Dominik reviewed Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill
Charming crime novel
4 stars
I really liked this one. It was a good, easy read.
English language
Published Jan. 13, 2011 by St. Martin's Press.
4 stars
(2 reviews)
The launch of a brand new series by the internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed author of The Coroner's Lunch
With worldwide critical acclaim, Colin Cotterill is one of the most highly regarded "cult favorite" crime writers today. Now, with this new series, starting with Killed at the Whim of a Hat, Cotterill is poised to break into the mainstream. Set in present day rural Thailand, Cotterill is as sharp and witty, yet more engaging and charming, than ever before.
Jimm Juree was a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail with a somewhat eccentric family―a mother who might be drifting mentally; a grandfather―a retired cop―who rarely talks; a younger brother obsessed with body-building, and a transgendered, former beauty pageant queen, former older brother. When Jimm is forced to follow her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she's convinced her career―maybe her life―is over. So when …
The launch of a brand new series by the internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed author of The Coroner's Lunch
With worldwide critical acclaim, Colin Cotterill is one of the most highly regarded "cult favorite" crime writers today. Now, with this new series, starting with Killed at the Whim of a Hat, Cotterill is poised to break into the mainstream. Set in present day rural Thailand, Cotterill is as sharp and witty, yet more engaging and charming, than ever before.
Jimm Juree was a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail with a somewhat eccentric family―a mother who might be drifting mentally; a grandfather―a retired cop―who rarely talks; a younger brother obsessed with body-building, and a transgendered, former beauty pageant queen, former older brother. When Jimm is forced to follow her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she's convinced her career―maybe her life―is over. So when a van containing the skeletal remains of two hippies, one of them wearing a hat, is inexplicably unearthed in a local farmer's field, Jimm is thrilled. Shortly thereafter an abbot at a local Buddhist temple is viciously murdered, with the temple's monk and nun the only suspects.
Suddenly Jimm's new life becomes somewhat more promising―and a lot more deadly. And if Jimm is to make the most of this opportunity, and unravel the mysteries that underlie these inexplicable events, it will take luck, perseverance, and the help of her entire family.
One of Library Journal's Best Mystery Books of 2011
patchworkbunny reviewed Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill
Review of 'Killed at the Whim of a Hat' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Jimm Juree is a crime reporter, working her way to the top with national Thai newspapers until the day her mother sells up the family shop and buys a holiday resort on the Gulf of Siam. There's not a lot of news in the small fishing village she now calls home and she's soon fed up of eating fish. When two skeletons are discovered buried underground, Jimm can smell a story and begins an investigation posing as a big city reporter helping the police. Then when a monk is found dead, all the connects the two cases is the presence of a hat.
It's a real entertaining read with a cast of unusual and interesting characters there are never taken too far into farce. It's a great slice of modern Thailand, a country where tradition meets technology in every day life. There's Jimm's brother who is now her sister,embroiled in …
Jimm Juree is a crime reporter, working her way to the top with national Thai newspapers until the day her mother sells up the family shop and buys a holiday resort on the Gulf of Siam. There's not a lot of news in the small fishing village she now calls home and she's soon fed up of eating fish. When two skeletons are discovered buried underground, Jimm can smell a story and begins an investigation posing as a big city reporter helping the police. Then when a monk is found dead, all the connects the two cases is the presence of a hat.
It's a real entertaining read with a cast of unusual and interesting characters there are never taken too far into farce. It's a great slice of modern Thailand, a country where tradition meets technology in every day life. There's Jimm's brother who is now her sister,embroiled in a number of internet scams and dubious websites and her body builder brother who is eternally single. Her mother who lovse the stray dogs of the neighbourhood and trying to matchmake Jimm with the less than inspiring locals.
The title is taken from a George Bush quote where he got his metaphors mixed up. Each chapter starts with a quote from the ex-president which seems odd at first but it is explained.
The author, Colin Cotterill, is an Englishman who now lives in Thailand. I think his outsider perspective is the ideal way to observe some of the idiosyncrasies of the country's way of life. I will definitely be reading more of his books).
Subjects
- Fiction, mystery & detective, women sleuths
- Thailand, fiction
- Women journalists, fiction
- Crime, fiction