The Bible of Dirty Jokes

The Bible of Dirty Jokes by Eileen Pollack, 307 pages.

As we meet Ketzel Weinrach she is a recent initiate to widowhood. She grew up imitating the comedians who performed at her parent's Borscht Belt resort. She could do dead-on imitations of Henny Youngman, Zero Mostel, and all the greats of the 1950s and 60s. As an adult, when she decided to take to the stage these imitations didn't take her very far. Comedy was shifting and Ketzel was being left behind, but then Ketzel met Morty and things were good for a while.
Ketzel has always been a little bit our of sync with the world around her. Her parents and her brothers were always playing a little bit loose with the rules. Grampa was allegedly in the mob's pocket, Leo, the family retainer, had a bit of a gambling problem and maybe left a few bodies at the bottom of a local lake. Brother Ira died during the Six-Day-War, brother Howie became a religious zealot after a stint in prison, and brother Mike died in a helicopter crash after he quit working for the family business and went to work for Donald Trump.
Ketzel has been drawn back into her parents' world now that her last surviving brother, Potzie, has disappeared. As she attempts to track down Potzie and their slimey cousin Perry, Ketzel keeps uncovering family secrets. A good solid mystery.

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).