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jimmacsyr's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable book. I think it is much better than the first.
henrismum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
#3 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022. There are only three in the series, so commitment is both made and ended here.)
Will I read other installments? Probably Not Maybe Definitely
This was published in 2013. Since that's the ten year mark, this series will go on my "Retired and Dead" list. It seems very unlikely more books will be written.
Comparison to others in series:Not as good About the same Better
This was a good series and this book wrapped up some ends while leaving others loose. I like Jimm Juree and her odd family; too bad I won't hear more from them.
The narrator was Kim Mai Guest. She did a good job.
Source: Hoopla
#3 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022. There are only three in the series, so commitment is both made and ended here.)
Will I read other installments?
This was published in 2013. Since that's the ten year mark, this series will go on my "Retired and Dead" list. It seems very unlikely more books will be written.
Comparison to others in series:
This was a good series and this book wrapped up some ends while leaving others loose. I like Jimm Juree and her odd family; too bad I won't hear more from them.
The narrator was Kim Mai Guest. She did a good job.
Source: Hoopla
writes_and_wrongs's review against another edition
4.0
I really love all the quirky characters in this series.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘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
lisanne624's review against another edition
4.0
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.
zainabathumani's review
4.0
I reviewed it on my blog here - http://bit.ly/2bXk0SN
Overall, I thought it was brilliantly written in a fun and rather light-hearted manner (especially for a crime novel).
Overall, I thought it was brilliantly written in a fun and rather light-hearted manner (especially for a crime novel).
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