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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I am a huge fan of colin Cotterill and this is the first in a new mystery series for him. His writing is charming and witty as always and I look forward to reading more with these characters.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fun cozy type mystery. I had a hard time getting into the book, but once I did I wanted to keep reading to the end. Cotterill intertwines three mysteries for Jimm Juree to solve, which she does with the help of her Grandpa and her brother turned sister. Colorful, quirky characters. Strong plot. Great use of metaphors.
Lots of unexpected fun – interesting locale, fun likeable characters – overall cute, but it a totally enjoyable way.
Liked it. Crazy character type of mystery. Light and entertaining.
I absolutely adore Cotterill's Laos-set "Dr. Siri" series, and have pressed it upon many friends with excellent results. When I saw he had a new series set in Thailand, I looked forward to it, having spent a very enjoyable several weeks there once. Unfortunately, I am sad to report that this first book in the new series is rather limp and I can't recommend it to anyone.
It revolves around a 30ish single woman and her wacky family and their misadventures as they sell the family business in Chang Mai and move to Chumpon province. This backwater province lies about halfway down the neck of the country, bordering the tip of Burma to the West, and the Gulf of Thailand to the East -- a far cry from the metropolitan hustle and bustle of the northern city of Chang Mai. As Jimm (the heroine) and her family try and make a go of the ramshackle resort they've bought, murder comes to town.
The problem is that neither the characters nor the plot are particularly interesting. Jimm is a nonstop whiner/grumbler and surrounding her with a cast of outsized characters doesn't make her any more fun to be around. There's her bodybuilder brother who serves as muscle when necessary, her dotty mother -- who may or may not be going senile, her reclusive gender-bending sister who stayed in Chang Mai and is a world-class hacker (very convenient, he?), a grumpy old grandfather who possesses hidden depths, and various others. But it all feels more like shtick than real-life people.
There are actually two murder storylines -- one of an abbot who was investigating the potential for adultery at the local temple, the other a decades-old murder of two people found in a buried VW camper van. The latter is kind of intriguing in a quirky way, but not enough to really make things fun. The former is the kind of murder plot I can't stand -- relying on a totally ridiculous motive and cartoonish villain who can only be uncovered with the skills of a convenient expert ally (the hacker "sister"). There is some good local Thai color here and there, but on the whole it's a very disappointing book.
It revolves around a 30ish single woman and her wacky family and their misadventures as they sell the family business in Chang Mai and move to Chumpon province. This backwater province lies about halfway down the neck of the country, bordering the tip of Burma to the West, and the Gulf of Thailand to the East -- a far cry from the metropolitan hustle and bustle of the northern city of Chang Mai. As Jimm (the heroine) and her family try and make a go of the ramshackle resort they've bought, murder comes to town.
The problem is that neither the characters nor the plot are particularly interesting. Jimm is a nonstop whiner/grumbler and surrounding her with a cast of outsized characters doesn't make her any more fun to be around. There's her bodybuilder brother who serves as muscle when necessary, her dotty mother -- who may or may not be going senile, her reclusive gender-bending sister who stayed in Chang Mai and is a world-class hacker (very convenient, he?), a grumpy old grandfather who possesses hidden depths, and various others. But it all feels more like shtick than real-life people.
There are actually two murder storylines -- one of an abbot who was investigating the potential for adultery at the local temple, the other a decades-old murder of two people found in a buried VW camper van. The latter is kind of intriguing in a quirky way, but not enough to really make things fun. The former is the kind of murder plot I can't stand -- relying on a totally ridiculous motive and cartoonish villain who can only be uncovered with the skills of a convenient expert ally (the hacker "sister"). There is some good local Thai color here and there, but on the whole it's a very disappointing book.
This review and this rating have been revised. The review can now be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
I would say closer to 3.75 stars.
I really really wanted to like this. And by the end I did, but the beginning was so...slow. It must be hard to start a new series with new characters. Hard to step into their minds and see what they see, after yrs of doing Dr. Siri mysteries. And I feel like by the end Cotterill did get inside his new characters. So I will read the next one. But this one wasn't the best he has ever written.
I really really wanted to like this. And by the end I did, but the beginning was so...slow. It must be hard to start a new series with new characters. Hard to step into their minds and see what they see, after yrs of doing Dr. Siri mysteries. And I feel like by the end Cotterill did get inside his new characters. So I will read the next one. But this one wasn't the best he has ever written.