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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
2.5★
Our local library became sick of members vandalising books to record what they thought about the read, so they now stick a sheet of paper at the front of the book & members can put their mark there. Quite often they place one line reviews - especially if they hate the book! Yes, I know they could join Goodreads & record that way instead, but they don't.
I was sick, so my husband picked up my book list for me.
If I had been on my feet this and the tepid reviews from most of my friends might have made me put this particular book back on the shelf.
I was pretty unenthusiastic about [b:The Coroner's Lunch|243353|The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)|Colin Cotterill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436464374l/243353._SY75_.jpg|235766] but I found enough to like that I thought I might like a different series by Cotterill better.
Cotterill captured the slightly off kilter feeling I have had both times I was in Thailand and there were some genuinely funny lines. Sometimes the story was really interesting and sometimes I didn't have any trouble putting this book aside for days on end.
For most of the book I was enjoying it more than [b:The Coroner's Lunch|243353|The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)|Colin Cotterill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436464374l/243353._SY75_.jpg|235766]. But a terrible ending meant that only one of the mysteries was resolved. I felt disappointed to be honest.
I have not finished reading series by [a:Vanda Symon|895593|Vanda Symon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1194514131p2/895593.jpg], [a:Rex Stout|41112|Rex Stout|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201136975p2/41112.jpg], [a:Erle Stanley Gardner|10214|Erle Stanley Gardner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1211517281p2/10214.jpg], [a:Dorothy L. Sayers|8734|Dorothy L. Sayers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519840173p2/8734.jpg] and [a:Keigo Higashino|117366|Keigo Higashino|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1289592746p2/117366.jpg] Other than the latter, this authors have all been a bit uneven for me (yes,even Sayers!) but even their weakest offerings have been better than the mild liking I feel for Cotterill's writing.
Our local library became sick of members vandalising books to record what they thought about the read, so they now stick a sheet of paper at the front of the book & members can put their mark there. Quite often they place one line reviews - especially if they hate the book! Yes, I know they could join Goodreads & record that way instead, but they don't.
I was sick, so my husband picked up my book list for me.
If I had been on my feet this and the tepid reviews from most of my friends might have made me put this particular book back on the shelf.
I was pretty unenthusiastic about [b:The Coroner's Lunch|243353|The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)|Colin Cotterill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436464374l/243353._SY75_.jpg|235766] but I found enough to like that I thought I might like a different series by Cotterill better.
Cotterill captured the slightly off kilter feeling I have had both times I was in Thailand and there were some genuinely funny lines. Sometimes the story was really interesting and sometimes I didn't have any trouble putting this book aside for days on end.
For most of the book I was enjoying it more than [b:The Coroner's Lunch|243353|The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)|Colin Cotterill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436464374l/243353._SY75_.jpg|235766]. But a terrible ending meant that only one of the mysteries was resolved. I felt disappointed to be honest.
I have not finished reading series by [a:Vanda Symon|895593|Vanda Symon|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1194514131p2/895593.jpg], [a:Rex Stout|41112|Rex Stout|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201136975p2/41112.jpg], [a:Erle Stanley Gardner|10214|Erle Stanley Gardner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1211517281p2/10214.jpg], [a:Dorothy L. Sayers|8734|Dorothy L. Sayers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519840173p2/8734.jpg] and [a:Keigo Higashino|117366|Keigo Higashino|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1289592746p2/117366.jpg] Other than the latter, this authors have all been a bit uneven for me (yes,even Sayers!) but even their weakest offerings have been better than the mild liking I feel for Cotterill's writing.
A unique setting for a mystery as our cynical protagonist fights against and occasionally with the corruption in the Thai police to solve an unexpected murder in her small village.
Enjoyable read.
I've always like colin Cotterill's.
Easy popcorny read but if you read carefully a little bit of background material sneaks in - the issues in Thailand - government, corruption, racism, sneak in too.
Not sure I like his female narrator as much as his male one set in Laos, she just doesn't ring as true to me somehow, but not overwhelming so either.
Will I read the next on in the series, perhaps, not a definite no, but not a definite yes either.
I've always like colin Cotterill's.
Easy popcorny read but if you read carefully a little bit of background material sneaks in - the issues in Thailand - government, corruption, racism, sneak in too.
Not sure I like his female narrator as much as his male one set in Laos, she just doesn't ring as true to me somehow, but not overwhelming so either.
Will I read the next on in the series, perhaps, not a definite no, but not a definite yes either.
I really liked this. It reminded me a lot of the Alexander McCall Smith books set in Africa. I will definitely read another of these stories. I recommended it for book club, and I am worried that no one else will like it, but we will see
Meh. Some of the characters were amusing. Overall I didn't feel very engaged, or care about any of them.
Colin Cotterill’s Dr Siri mystery series has been a favorite of mine for years. I grieved last year when he published the final volume. What is a fan of this quirky, sarcasm laden, well-plotted mystery series to do? Start on his other series, the Jimm Juree mysteries.
Loved it. Now I have a new cast of characters to get to know. And just like I fell in love with the regions and people of Laos by reading the Dr Siri books, I am finding myself falling for southern Thailand. I love internationally set books that drive me to Google maps, history, culture, etc.
The #1 volume in this series has an original, well plotted and surprising mystery (2 mysteries actually). 90% of the humor was perfect, and a bit landed with a thud, this the 4 stars instead of five. At times I wanted a little pause in the running sarcasm, but overall the mystery and the story behind the characters was well-paced. I think Mr. Cotterill will find the right balance - and I have the second book in the series ready to start, so I’ll let you know.
So - if you enjoy quirky mysteries set in interesting, Non-USA locations, this is an author to explore. You’ll know pretty fast if his humor tickles your funny bone. If it does, your in for a treat.
Loved it. Now I have a new cast of characters to get to know. And just like I fell in love with the regions and people of Laos by reading the Dr Siri books, I am finding myself falling for southern Thailand. I love internationally set books that drive me to Google maps, history, culture, etc.
The #1 volume in this series has an original, well plotted and surprising mystery (2 mysteries actually). 90% of the humor was perfect, and a bit landed with a thud, this the 4 stars instead of five. At times I wanted a little pause in the running sarcasm, but overall the mystery and the story behind the characters was well-paced. I think Mr. Cotterill will find the right balance - and I have the second book in the series ready to start, so I’ll let you know.
So - if you enjoy quirky mysteries set in interesting, Non-USA locations, this is an author to explore. You’ll know pretty fast if his humor tickles your funny bone. If it does, your in for a treat.
I liked this book very much. Jurree's mother sells their convenience store and buys an old hotel that is very rundown. The family is extremely upset at being moved from the city to the middle of nowhere. Jimm has aspirations to be a crime reporter at the paper where she works - as soon as the current reporter dies. Her younger brother is a body builder and is forced to leave his gym. Jimm's grandfather, a retired policeman can no longer sit and watch the traffic - there isn't much in the small town where the hotel is. But then, an abbott is found dead at the local monastery. And a farmer, digging a new well for his palms, finds an old VW bus with 2 people in the front seats on his property. The people in the bus are skeletons now, but Jimm is determined to find what happened and how they came to be buried on the farmer's land. Which gets pretty complicated. She joins forces with an officer in the local police station and her grandfather decides she needs some assistance. So things get pretty lively in the small town.
‘People who connect the past and the future may know the present.’
This is the first instalment in Colin Cotterill’s new series about the ‘almost award-winning’ female crime reporter Jimm Juree. The novel is set in southern Thailand.
Jimm and her relatives move from northern Thailand to the south to run the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. There’s Jimm, her mother Mair, her bodybuilding brother Arny and her Grandad Jah. Her sister, Sissi, who used to be her older brother Somkiet, stays in the north. Jimm isn’t at all keen on living in the south, and when she hears of the discovery of a buried Volkswagen Kombi -complete with two skeletal passengers (one of whom is wearing a hat) - Jimm is off to the scene on a bicycle. Marching up to the police, she announces: ‘Officers, my name is Jimm Juree, deputy crime editor at the Chiang Mai Mail (I deliberately omitted tense) and I’m here to report on this case.’
One official invites her to lunch, which she accepts, and another, Lieutenant Chompu befriends her. ‘Lieutenant Chompu really was a policeman. You couldn’t let those minute traces of nail polish fool you. He knew his job.’
Soon after, a monk is murdered in the nearby town of Lang Suan. Jimm’s out of the way location, which she was convinced would see the end of her career as a crime writer, is suddenly a very busy place.
Each chapter features a George W Bush malapropism, and some way into the story we learn that Jimm undertook a course at University called ‘Public Oration and Oral Improvisation’ (Pooi for short), and studied the speaking style of President George W Bush. One particular malapropism becomes relevant to the story:
‘Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.’ (George W Bush 17/9/2004)
Because there is so much information contained in the opening chapters of the novel, it takes a little while for the story to progress. But progress it does, with the kind of wit that will be familiar to those of us who enjoyed the Dr Siri series. There are a number of twists and turns, and hats are important.
Jimm is an interesting character, and her family is full of surprises. So is the local police force. Between them, they manage to solve one mystery and work out the most likely explanation for the other.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. Jimm Juree isn’t Dr Siri, and Thailand as depicted by Mr Cotterill is largely free from the political undertones of the stories set in Laos. But that’s okay: change can be good. Additionally, there’s another Dr Siri novel due shortly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This is the first instalment in Colin Cotterill’s new series about the ‘almost award-winning’ female crime reporter Jimm Juree. The novel is set in southern Thailand.
Jimm and her relatives move from northern Thailand to the south to run the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. There’s Jimm, her mother Mair, her bodybuilding brother Arny and her Grandad Jah. Her sister, Sissi, who used to be her older brother Somkiet, stays in the north. Jimm isn’t at all keen on living in the south, and when she hears of the discovery of a buried Volkswagen Kombi -complete with two skeletal passengers (one of whom is wearing a hat) - Jimm is off to the scene on a bicycle. Marching up to the police, she announces: ‘Officers, my name is Jimm Juree, deputy crime editor at the Chiang Mai Mail (I deliberately omitted tense) and I’m here to report on this case.’
One official invites her to lunch, which she accepts, and another, Lieutenant Chompu befriends her. ‘Lieutenant Chompu really was a policeman. You couldn’t let those minute traces of nail polish fool you. He knew his job.’
Soon after, a monk is murdered in the nearby town of Lang Suan. Jimm’s out of the way location, which she was convinced would see the end of her career as a crime writer, is suddenly a very busy place.
Each chapter features a George W Bush malapropism, and some way into the story we learn that Jimm undertook a course at University called ‘Public Oration and Oral Improvisation’ (Pooi for short), and studied the speaking style of President George W Bush. One particular malapropism becomes relevant to the story:
‘Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.’ (George W Bush 17/9/2004)
Because there is so much information contained in the opening chapters of the novel, it takes a little while for the story to progress. But progress it does, with the kind of wit that will be familiar to those of us who enjoyed the Dr Siri series. There are a number of twists and turns, and hats are important.
Jimm is an interesting character, and her family is full of surprises. So is the local police force. Between them, they manage to solve one mystery and work out the most likely explanation for the other.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. Jimm Juree isn’t Dr Siri, and Thailand as depicted by Mr Cotterill is largely free from the political undertones of the stories set in Laos. But that’s okay: change can be good. Additionally, there’s another Dr Siri novel due shortly.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
First in series
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I noticed this book a few years ago when I was doing an "Around the World Reading Challenge." It didn't spark my interest then, but I seem to be reading more from the Asian geographic region, so this book came up as a suggestion recently.
Will I read more of the series?Probably Not Maybe Likely Most Likely Definitely - It was a cute and funny book. The mystery solution was a bit weak, but other elements in the book compensated for that.
The narrator was Jeany Park. I think she did a good job, but I wonder what others think of her accents.
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
Why I added this book to my TBR pile: I noticed this book a few years ago when I was doing an "Around the World Reading Challenge." It didn't spark my interest then, but I seem to be reading more from the Asian geographic region, so this book came up as a suggestion recently.
Will I read more of the series?
The narrator was Jeany Park. I think she did a good job, but I wonder what others think of her accents.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Minor: Gore, Murder
This book really disappointed me. Which is too bad, because it had a lot of potential. The mysteries are set up to be really intriguing. And the characters are wonderful.
Unfortunately, the story fell flat. The ending left me feeling completely unsatisfied. There ended up being no real mystery.
The main character is pretty caustic and annoyed me more as the story went on.
At one point, the main character wrote that she had requested an English speaking country for an exchange program in college, and instead got Australia. That's how I felt about this book. The language was not easy to read. The jokes were often so camouflaged that they didn't even make sense.
It was a pleasant book, but just not compelling enough that I will pick up another.
Unfortunately, the story fell flat. The ending left me feeling completely unsatisfied. There ended up being no real mystery.
The main character is pretty caustic and annoyed me more as the story went on.
At one point, the main character wrote that she had requested an English speaking country for an exchange program in college, and instead got Australia. That's how I felt about this book. The language was not easy to read. The jokes were often so camouflaged that they didn't even make sense.
It was a pleasant book, but just not compelling enough that I will pick up another.