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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
The first time I tried to read this, I did not like the character all that much. After hearing the author give a talk, I decided to give the series another try. I ended up liking it quite a bit, and will read the rest of the series.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Quirky characters I want to live next door to! Unique storyline I totally wasn't expecting! A fun read.
I've read all of Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri series (which I hope he continues), and this has the same wry humor and sense of the absurd, minus some of the cynical edge and supernatural elements of the Dr. Siri series.
Jimm Juree and her family are quirky characters, who initially seem a bit ridiculous - but they can, and will, surprise you. I liked the unexpected depth of the characters, and the exploration of Thai society and culture.
Jimm Juree and her family are quirky characters, who initially seem a bit ridiculous - but they can, and will, surprise you. I liked the unexpected depth of the characters, and the exploration of Thai society and culture.
This is a new series. Starts of with a bang. I look forward to reading the next installment.
Moving away from 1970s Communist Laos to begin a new mystery series, Cotterill arranges up a promising setting in contemporary southern Thailand, where Jimm, the aspiring crime reporter, has been relocated by her possibly senile mother who also spent the family resources on a run-down beach resort. Accompanied by Grandpa, Thailand's last honest traffic cop, Jimm's drag queen brother the computer hacker and a pack of feral dogs, the family quickly lands in the middle of a decades-old land deal complete with two dead hippies in a 1971 VW bus, a murdered Buddhist abbot and the disinterest of the local police, most of whom would rather be elsewhere. Cotterill, a British journalist who lives in Thailand, has a keen ear for both local nuances and family dysfunction, and an understanding that police procedurals in other parts of the world don't follow exactly the same procedures when it is CSI: Pak Nam.
Going through withdrawal waiting for the next Dr. Siri Paiboun novel, I thought I would give this series a try. Where I fell instantly in love with Dr. Siri, it took me almost until the end of this book to start to feel affection for any of the characters, because the narrator isn't as instantly lovable. But she grew on me.
I didn't really care about the mystery she needed to solve (that's not the point of the book to me, in the same way that Dr. Siri's mysteries are somewhat tangential to seeing how the characters develop). It's not fair to judge a series based on how well I love another series by the same author, but I can't help but compare the two.
I didn't really care about the mystery she needed to solve (that's not the point of the book to me, in the same way that Dr. Siri's mysteries are somewhat tangential to seeing how the characters develop). It's not fair to judge a series based on how well I love another series by the same author, but I can't help but compare the two.
Although I am not entirely satisfied with the resolution of the book's two mysteries, I did love the characters, unusual setting, and writing style. Jimm's many asides about Thai culture often made me laugh aloud, as did the delightfully absurd quotes from GW Bush that began each chapter. I will likely read another book in this series.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated