill
76Ìýbooks1,012ÌýfollowersColin Cotterill was born in London and trained as a teacher and set off on a world tour that didn't ever come to an end. He worked as a Physical Education instructor in Israel, a primary school teacher in Australia, a counselor for educationally handicapped adults in the US, and a university lecturer in Japan. But the greater part of his latter years has been spent in Southeast Asia. Colin has taught and trained teachers in Thailand and on the Burmese border. He spent several years in Laos, initially with UNESCO and wrote and produced a forty-programme language teaching series; English By Accident, for Thai national television.
Ten years ago, Colin became involved in child protection in the region and set up an NGO in Phuket which he ran for the first two years. After two more years of study in child abuse issues, and one more stint in Phuket, he moved on to ECPAT, an international organization combating child prostitution and pornography. He established their training program for caregivers.
All the while, Colin continued with his two other passions; cartooning and writing. He contributed regular columns for the Bangkok Post but had little time to write. It wasn't until his work with trafficked children that he found himself sufficiently stimulated to put together his first novel, The Night Bastard (Suk's Editions. 2000).
The reaction to that first attempt was so positive that Colin decided to take time off and write full-time. Since October 2001 he has written nine more novels. Two of these are child-protection based: Evil in the Land Without (Asia Books December 03), and Pool and Its Role in Asian Communism (Asia Books, Dec 05). These were followed by The Coroner’s Lunch (Soho Press. Dec 04), Thirty Three Teeth (Aug 05), Disco for the Departed (Aug 06), Anarchy and Old Dogs (Aug 07), and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Aug 08), The Merry Misogynist (Aug 09), Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Aug 10) these last seven are set in Laos in the 1970’s.
On June 15, 2009 Colin Cotterill received the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for being "the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users".
When the Lao books gained in popularity, Cotterill set up a project to send books to Lao children and sponsor trainee teachers. The Books for Laos programme elicits support from fans of the books and is administered purely on a voluntary basis.
Since 1990, Colin has been a regular cartoonist for national publications. A Thai language translation of his cartoon scrapbook, Ethel and Joan Go to Phuket (Matichon May 04) and weekly social cartoons in the Nation newspaper, set him back onto the cartoon trail in 2004. On 4 April 2004, an illustrated bilingual column ‘cycle logical� was launched in Matichon’s popular weekly news magazine. These have been published in book form.
Colin is married and lives in a fishing community on the Gulf of Siam with his wife, Kyoko, and ever-expanding pack of very annoying dogs.
Ten years ago, Colin became involved in child protection in the region and set up an NGO in Phuket which he ran for the first two years. After two more years of study in child abuse issues, and one more stint in Phuket, he moved on to ECPAT, an international organization combating child prostitution and pornography. He established their training program for caregivers.
All the while, Colin continued with his two other passions; cartooning and writing. He contributed regular columns for the Bangkok Post but had little time to write. It wasn't until his work with trafficked children that he found himself sufficiently stimulated to put together his first novel, The Night Bastard (Suk's Editions. 2000).
The reaction to that first attempt was so positive that Colin decided to take time off and write full-time. Since October 2001 he has written nine more novels. Two of these are child-protection based: Evil in the Land Without (Asia Books December 03), and Pool and Its Role in Asian Communism (Asia Books, Dec 05). These were followed by The Coroner’s Lunch (Soho Press. Dec 04), Thirty Three Teeth (Aug 05), Disco for the Departed (Aug 06), Anarchy and Old Dogs (Aug 07), and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Aug 08), The Merry Misogynist (Aug 09), Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Aug 10) these last seven are set in Laos in the 1970’s.
On June 15, 2009 Colin Cotterill received the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for being "the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users".
When the Lao books gained in popularity, Cotterill set up a project to send books to Lao children and sponsor trainee teachers. The Books for Laos programme elicits support from fans of the books and is administered purely on a voluntary basis.
Since 1990, Colin has been a regular cartoonist for national publications. A Thai language translation of his cartoon scrapbook, Ethel and Joan Go to Phuket (Matichon May 04) and weekly social cartoons in the Nation newspaper, set him back onto the cartoon trail in 2004. On 4 April 2004, an illustrated bilingual column ‘cycle logical� was launched in Matichon’s popular weekly news magazine. These have been published in book form.
Colin is married and lives in a fishing community on the Gulf of Siam with his wife, Kyoko, and ever-expanding pack of very annoying dogs.
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April 7, 2022
Just another axe murder.
Move along now, nothing to see here.
We readers actually get to meet Collin Cotterill's alter ego under the name of Conrad Coralbank.
Jimm's thoughts before meeting the English writer
He wrote mystery novels set in Laos.
Nobody would ever become famous by writing about a place that 98.3 percent of American high school students couldn’t locate on an atlas. Not even one with the country names written on it and an index. Admittedly, 34 percent of that sample couldn’t find Canada either. Laos—and I don’t want to sound racist here—is easily the most boring place on the planet.
He’d probably be an alcoholic with skin allergies, grateful that a voluptuously curvy young Thai girl should stop by occasionally for a chat. I’d bring him a bottle of Mekhong whiskey, watch his liver-polka-dotted hands shake as he poured it neat into his cracked Amazing Thailand mug and partook of a grateful swig. Of course, I’d take the mace. Western writers in Thailand drew most of their inspiration from bars. He’d assume I was as loose as all the girlies in farang novels.
The family
Mother.
Mair, is perhaps starting to feel the teeth of dementia nibbling at her heels, but that doesn’t make her “nutty as a fruitcake� as your reviewer described her. She has long coherent periods which do not involve wearing odd shoes or buying secondhand Cosplay rabbit suits on eBay. (She’s only done that once. She wanted to bond with the dogs.)
Grandad.
The older gentleman who was described as “unlikable and two-dimensional� is, in fact, my Grandad Jah. I have to agree with the “unlikable� part, but Grandad, I have to strongly protest, is not lacking a dimension. At the very most, he may be short a sense or two. But his absence of humor and social etiquette is more than made up for by his innate skill as an investigator. One would imagine that forty years spent in the Thai Police Force, where the focus is on amassing great wealth rather than putting oneself in harm’s way, might erase a man’s policing instincts. But Grandad Jah has uncanny abilities and is as honest as the day is long (which explains why he’s still penniless).
Brother Arnon.
my brother, Arnon, known affectionately as Arny, after his hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. Had we not followed our mother to the northernmost southern province in Thailand for reasons that I’ve only recently come to understand, he would undoubtedly have been this year’s Mr. Chiang Mai Body Beautiful. So, the comment, “This character has no personality, no abilities and absolutely no purpose for being in the story,� is a bit like complaining that Moby Dick didn’t have much of a speaking part.
Sister Sissi.
The “Impossible Hermaphrodite Queen,� is my “sister,� Sissi, who was neither born with conflicting organs nor crowned. Sissi is transgender and has a medical certificate to prove it.
Jimm Juree.
As I am only thirty four and have never been in domestic service, I was forced to look up some other meaning for “old maid.� Once found, I am obliged to protest most strongly. I was married and had conjugal moments with my husband during our three-point-seven years of marriage. At least once a month, if I remember rightly.
Travel by train
The only real inconvenience about Thai rail travel was on those unique occasions when the train arrived on time. You see, nobody ever turned up at the hour stated on the timetable. Those trains would leave the station empty, and the railways would run at a loss. Bad scheduling made economic sense.
Police seminars.
“Ma Yai, you didn’t actually attend any of the lectures, did you?�
“I went to the opening speech. That was compulsory. I mean, you had to sign your name. But after that there was stuff going on in two or three rooms all the time. They couldn’t trace you. They had a pool.�
Saving the dog.
Gogo was cold, her tongue was purple, and she had no pulse. But I remembered once waking up at four a.m. in exactly the same condition after a night on margaritas.
Preparing for a dinner date.
“Jimm, whoever he is, you aren’t going to do better than a dress. Your arse is too big for jeans and your tits are too small for a tank top. A dress is like a burka. He’s never quite sure what he’s going to get until you’re unwrapped.�
“Why the gingham? It makes me look like Elly May Clampett.�
“Exactly. See what an education you got from my cable channels? Gingham’s like school uniform. Sensuality in a shroud of innocence. The clothes say virgin. The body says, don’t pay any attention to the clothes."
Word play.
“Paranoid doesn’t always mean wrong,� I said, although that was probably an oxymoron.
...and more...
“But I didn’t want to live here. Oh my. If you think this is backward now, imagine what it was like thirty-eight years ago. It was prehysterical.�
Hobbies.
I’d never been that fond of cycling in the rain in Chiang Mai, but it was one of the few thrills down on the Gulf, so I’d learned to see it as a hobby. That and hanging up damp laundry.
Unfortunate translations.
The Lip and Eye Remover (brand name on bottle of makeup removal cream)
Please Leave Your Values at the Front Desk (country hotel)
Make You Ten Years Older than You Look (soap ad.)
We Won’t Let You Down (diving company)
Ladies Are Requested Not to Have Children in the Bar (hotel sign)
WE NOT COSH CHICKS.
Fresh Grave Juice (restaurant menu)
Kindly Watch Your Hands Before or After Using Computer (java coffee shop)
Enjoy!
Move along now, nothing to see here.
We readers actually get to meet Collin Cotterill's alter ego under the name of Conrad Coralbank.
Jimm's thoughts before meeting the English writer
He wrote mystery novels set in Laos.
Nobody would ever become famous by writing about a place that 98.3 percent of American high school students couldn’t locate on an atlas. Not even one with the country names written on it and an index. Admittedly, 34 percent of that sample couldn’t find Canada either. Laos—and I don’t want to sound racist here—is easily the most boring place on the planet.
He’d probably be an alcoholic with skin allergies, grateful that a voluptuously curvy young Thai girl should stop by occasionally for a chat. I’d bring him a bottle of Mekhong whiskey, watch his liver-polka-dotted hands shake as he poured it neat into his cracked Amazing Thailand mug and partook of a grateful swig. Of course, I’d take the mace. Western writers in Thailand drew most of their inspiration from bars. He’d assume I was as loose as all the girlies in farang novels.
The family
Mother.
Mair, is perhaps starting to feel the teeth of dementia nibbling at her heels, but that doesn’t make her “nutty as a fruitcake� as your reviewer described her. She has long coherent periods which do not involve wearing odd shoes or buying secondhand Cosplay rabbit suits on eBay. (She’s only done that once. She wanted to bond with the dogs.)
Grandad.
The older gentleman who was described as “unlikable and two-dimensional� is, in fact, my Grandad Jah. I have to agree with the “unlikable� part, but Grandad, I have to strongly protest, is not lacking a dimension. At the very most, he may be short a sense or two. But his absence of humor and social etiquette is more than made up for by his innate skill as an investigator. One would imagine that forty years spent in the Thai Police Force, where the focus is on amassing great wealth rather than putting oneself in harm’s way, might erase a man’s policing instincts. But Grandad Jah has uncanny abilities and is as honest as the day is long (which explains why he’s still penniless).
Brother Arnon.
my brother, Arnon, known affectionately as Arny, after his hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. Had we not followed our mother to the northernmost southern province in Thailand for reasons that I’ve only recently come to understand, he would undoubtedly have been this year’s Mr. Chiang Mai Body Beautiful. So, the comment, “This character has no personality, no abilities and absolutely no purpose for being in the story,� is a bit like complaining that Moby Dick didn’t have much of a speaking part.
Sister Sissi.
The “Impossible Hermaphrodite Queen,� is my “sister,� Sissi, who was neither born with conflicting organs nor crowned. Sissi is transgender and has a medical certificate to prove it.
Jimm Juree.
As I am only thirty four and have never been in domestic service, I was forced to look up some other meaning for “old maid.� Once found, I am obliged to protest most strongly. I was married and had conjugal moments with my husband during our three-point-seven years of marriage. At least once a month, if I remember rightly.
Travel by train
The only real inconvenience about Thai rail travel was on those unique occasions when the train arrived on time. You see, nobody ever turned up at the hour stated on the timetable. Those trains would leave the station empty, and the railways would run at a loss. Bad scheduling made economic sense.
Police seminars.
“Ma Yai, you didn’t actually attend any of the lectures, did you?�
“I went to the opening speech. That was compulsory. I mean, you had to sign your name. But after that there was stuff going on in two or three rooms all the time. They couldn’t trace you. They had a pool.�
Saving the dog.
Gogo was cold, her tongue was purple, and she had no pulse. But I remembered once waking up at four a.m. in exactly the same condition after a night on margaritas.
Preparing for a dinner date.
“Jimm, whoever he is, you aren’t going to do better than a dress. Your arse is too big for jeans and your tits are too small for a tank top. A dress is like a burka. He’s never quite sure what he’s going to get until you’re unwrapped.�
“Why the gingham? It makes me look like Elly May Clampett.�
“Exactly. See what an education you got from my cable channels? Gingham’s like school uniform. Sensuality in a shroud of innocence. The clothes say virgin. The body says, don’t pay any attention to the clothes."
Word play.
“Paranoid doesn’t always mean wrong,� I said, although that was probably an oxymoron.
...and more...
“But I didn’t want to live here. Oh my. If you think this is backward now, imagine what it was like thirty-eight years ago. It was prehysterical.�
Hobbies.
I’d never been that fond of cycling in the rain in Chiang Mai, but it was one of the few thrills down on the Gulf, so I’d learned to see it as a hobby. That and hanging up damp laundry.
Unfortunate translations.
The Lip and Eye Remover (brand name on bottle of makeup removal cream)
Please Leave Your Values at the Front Desk (country hotel)
Make You Ten Years Older than You Look (soap ad.)
We Won’t Let You Down (diving company)
Ladies Are Requested Not to Have Children in the Bar (hotel sign)
WE NOT COSH CHICKS.
Fresh Grave Juice (restaurant menu)
Kindly Watch Your Hands Before or After Using Computer (java coffee shop)
Enjoy!
September 12, 2014
Colin Cotterill is one of the sneakiest writers I know. Author of the superb Dr. Siri Paiboun mysteries and now the Jimm Juree mysteries set in rural Thailand, Cotterill is a master at writing books so filled with wit and whimsey that you may not realize that you're actually learning something as you read. With the Jimm Juree books, you learn how a Westernized Thai city girl gets used to life out in the country. You learn about the political atmosphere in Thailand. You learn how poor people survive with no real help from the government. You also learn how a family-- rather bizarrely comprised of a mother with dementia, a retired traffic cop grandfather who seldom speaks, a twentysomething bodybuilder son who's in love with a woman bodybuilder in her late fifties, and a daughter who still longs to be a big city crime reporter-- live together, argue with each other, and (most importantly) love each other. And I didn't even mention the sister who's a transsexual former beauty queen and erstwhile computer hacker who refused to move out of the city. As I read each Jimm Juree novel, I wonder if a dysfunctional family like that can love and support each other, why do so many "normal" families have such a problem doing it?
With family members like these, you know that Cotterill is playing it for laughs, and there are plenty of those. One of Jimm's part-time jobs is as a translator for anyone who wants their signs accurately translated from Thai to English. Each chapter heading is an example of a poorly translated sign, and they alone are worth the price of admission. Then there's Jimm's ongoing correspondence with Clint Eastwood. She's determined to sell him a screenplay, and I love watching her try to make her dream come true.
Cotterill ups the anty in The Axe Factor with two things: a thinly veiled version of himself as Conrad Coralbank, and pages from a serial killer's journal that are truly chilling. No laughs where those pages are concerned because Cotterill can do scary very well, too. As Jimm falls deeper under Coralbank's spell, and as her grandfather becomes more suspicious, those journal pages are enough to really make readers fear for Jimm's life-- and it's a life that we become better acquainted with in this book, particularly her insecurities.
The Axe Factor is the perfect blend of chills and laughter-- and one of the best examples of misdirection I've ever read. It also ends with a nice little cliffhanger. On the surface, Cotterill's books all appear to be light and breezy, but don't be fooled; there's real depth to be found in them as well. I make it a habit never to miss a single one.
With family members like these, you know that Cotterill is playing it for laughs, and there are plenty of those. One of Jimm's part-time jobs is as a translator for anyone who wants their signs accurately translated from Thai to English. Each chapter heading is an example of a poorly translated sign, and they alone are worth the price of admission. Then there's Jimm's ongoing correspondence with Clint Eastwood. She's determined to sell him a screenplay, and I love watching her try to make her dream come true.
Cotterill ups the anty in The Axe Factor with two things: a thinly veiled version of himself as Conrad Coralbank, and pages from a serial killer's journal that are truly chilling. No laughs where those pages are concerned because Cotterill can do scary very well, too. As Jimm falls deeper under Coralbank's spell, and as her grandfather becomes more suspicious, those journal pages are enough to really make readers fear for Jimm's life-- and it's a life that we become better acquainted with in this book, particularly her insecurities.
The Axe Factor is the perfect blend of chills and laughter-- and one of the best examples of misdirection I've ever read. It also ends with a nice little cliffhanger. On the surface, Cotterill's books all appear to be light and breezy, but don't be fooled; there's real depth to be found in them as well. I make it a habit never to miss a single one.
December 5, 2015
Originally reviewed at
Frustrated journalist Jimm Juree, hemmed down by family obligations and with no romantic life to speak of, has left her career as a reporter in the big city to help her mother run their shack of a hotel in the small village of Maprao on the coast of Thailand.
When she is not solving crimes that seem to crop up in the vicinity, Jimm is running interference between a pushy transvestite brother, an intermittently sane mother, a brawny but otherwise ill-equipped brother, and a taciturn grandfather. Things don’t improve much when her long-lost father turns up to renew relations with his abandoned wife. The deadly cocktail of her loneliness, a suffocating family, and an impending monsoon which threatens to wash away the remains of their little resort � all combine to form a perfect storm which leaves Jimm emotionally vulnerable.
As if on cue, an elegant English crime writer steps onto the scene, whom she’s assigned by the local paper to interview. He readily sweeps her off her feet with sincere flattery and blue-eyed Continental charm. Her vulnerability to his romantic advances allows her to overlook some glaring oddities in the suave writer’s household, notably an absent wife and an extremely menacing maid.
That’s one side of the storyline. Every other chapter in The Axe Factor is an entry in the anonymous blog of a raving, axe-wielding serial killer who, after getting a first taste of shockingly violent murder wants to up the ante, and soon. Meanwhile, just as the writer is unconcerned about his wife’s absence, so the local police force is unable to connect the dots between her and other women reported missing in the area.
A death threat tacked to her door with a butcher knife and the attempted poisoning of the homeless dogs she shelters doesn’t sway Juree enough to snap out of her reverie. However, her family go into defensive mode, especially her grandfather Jah. He is a retired cop who never for a minute trusts the farang writer and the current crisis re-awakens his old investigative tendencies. With Jimm in a romantic glamour, it is up to her family to rally and protect her, as families do, even dysfunctional ones. This is a common theme in Cotterill’s books, where family and community form ranks to protect each other.
Jimm’s family is aided by her friend Lieutenant Chompu, an overtly flamboyant queen whose excellent nose for police work is belied by his magisterial flare. He is one of the best characters in the series, and is a trademark Cotterill creation: patently eccentric but with a heart of gold. Chompu helps Juree trace the missing doctor’s career, which describes a long history of defying corporate malfeasance and third world exploitation on a grand scale. When Jimm Juree disappears just as the blog promises a new victim, it may be too late for her rag-tag rescue squad of a family as they rush to the scene.
Folks used to Cotterill’s madcap brand of noir may nevertheless find this installment lacking. It seems to fall back on the structure of the previous book, Grandad, There’s a Head on the Beach, with its running gag of ironic chapter headings. The trouble is this one misses the mark, for all it’s comic intentions. It remains to be seen whether the series is getting attenuated or if this just represents a weak note. Even Cotterill’s revered Dr Siri Paboun series had lacklustre moments. The Jimm Juree books share the political undercurrent that runs through the Siri series, where the characters deal head-on with real social injustice issues, but it never pretends to be as sober, and is just plain wacky.
I’m a big fan of Jimm Juree, and as a whole, The Axe Factor preserves the series� well-developed characters, who maintain their quirkiness and panache in a novel filled with sex, violence, and ample red herrings to satisfy the average mystery fan. But for all its gory gruesomeness mixed with slapstick comedy, this mostly entertaining follow-up still falls flat in comparison to previous entries.
Frustrated journalist Jimm Juree, hemmed down by family obligations and with no romantic life to speak of, has left her career as a reporter in the big city to help her mother run their shack of a hotel in the small village of Maprao on the coast of Thailand.
When she is not solving crimes that seem to crop up in the vicinity, Jimm is running interference between a pushy transvestite brother, an intermittently sane mother, a brawny but otherwise ill-equipped brother, and a taciturn grandfather. Things don’t improve much when her long-lost father turns up to renew relations with his abandoned wife. The deadly cocktail of her loneliness, a suffocating family, and an impending monsoon which threatens to wash away the remains of their little resort � all combine to form a perfect storm which leaves Jimm emotionally vulnerable.
As if on cue, an elegant English crime writer steps onto the scene, whom she’s assigned by the local paper to interview. He readily sweeps her off her feet with sincere flattery and blue-eyed Continental charm. Her vulnerability to his romantic advances allows her to overlook some glaring oddities in the suave writer’s household, notably an absent wife and an extremely menacing maid.
That’s one side of the storyline. Every other chapter in The Axe Factor is an entry in the anonymous blog of a raving, axe-wielding serial killer who, after getting a first taste of shockingly violent murder wants to up the ante, and soon. Meanwhile, just as the writer is unconcerned about his wife’s absence, so the local police force is unable to connect the dots between her and other women reported missing in the area.
A death threat tacked to her door with a butcher knife and the attempted poisoning of the homeless dogs she shelters doesn’t sway Juree enough to snap out of her reverie. However, her family go into defensive mode, especially her grandfather Jah. He is a retired cop who never for a minute trusts the farang writer and the current crisis re-awakens his old investigative tendencies. With Jimm in a romantic glamour, it is up to her family to rally and protect her, as families do, even dysfunctional ones. This is a common theme in Cotterill’s books, where family and community form ranks to protect each other.
Jimm’s family is aided by her friend Lieutenant Chompu, an overtly flamboyant queen whose excellent nose for police work is belied by his magisterial flare. He is one of the best characters in the series, and is a trademark Cotterill creation: patently eccentric but with a heart of gold. Chompu helps Juree trace the missing doctor’s career, which describes a long history of defying corporate malfeasance and third world exploitation on a grand scale. When Jimm Juree disappears just as the blog promises a new victim, it may be too late for her rag-tag rescue squad of a family as they rush to the scene.
Folks used to Cotterill’s madcap brand of noir may nevertheless find this installment lacking. It seems to fall back on the structure of the previous book, Grandad, There’s a Head on the Beach, with its running gag of ironic chapter headings. The trouble is this one misses the mark, for all it’s comic intentions. It remains to be seen whether the series is getting attenuated or if this just represents a weak note. Even Cotterill’s revered Dr Siri Paboun series had lacklustre moments. The Jimm Juree books share the political undercurrent that runs through the Siri series, where the characters deal head-on with real social injustice issues, but it never pretends to be as sober, and is just plain wacky.
I’m a big fan of Jimm Juree, and as a whole, The Axe Factor preserves the series� well-developed characters, who maintain their quirkiness and panache in a novel filled with sex, violence, and ample red herrings to satisfy the average mystery fan. But for all its gory gruesomeness mixed with slapstick comedy, this mostly entertaining follow-up still falls flat in comparison to previous entries.
April 3, 2015
I'm one of those suckers who will read anything by an author I like ... until I won't ever again. I will still try Cotterill's Loatian mysteries, but this Thai series, no. Did anyone read it through before publishing it? The evil corporation (which was old news in 1980 but is supposed to be interesting in 2014) gets its name spelled two different ways. Ed is mentioned as part of a rescue party, except he isn't in the rescue party. Our heroine wants to put on lipstick but doesn't have any ... until the next page when she suddenly does. The violence is utterly stupid. The story ends abruptly with the main issue unresolved. Other than that, it had a few of the LOL moments that keep me reading this guy. But not more of this series.
July 23, 2019
This is the second book that I read in this series about Jimm Juree. I did not read the first one..of the two books that I did read, I like this one much better. Why? It was more suspenseful and I feel that poor Jimm was in much more danger. The threat level had increased. There is just something primal and very frightening about the fact that a deranged ax murderer might be after you! And that right there is the suspense! We know that someone got murdered at the beginning of the book. We know that poor Jimm is next on the list. But who is the killer?
The book had a lot of suspects. That made it more enjoyable. There was once again a double plot like in the first book I read (about the head on the beach, which is actually book #2 in the series). One plot is about a missing doctor and the other plot involves a handsome foreign author who would like Jimm to be his new girlfriend. And somewhere out there is the bloody murderer!
Jimm, by the way, is a girl..well a lady I should say.
Anyway I did guess who the murderer was not! The book tried to trick me in that regards but I didn't fall for it! Ok, I didn't actually guess who the murderer was but I didn't fall for the red herring either.
Oh and once again I like the pretty cover image of Thailand. I would have been ok without the person holding the bloody axe. I just like pretty pictures! The axe does go with the plot though.
This book was a really quick read.
I hope to find the next book in this series..I admit I really want to know what happened next!
The book had a lot of suspects. That made it more enjoyable. There was once again a double plot like in the first book I read (about the head on the beach, which is actually book #2 in the series). One plot is about a missing doctor and the other plot involves a handsome foreign author who would like Jimm to be his new girlfriend. And somewhere out there is the bloody murderer!
Jimm, by the way, is a girl..well a lady I should say.
Anyway I did guess who the murderer was not! The book tried to trick me in that regards but I didn't fall for it! Ok, I didn't actually guess who the murderer was but I didn't fall for the red herring either.
Oh and once again I like the pretty cover image of Thailand. I would have been ok without the person holding the bloody axe. I just like pretty pictures! The axe does go with the plot though.
This book was a really quick read.
I hope to find the next book in this series..I admit I really want to know what happened next!
June 18, 2014
So stupid. Anyone drawing comparisons (which they are and right on the book jacket!) to Alexander McCall Smith or Tarquin Hall ought to be shot. Or maybe they are not actually reading this book. I checked it out because I dearly love the AM Smith series Ladies No 1 Detective Agency, and I also totally love the Tarquin Hall Vish Puri series; and so I thought I might enjoy this one as well. Nope. Utterly vapid, none of the depth nor the lovable characters. Just a lot of dumb jokes, stupid wisecracks, and lack of detail. Did not like the main character Jimm Juree, did not think any of the scenarios or other characters were in any way interesting or plausible, and the plot/mystery/story was virtually non existent. The ONLY redeeming virtue to be found in this story was that it was moderately refreshing to read a story set in Asia that portrays people in a modern way- not relying on stereotypes of the asian personality or identity nor fawning over the superiority of Eastern wisdom/culture/philosophy. Really bad book though.
August 10, 2014
library audiobook. I like Cotterill's stuff. He's moved on from the Siri series, now with a female lead. The Lao series was very political, which I liked, but had a lot of supernatural stuff which I didn't. The Jimm Juree series is antic,maybe over the top, but there's no supernatural stuff. I take on faith the accurate portrayal of the scene in rural Thailand. I didn't so much like the interior thinking of the murderer, but it was limited. Jimm Juree is attractive, she has sex with a character who seems like a parody of the author.
What gives this extra pop is the plot point that an American corporation, thinly disguised Nestle, is promoting formula and suppressing breast feeding by funding programs in the developing world (rural Thailand). This is totally real, totally happening, and is so much more real than the corporate conspiracies that we normally encounter in novels of this type. (BTW, I'm a public health scientist, claiming authority for this opinion.
What gives this extra pop is the plot point that an American corporation, thinly disguised Nestle, is promoting formula and suppressing breast feeding by funding programs in the developing world (rural Thailand). This is totally real, totally happening, and is so much more real than the corporate conspiracies that we normally encounter in novels of this type. (BTW, I'm a public health scientist, claiming authority for this opinion.
June 1, 2014
This third (and final?) entry in the Jimm Juree series is a bit odd. Not sure exactly why, but I didn't like it as much as the first ones. Whether it was a bit too much social commentary woven into the story, the introduction of the love interest for Jimm, English writer Conrad Coralbank whom I kept wondering whether the author was using to poke fun at himself, or just that the whole scenario was beyond the pale of far-fetchedness, I don't know.
I'm hoping beyond hope for another Dr. Siri book.
I'm hoping beyond hope for another Dr. Siri book.
October 7, 2017
Quirky and delightful book -- wish that there were more books in the series.
March 25, 2021
I'm enjoying Colin Cotterill's Jimm Juree novels, although I wish I could pronounce the Thai names of the characters. Jimm and Arny and Sissi seem pretty intuitive, but how do you say Gaew? And does Capt. Kow's name rhyme with "cow" as in dairy or with "tow" as in truck?
There's suspense, humor and lots of family interaction, plus some insight into coastal life in a time of climate change, and the sinister influence of international marketing. I recommend this book for its exciting story line, its strong characters and its setting, a region where most of us Americans can only visit by video or by reading.
There's suspense, humor and lots of family interaction, plus some insight into coastal life in a time of climate change, and the sinister influence of international marketing. I recommend this book for its exciting story line, its strong characters and its setting, a region where most of us Americans can only visit by video or by reading.
August 29, 2023
The Axe Factor is Colin Cotterill’s third in his Jimm Juree mystery novels. Journalist Juree stumbles into a medical scandal involving a baby formula conglomerate that promotes misinformation about breastfeeding jeopardizing infant health in rural Thailand. Meanwhile an axe murderer is on the loose and Jimm’s relatives suspect it might be her new British-author boyfriend. As a monsoon storm approaches her family’s down and out beach motel the plot comes together. Fun characters but the plot is somewhat contrived.
April 8, 2022
A fun series; in all the books you think you know who did the deed, but...
April 22, 2014
Some time ago, Jimm Juree was an up-and-coming crime reporter for Chiang Mai’s paper of record, and felt that she was going places. Unfortunately, her mother had other ideas on the destination, and packed most of their odd and contentious family down to the southernmost part of Thailand � there to manage a dilapidated holiday resort in Maprao for reasons known only to her. Since then, Jimm’s writing has consisted of English translation, counter-scamming online charlatans, and the occasional fluff piece for the local rag.
Given that she’d much rather be writing about crime, death, and other mysterious happenings, one might think that it’s a good thing that the world seems intent on sending them her way. Unfortunately, this has the habit of making her a target � something she’s had some experience with by now. But she at least has the consolation that, if her wits can’t keep her ahead of the perpetrators, at least her contentious family has her back.
Which is a good thing, right about now, as what started as a fluff piece � interviewing a European author who’s settled in their neck of the woods � has percolated into a potentially deadly mystery.
The guy seems a typical, well-settled, middle-aged farang at first: big house, Burmese maid and handman, a little too flirty for his own good. But while Jimm can’t help but feel a little likewise attracted to the fellow � especially since intelligent, decent-looking suitors are far and few between down here in Maprao � there’s the issue of why his wife’s left him, and how creepy his employees seem to be.
Another issue is that his wife wouldn’t be the only woman to go missing, lately. One of the local doctors has vanished, after attending a medical conference. The plot thicks when it turns out she was all but hustled out of that conference by on-floor security after she started asking some uncomfortable questions, and her main colleague seems more angry to be asked about it than concerned about the lady’s welfare.
(Jimm’s mother’s disappeared, too, but she’s supposedly out on a boat with the dodgy fisherman they recently learned was their long-missing father. At least that’s where Jimm hopes she is, as she’s proving to be hard to get hold of�)
As Jimm searches for an answer, she starts encountering resistance. This comes in the form of increasingly-deadly threats from someone who may be the killer, but also “assistance� from her Grandfather the taciturn, retired cop, who’s convinced this Conrad Coralbank is most likely a killer.
And he has his own ideas on how to solve this case�
Those of you who’ve been reading Colin Cotterill for his Dr. Siri series � set in post-revolutionary, 1970′s Laos � may come to these books expecting a darkly funny romp in a foreign clime. Have no fear: you will indeed get that, and then some. But the Jimm Juree books also have a special something that greatly distinguishes them from Cotterill’s Laotian books � something that also distinguishes them from so many other semi-serious, exotic mystery series.
That something is Jimm’s singular clan, each with their own useful skills, personal secrets, and weird hang-ups. They argue and grumble and want to strangle one another, but when they finally circle the wagons, it’s something to behold. For all their bickering, misunderstandings, and disappointment, there is clearly love at work in these books, and even when they appear to be working at cross purposes, they somehow come together.
Cotterill’s clear affection for these characters shines through to the point where we care for them all � though we may still want to smack one or more of them silly for being so stupid and pig-headed. And that quality shines so brightly that, if you took the mystery out of the book, the story would still be well worth the read for its meditations on families: how they work, how they don’t, and how they all come together when the storm threatens.
If you like a witty, darkly-funny exotic mystery that will keep you guessing right up until the end, and leave you feeling good for having read it � as opposed to feeling like you just swam through muck and corpses, even if you have � The Axe Factor is the ticket. You may wish to read the previous two books (Killed at the Whim of a Hat and Grandad, There’s a Head on the Beach) first, though, as some of the subplots in this book mean more if you’ve watched them unfold in his previous works.
Given that she’d much rather be writing about crime, death, and other mysterious happenings, one might think that it’s a good thing that the world seems intent on sending them her way. Unfortunately, this has the habit of making her a target � something she’s had some experience with by now. But she at least has the consolation that, if her wits can’t keep her ahead of the perpetrators, at least her contentious family has her back.
Which is a good thing, right about now, as what started as a fluff piece � interviewing a European author who’s settled in their neck of the woods � has percolated into a potentially deadly mystery.
The guy seems a typical, well-settled, middle-aged farang at first: big house, Burmese maid and handman, a little too flirty for his own good. But while Jimm can’t help but feel a little likewise attracted to the fellow � especially since intelligent, decent-looking suitors are far and few between down here in Maprao � there’s the issue of why his wife’s left him, and how creepy his employees seem to be.
Another issue is that his wife wouldn’t be the only woman to go missing, lately. One of the local doctors has vanished, after attending a medical conference. The plot thicks when it turns out she was all but hustled out of that conference by on-floor security after she started asking some uncomfortable questions, and her main colleague seems more angry to be asked about it than concerned about the lady’s welfare.
(Jimm’s mother’s disappeared, too, but she’s supposedly out on a boat with the dodgy fisherman they recently learned was their long-missing father. At least that’s where Jimm hopes she is, as she’s proving to be hard to get hold of�)
As Jimm searches for an answer, she starts encountering resistance. This comes in the form of increasingly-deadly threats from someone who may be the killer, but also “assistance� from her Grandfather the taciturn, retired cop, who’s convinced this Conrad Coralbank is most likely a killer.
And he has his own ideas on how to solve this case�
Those of you who’ve been reading Colin Cotterill for his Dr. Siri series � set in post-revolutionary, 1970′s Laos � may come to these books expecting a darkly funny romp in a foreign clime. Have no fear: you will indeed get that, and then some. But the Jimm Juree books also have a special something that greatly distinguishes them from Cotterill’s Laotian books � something that also distinguishes them from so many other semi-serious, exotic mystery series.
That something is Jimm’s singular clan, each with their own useful skills, personal secrets, and weird hang-ups. They argue and grumble and want to strangle one another, but when they finally circle the wagons, it’s something to behold. For all their bickering, misunderstandings, and disappointment, there is clearly love at work in these books, and even when they appear to be working at cross purposes, they somehow come together.
Cotterill’s clear affection for these characters shines through to the point where we care for them all � though we may still want to smack one or more of them silly for being so stupid and pig-headed. And that quality shines so brightly that, if you took the mystery out of the book, the story would still be well worth the read for its meditations on families: how they work, how they don’t, and how they all come together when the storm threatens.
If you like a witty, darkly-funny exotic mystery that will keep you guessing right up until the end, and leave you feeling good for having read it � as opposed to feeling like you just swam through muck and corpses, even if you have � The Axe Factor is the ticket. You may wish to read the previous two books (Killed at the Whim of a Hat and Grandad, There’s a Head on the Beach) first, though, as some of the subplots in this book mean more if you’ve watched them unfold in his previous works.
August 11, 2014
Thai journalist Jimm Juree is back in an all new mystery in the book The Axe Factor by Colin Cotterill. I have enjoyed the previous two mysteries featuring the intrepid reporter and her wacky family, so I was hoping this book wouldn't disappoint. Now that I'm more familiar with the characters, I think I enjoyed this book the most so far.
Jimm is a 30-something freelance crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Mail newspaper. She was having something of a successful career in the big city when she was called home to help her mother with the family business, the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. Unfortunately, the run-down resort is woefully short on paying guests, which is probably a good thing, because the family members running the business all have better things to do. There's the mother, Mair, who spends her time rescuing stray animals and helping others, while early stage dementia makes her a somewhat unreliable source for any information. Brother Arny is a massive body-builder who unfortunately faints at the suggestion of blood, so he's of limited use in a fight. He's engaged to Gaew, a female body-builder who is the same age as his mother. Transgender sister Sissi doesn't live with the family, but the former beauty queen and computer expert is only a phone call away when someone's computer needs to be hacked. Rounding out the regulars is Grandad Jah, a taciturn retired traffic cop. There are also 3 bad tempered dogs and 2 cows who wander about the place at will.
In this adventure, Jimm is drawn into the mystery of a missing doctor. While trying to help her mother rescue a kitten, Jimm is severely scratched. When she goes to the clinic for rabies injections, the nurse confides that she believes one of the doctors has met with foul play. The female doctor had been extremely reliable, but she hasn't turned up for work in a while. Jimm begins to ask around, and finds out that Dr. Somluk has a reputation for causing trouble wherever she goes. Recently, she attended a medical conference and made a scene which caused her to be removed from the auditorium. As Jimm investigates further, she begins to wonder if the multi-national company that sponsored the conference might not be involved in the disappearance.
At the same time, another woman seems to have gone missing. This woman was the Thai wife of a British author who lives in the area. The author, Conrad Coralbank, is known for writing mystery novels set in the neighboring country of Laos. Jimm is sent out to interview him for the newspaper, and there is an immediate attraction between them. She isn't impressed with him, but when the interview she turns in to her editor is too bland, she has to meet with him again. This leads to something of a romance, although the mystery of the missing wife is always lurking in the background.
To add to the confusion, several blog entries (ominously listed as "found two weeks too late") are interspersed throughout the book, indicating that the writer has already killed and has Jimm in the frame as the next victim. But who is the blog's author? As a hurricane approaches, it's up to Jimm and her assorted band of helpers to try to trap the killer and find out where the missing women are.
I really enjoyed getting back to the shabby beach again and catching up with Jimm and her family of misfits. The book ended on something of a downer, so it will be interesting to see how they come back after this adventure! I enjoyed the (presumably genuine) signs taken from various places that have mangled English, such as the vending machine that was OUT OF CONTROL.
August 1, 2014
‘It’s how I earn my living.�
Yes, former big-city journalist and ‘English language doctor� Jimm Juree is still in exile at the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant in Maprao on the south coast of Thailand. Not much seems to happen here, but Jimm has almost managed to retain her sanity courtesy of an occasional online assignment, while writing to Clint Eastwood about her dream screenplay. Jimm’s still with her family: Arny, her musclehead brother, her Grandpa Jah and her idealistic mother Mair.
‘Please leave your values at the front desk.� (country hotel)
Jimm is asked by the local paper, the Chumphon News, to interview Conrad Coralbank, a well-known crime novel writer who lives in the area and is immediately swept off her feet. Grandad Jah and the flamboyant local policeman, Lieutenant Chompu are suspicious of Coralbank, and start watching him. It seems that Conrad’s wife has gone missing, as has a local doctor and Jimm becomes involved in trying to find out where they both are. In the meantime, Mair, despite being prone to seasickness, goes on a trip in the bay with Captain Kow, just as a storm starts to brew.
‘Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.� (hotel sign)
Oh, and just to add to the tension, we readers have access to anonymous diary entries that appear to be from a very descriptive, and determined, serial killer whose initials seem to be C.C. Will the reader work out who the serial killer is before anyone else is murdered? Jimm has access to some formidable resources: her (former brother, now) sister Sissi can track down almost anyone and anything online. But Jimm is just a little distracted by Conrad Coralbank, and her search for the missing doctor becomes interesting. It appears that the doctor had been protesting against the aggressive marketing of baby formula and may have trodden on some corporate toes.
‘It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foreigner if dressed as a man� (Buddhist temple)
So, will Jimm find true love (or just fulfilling lust) with Conrad Coralbank? Who’s the hot man Nurse Da is seeing? What is Mair doing with Captain Kow? Who has threatened Jimm with an axe, and why would someone try to poison the family’s dogs?
‘I had visions of mad dinosaurs queuing up at the 7-Eleven.�
This is the third in Colin Cotterrill’s Jimm Juree series, and while I don’t (yet) like them quite as much as his Doctor Siri series, Jimm and her amazing family and friends are growing on me. I enjoyed the humour, and was drawn into the mystery.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Yes, former big-city journalist and ‘English language doctor� Jimm Juree is still in exile at the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant in Maprao on the south coast of Thailand. Not much seems to happen here, but Jimm has almost managed to retain her sanity courtesy of an occasional online assignment, while writing to Clint Eastwood about her dream screenplay. Jimm’s still with her family: Arny, her musclehead brother, her Grandpa Jah and her idealistic mother Mair.
‘Please leave your values at the front desk.� (country hotel)
Jimm is asked by the local paper, the Chumphon News, to interview Conrad Coralbank, a well-known crime novel writer who lives in the area and is immediately swept off her feet. Grandad Jah and the flamboyant local policeman, Lieutenant Chompu are suspicious of Coralbank, and start watching him. It seems that Conrad’s wife has gone missing, as has a local doctor and Jimm becomes involved in trying to find out where they both are. In the meantime, Mair, despite being prone to seasickness, goes on a trip in the bay with Captain Kow, just as a storm starts to brew.
‘Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.� (hotel sign)
Oh, and just to add to the tension, we readers have access to anonymous diary entries that appear to be from a very descriptive, and determined, serial killer whose initials seem to be C.C. Will the reader work out who the serial killer is before anyone else is murdered? Jimm has access to some formidable resources: her (former brother, now) sister Sissi can track down almost anyone and anything online. But Jimm is just a little distracted by Conrad Coralbank, and her search for the missing doctor becomes interesting. It appears that the doctor had been protesting against the aggressive marketing of baby formula and may have trodden on some corporate toes.
‘It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foreigner if dressed as a man� (Buddhist temple)
So, will Jimm find true love (or just fulfilling lust) with Conrad Coralbank? Who’s the hot man Nurse Da is seeing? What is Mair doing with Captain Kow? Who has threatened Jimm with an axe, and why would someone try to poison the family’s dogs?
‘I had visions of mad dinosaurs queuing up at the 7-Eleven.�
This is the third in Colin Cotterrill’s Jimm Juree series, and while I don’t (yet) like them quite as much as his Doctor Siri series, Jimm and her amazing family and friends are growing on me. I enjoyed the humour, and was drawn into the mystery.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
January 12, 2019
I enjoyed the first two books in the series, especially as it was laugh-out-loud funny. This, however, is grimmer.
The reader knows, at the outset, that a homicidal maniac is thrilled by the first murder and already musing about refining the technique. Unaware, Jimm Juree accepts a freelance assignment to interview an ex-pat British writer and promises to look into the disappearance of a local doctor. And once again, curiosity draws Juree and her family and friends into danger.
The reader knows, at the outset, that a homicidal maniac is thrilled by the first murder and already musing about refining the technique. Unaware, Jimm Juree accepts a freelance assignment to interview an ex-pat British writer and promises to look into the disappearance of a local doctor. And once again, curiosity draws Juree and her family and friends into danger.
August 24, 2019
Great fun and a juicy mystery
Jimm Juree wends her way through another set of interesting mysteries, a conscientious doctor goes missing and Jimm is romantically pursued by a wealthy Western author. The two tales entwine and weave around each other. It becomes difficult to figure out which clue goes with which situation. The novel is very witty, fast paced and intriguing. Read and enjoy!
Jimm Juree wends her way through another set of interesting mysteries, a conscientious doctor goes missing and Jimm is romantically pursued by a wealthy Western author. The two tales entwine and weave around each other. It becomes difficult to figure out which clue goes with which situation. The novel is very witty, fast paced and intriguing. Read and enjoy!
November 13, 2014
I read this largely as part of my librarian's role to see if it is suitable for students. By and large it is, there would be no problem students from about Year 8 reading it. It is by the same author as Grandad, there's a Head on the Beach and has the same characters in it. Set in a sleepy Thai beach village a young woman fancies herself as a bit of a detective and gets into many scrapes as the mystery unfurls. It is definitely light weight and concentrates a fair bit on her love life, with some moderately explicit content. I didn't see the whodunit, but then I never do. I imagine a more discerning reader probably would have! The narrator's tone is quite irreverent throughout, and my guess is, would match very closely to the authors. It is an interesting read if you live in Thailand as a farang as there is quite a lot of reference to expat life which creates a smile. A goodish book, but not a great book.
January 20, 2015
As usual with the books in this series, I never know what to make of the weird entanglement of violence and humor. The book opens with a blog entry from an axe murderer reliving a first killing. Or could it just be fiction � a sketch from a ghoulish mystery writer with a name suspiciously similar to the author’s own? The heroine, English fixer-uper and sometime journalist Jimm Juree does not seem to be able to lose her sense of humor even under the most extreme circumstances. For example, when the murderer tries to warn her off by attempting to kill her dogs with a bowl of poisoned meat, she writes a screenplay about it. The dogs have an intense conversation wanting the meat so badly yet knowing that something is not quite right. And did I mention the hacking into Clint Eastwood’s email account to generously share scripts with him? Original and edgy, but not for the weak of stomach.
July 22, 2014
Another winner in this third (?) installment of the Jimm Juree mystery series. Who says cozy mysteries can't be well-written, intelligent, and funny? I don't know but they'd be pleasantly surprised by this series. I'm fascinated by male writers who choose a female protagonist. Like Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next, Cotterill does a superb job of plopping us into the trying yet humorous life of Jimm, an unemployed journalist, forced to move to a garbage-laden stretch of beach in rural Thailand with her brother, Arny, brother turned sister, Sissi, and curmudgeonly Granddad Jah by her New-Agey, "not playing with a full deck," infuriating, but endearing Mair (mom). And since their move, Jimm seems to attract murder and mayhem at every turn.
Who knew solving murders could be so delightful? Highly recommended.
Who knew solving murders could be so delightful? Highly recommended.
June 18, 2014
Born in London, Colin Cotterill now lives in Thailand. In 2006, his novel “Thirty-Three Teeth� won a Dilys Award. “The Axe Factor� is the third novel in the Jimm Juree mystery series. Jimm Juree is a former crime reporter who is stuck with her eccentric family managing a run-down beach resort. Jimm keeps her sanity writing online assignments and thinking about her dream screenplay. When Dr. Somluk (who champions the rights of rural mothers) goes missing, Jimm takes on the story only to find the plot to be much thicker than she ever imagined. Cotterill is well known for his Dr. Siri Paiboun series, but this series is very good being both funny and quirky (and sometimes bloody).
September 18, 2014
The Axe Factor by Colin Cotterill is another winning installment in his Jimm Juree mystery series. With each successive book, I enjoy Jimm Juree (and her eccentric family members and kooky, quirky friends) even more. Although the crimes committed this time around seem particularly gruesome and gory, thankfully, the characters' witty banter, wisecracks, and dark humor help to alleviate the horror. Excellent audio book! Reader Kim Mai Guest did an exceptional job bringing Jimm Juree and company to life.
Set in Thailand, the Jimm Juree mystery series is highly recommended for those mystery fans who like their stories set in exotic locales and exploring other cultures through fiction.
Set in Thailand, the Jimm Juree mystery series is highly recommended for those mystery fans who like their stories set in exotic locales and exploring other cultures through fiction.
May 18, 2014
I'm a huge fan of Colin Cotterill's quirky characters, both in this and the Dr. Siri series. Following is my favorite little passage from this book which illustrates just what I enjoy:
#####
"I wanted you all to get used to not having me around," said Mair. "It's like the mother hen leaving the hive and all the workers having to sort out where to store the honey without a technical adviser. And certainly without jars. It was such a lovely place and the staff were so polite."
I assumed she'd stopped referring to the chicken hive.
#####
#####
"I wanted you all to get used to not having me around," said Mair. "It's like the mother hen leaving the hive and all the workers having to sort out where to store the honey without a technical adviser. And certainly without jars. It was such a lovely place and the staff were so polite."
I assumed she'd stopped referring to the chicken hive.
#####
June 11, 2014
A wonderful red herring that I won’t speak of here, but Colin Cotterill makes a cameo as Conrad Coralbank, a rich, slutty writer intent on despoiling the local women, including Jimm Juree. As always in this series, a wonderful wacky set of characters, the family growing again to include even more nuts. Includes the back story of why Mair returned to Lovely Resort on the Gulf and sought out her husband, Jimm and Arny’s father. Ends with a cliff hanger! A must read!
October 27, 2014
3.5
Jimm continues to grow on me. In this addition to the series, she ends up in situations that I find less than plausible, but that almost doesn't matter because it's entertaining and fun to read her take on various people. There are more funny/flippant one-liners in this than in the past two. I did find some of the one-liners to be used to simply dismiss rather than investigate a character or situation further, but it's a quick, silly read. I love that the book shows the characters as modern Asians rather than as stereotypical traditional ones.
Jimm continues to grow on me. In this addition to the series, she ends up in situations that I find less than plausible, but that almost doesn't matter because it's entertaining and fun to read her take on various people. There are more funny/flippant one-liners in this than in the past two. I did find some of the one-liners to be used to simply dismiss rather than investigate a character or situation further, but it's a quick, silly read. I love that the book shows the characters as modern Asians rather than as stereotypical traditional ones.
January 31, 2015
Well there was a twist and it was a stunner. There was also one hell of a cliff hanger at the end.
The characters are wonderful and so quirky. Mom and her pushy attitude and her insanity, Arny who is now a hero even though the sight of blood makes him pass out, Grandpa who likes to play cop when Jimm needs some kind of help, Capt. Kow who is the love of Mom's life and Chom the sweet gay policeman who is now living at their rundown resort.
Like I said before parts were graphically grisly, take note from the title! Lots of humor and surprises.
The characters are wonderful and so quirky. Mom and her pushy attitude and her insanity, Arny who is now a hero even though the sight of blood makes him pass out, Grandpa who likes to play cop when Jimm needs some kind of help, Capt. Kow who is the love of Mom's life and Chom the sweet gay policeman who is now living at their rundown resort.
Like I said before parts were graphically grisly, take note from the title! Lots of humor and surprises.
January 4, 2016
I love Colin Cotterill, I can't help it the man is such a gifted writer and his books are just such fun and really such a delight to read.
This one is the third in in his humorous mystery series that takes place in Southern Thailand and stars all the fascinating and hilarious characters of the Jimm Juree family.
There are so many twists and turns in this plot that I can even begin to describe it without giving it away, just let me say that there quite a few times while reading the book that I had to put it down because I was laughing so hard.
This one is the third in in his humorous mystery series that takes place in Southern Thailand and stars all the fascinating and hilarious characters of the Jimm Juree family.
There are so many twists and turns in this plot that I can even begin to describe it without giving it away, just let me say that there quite a few times while reading the book that I had to put it down because I was laughing so hard.
February 5, 2016
Jim Juree #3. Jimm searches for a missing doctor and begins dating a reputedly famous author. The doctor may be missing because she confronted a big corporation about luring mothers into hooking their babies on formula instead of breastfeeding them. The hunt, of course, lands Jimm ultimately in peril. The author may or may not be an axe murderer. He's amusing because his fame is for writing books set in Laos (as Cotterill does), and Jimm can't imagine how anyone could write an interesting book about Laos.
August 8, 2014
I finished reading this on May 9th. However the date showing is August 8, 2014. This is not correct.
I thought that it was a wonderful, funny, interesting and intelligent book as is all of Mr. Cotterill's books. My only complaint is that I have to wait for the next one in this series and in any of his other writings. Whenever he releases a new book, I will be one of the first to order/pre-order.
I thought that it was a wonderful, funny, interesting and intelligent book as is all of Mr. Cotterill's books. My only complaint is that I have to wait for the next one in this series and in any of his other writings. Whenever he releases a new book, I will be one of the first to order/pre-order.
June 12, 2014
Erstwhile jounalist Jimm Juree wrangles an interview with an American writer whose much-younger wife has suddenly departed the home, and of whom there is not a trace. Meanwhile, readers are treated to the musings of a newly-minted axe muderer. The gang's all here: Jimm's sister (who used to be her brother), her other brother, mom, grandfather, and the flamboyantly gay Lieutenant Chompu. Hilarious. Write faster, Mr. Cotterill.
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