Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach

Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill  324 pp.

This is the second book in the Jimm Juree Mystery series. Jimm, a former crime reporter for a Thai newspaper, is still living at the failed beach resort with her very eccentric family. The resort is in the south of Thailand where you can't find "decent cappuccino, pizza, wine, cheese, ice cream, black forest cake, or cherries--all those things that make a civilized society." It's monsoon season so, except for a somewhat suspicious mother and daughter, they have no customers. While on her morning walk, Jimm discovers a human head on the beach which the local police are not interested in investigating. Eventually Jimm is surrounded by multiple mysteries. Who is in her mother's room causing the headboard to bang against the wall at night? Who stole a local vendor's monkey? What is the real story behind the mysterious mother and daughter? How does the severed head connect to the illegal trade in Burmese slaves? And why has Jimm become obsessed with sex? The ending is a bit far-fetched, but the cast of quirky characters make this an enjoyable, if sometimes silly escapade.

As in the first book, Cotterill begins each chapter with an amusing "quote." In this case, they are mis-sung popular song lyrics from karaoke performances. My favorites are "All my jeans are filled" (Love me Tender) "Start spreading manure" (New York, New York). 

Killed at the Whim of a Hat

Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill 374 pp.

This is the first book in the new Jimm Juree mystery series. Jimm Juree was a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail in Thailand until her mother sells the family shop and buys a run down resort in southern Thailand. Jimm moves with her eclectic collection of a family: a mother who might have early stage dementia; her retired cop grandfather, a body-builder younger brother, and her transsexual former brother, now her sister. After thinking the move has destroyed her career a buried VW van containing the skeletons of two 1970s hippies is discovered by a local farmer and Jimm gets involved in the investigation. Then the she learns of the brutal stabbing of a Buddhist abbot that is being covered up. Jimm sets out to find the reason for the cover up and the killer with gay police Lieutenant Chompu. This is an entertaining story with lots of humor and quirky characters along with the whodunit, which is almost secondary to the characters. The title stems from an actual quote by George W. Bush. Other skewed quotes from Dubya begin each chapter. Eventually there is an explanation for that. I'm looking forward to the second book, Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach.