Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Killed At The Whim Of A Hat (Jimm Juree #1)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 749 ratings · 205 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, Cotterill is poised to break into the mainstream. Set in present day rural Thailand, Cotterill is as sharp a...more

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published July 19th 2011 by Minotaur Books (first published March 1st 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Cover Art 2011 (Non-YA)

129th out of 265 books — 1,351 voters

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

Best Multicultural Mysteries

9th out of 97 books — 70 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,462)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 12, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review and this rating have been revised. The review can now be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.

6 likes · like · see review

May 16, 2013 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cultural, cozy, current_issues, humor, mystery, relationships, suspense

Marketing works! I saw this book on a shelf next to the latest Number One Ladies Detective Agency novel. The cover has the same style of border and a central image reminiscent of earlier books in the series. The label on the shelf said “If you like… then you will enjoy…” So my husband bought the book for me for Mothers’ Day.

Colin Cotterill is not Alexander McCall Smith, and Killed at the Whim of a Hat has a very different feel to the Number One Ladies Detective Agency Novels. It’s much sharper a...more Marketing works! I saw this book on a shelf next to the latest Number One Ladies Detective Agency novel. The cover has the same style of border and a central image reminiscent of earlier books in the series. The label on the shelf said “If you like… then you will enjoy…” So my husband bought the book for me for Mothers’ Day.

Colin Cotterill is not Alexander McCall Smith, and Killed at the Whim of a Hat has a very different feel to the Number One Ladies Detective Agency Novels. It’s much sharper and more harshly critical of the society where it’s set. The protagonist, Jimm Juree, is much more antagonistic. The writing has a harder edge and more biting tone. And the storyline makes you read faster—though the novel’s just as long and there are really only two mysteries to be solved. Vivid words and descriptions sweat as the bike-pedals turn in the heat of a less gentle land.

But things change. Both author and character soften their tone as the story progresses. Jimm Juree learns to value her family for themselves rather than just for duty. She warms to the out-of-the-way locale as the reader warms to her determined rebellion. And the end result is the beginning of what looks like a pleasing, and pleasingly different, mystery series.

Edgy characters include an oddly effeminate cop, a sister who used to be a brother, a sensitive giant, and, of course, a suitable handful of villains out to make money from everyone. This is Thailand, with all its big-city corruption and small-town graft, with history and future… and with headline quotes from George W Bush? But, of course, it’s Bush who first said “at the whim of a hat,” and every quote is perfectly suited to the chapter it introduces—even to the tale when questions are asked and Jimm learns to use that “sincere countenance and confident stance” to best effect.

I’m not entirely sure what I expected in this book, and the beginning felt slow, or overly angry. But I’m hooked by the end and hoping my husband might be tempted to buy me more.

Disclosure: I got this book as a gift for Mothers’ Day.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 29, 2013 Miki101.michaela added it

Dr Sir vs Jimm Juree - and the winner is.....

And now, me - a hard boiled Dr Siri Fan myself - noticed with a bit of anxiety that our Most Famous Laotian Crime's-Writer has fallen into the Honeytrap of - rural Thailand!!!

But like every good Crime's-Writer, he is able to create for us an entirely new Universe, the World of the Juree Family.

Jimm Juree, thirty-something Crime Reporter is trasplanted by the (higher) force of her a-little-bit-out-of-the-road Mair (Mum), together with her brother Body-...more Dr Sir vs Jimm Juree - and the winner is.....

And now, me - a hard boiled Dr Siri Fan myself - noticed with a bit of anxiety that our Most Famous Laotian Crime's-Writer has fallen into the Honeytrap of - rural Thailand!!!

But like every good Crime's-Writer, he is able to create for us an entirely new Universe, the World of the Juree Family.

Jimm Juree, thirty-something Crime Reporter is trasplanted by the (higher) force of her a-little-bit-out-of-the-road Mair (Mum), together with her brother Body-Builder with serious problems to connect to the other sex, a Grand-Pa ex Street-Police in semi-permanent mental absence, but full of resources....
And they all are forced from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to rural Southern Costal Thailand, to a very well existing place called Pak Nam (to be found on Google Maps!!!) to make what????
Mair has bought a "beautiful, calm Seaside Resort" on the Gulf of Siam, and they all will run it with the United Forces of the Family!
Yet one member is missing, staying in the North - the former elder brother, now after the "Great Snip" an "Auntie", ex Miss Thay, Asia, Frisco World of Transgender etc., but in Midlife Crisis because of ... read and learn!

Mix into t h a t mix the find of two skeletons in a VW-Mini-Bus, plus a murder case following right up behind, a Police Officer openly gay (an apparently non-existent phenomenon in the Thai Police ;-))) and several other murder cases coming up in more distant places of the Globe - and You have a plot that I had to read in one rush!
The dialogs are some times juvenile, gayish, even 70T-ish, when the plot requests it, but most of the time the writing stucks to the crime (He,He...)

O.K., I have to admit that the G.W.Bush citations above every chapter made it much more difficult to continue the read (almost-dying of laughter, no-understand-frown or so..) but once You have captured the non-sense, it comes like a bullet hitting You and You only want to cry.....

For my opinion (which doesn't count soo muchat all) it is a great gain to read this last born in the family of our C.C., because it has all the wits and finds and lacks of our current Century or Millennium, or whatstheheck..in it.

Try it out - You will never regret it!
Word of a true Dr Siri Fan(less)

like · see review

Apr 13, 2013 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

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 M...more 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.
(less)

like · see review

Dec 07, 2012 Matt Carrell rated it 4 of 5 stars

For me this was “Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” comes to Thailand, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. A meaningless analogy if you have never read the Alexander McCall Smith series, so I will try to explain.

The heroine is Jimm Juree, a crime writer for the local Chiang Mai newspaper, but family loyalty forces her to relocate to the south. She tries to resuscitate her career by investigating the death of an abbott and the discovery of two ancient skeletons in a long buried vehicle....more

like · see review

Aug 11, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set in Thailand, this one took me a little bit to get into. But once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The reader was excellent (I was a little slow getting into the rhythm of the speech, but was completely hooked when I did).

Jimm Juree is a crime reporter who moves with her family to a remote area of Thailand to operate a resort. Her family is very, very quirky, but they all fit well into the story. The characters are priceless (the gay policeman is one of the best characters I've encountered in...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Linda Arnsdorf rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book took the word mystery out of his attempt to write a mystery. The characters in this novel were well done and interesting but replayed the same personality traits in several characters. The gay police is reflected in the transsexual sister and the sister of one of the main characters suitor. The two mysteries set out in the book are of one mystery an unbelievable culprit and the opening mystery is not even solved.

The author tries to tell us when to laugh by telling us what he thinks is...more

like · see review

May 15, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 2 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Cotterill’s Dr Siri series set in Laos in the 1970s. Although the characters are all a bit eccentric, they are all believable, warm and sit together comfortably, and there is a lovely sense of place and time. Killed at the Whim of a Hat had none of those things. The characters are a ragbag of caricature and are largely one-dimensional. They seemed forced and false. Moreover, told in the first person, the voice of Jimm Juree just didn’t click for me. The real let down of the book, ho...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Ed rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having read and enjoyed Colin Cotterill's series featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun, the eighty year old national coroner of Laos I thought his new series would be worth a try. It is and I am looking forward to the next book with Thai crime reporter Jimm Juree. She and her family are in a southern province of the Land of Smiles although not one of those close to Malaysia that are experiencing armed clashes between minority Muslims and the Thai police.

Cotterill has to cover a lot of ground since "Killed...more

like · see review

Mar 12, 2012 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a random find on the Amazon deal of the day and I was pleasantly surprised. The book centred around Jimm Juree and her family who have moved down to the south of Thailand after her mum sold their house in the bustling metropolis. Jimm loved her job as crime reporter but decides to move along with her mother, her brother, and her grandpa to the coast. Her boredom ends when a VW camper van is found buried several feet under a farmer's field with two bodies inside.

I enjoyed reading this in...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Ashland Mystery Oregon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thailand

Colin Cotterill is one of my favorite authors and so I'm quick to pick up his new books. Killed at the Whim of a Hat is unlike Cotterill's earlier works which are often painful and deeply moving, as much about isolation and spirituality as they are about the mystery.

Whim of a Hat, on the other hand, is about the close and loving ties of family and community, about adjustment and realization. Jimm Juree's the protag, an ambitious journalist who's reluctantly moved with her family to a rural coast...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2011 Michele Weiner rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'd give it 4.5 if I could. Jimm Juree is a crime reporter in Thailand, who runs into some trouble with the local police in her home city when she very publically solves a crime they had botched. She has not recovered from the shock of her fall from grace when her mother, without consulting anyone, suddenly sells their business and insists that they all move to a tiny village in dangerously volatile southern Thailand, there to operate a run-down resort, restaurant and convenience store called th...more I'd give it 4.5 if I could. Jimm Juree is a crime reporter in Thailand, who runs into some trouble with the local police in her home city when she very publically solves a crime they had botched. She has not recovered from the shock of her fall from grace when her mother, without consulting anyone, suddenly sells their business and insists that they all move to a tiny village in dangerously volatile southern Thailand, there to operate a run-down resort, restaurant and convenience store called the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. The Juree family consists of this determined, but disorderly mother, a transgendered brother-turned-sister who is a reclusive internet criminal, a body-building, 30-year-old younger brother who is a virgin, and a silent grandfather who used to be a traffic cop. Jimm does not know who her father is.

Soon after Jimm chooses to stay with her family regardless of her misgivings about the move, she hears of an unusual event near her remote village. While digging a well as only the Thai can do it, a local plantation owner has found a Volkswagen minibus with two skeletons inside buried under his land. Jimm cycles furiously to the scene, where she notices that the driver is still sitting upright at the wheel and is still wearing a hat. Only days later, a monk is killed at a local monastery, wearing a bright orange hat with a red flower. Hence the title of the book. Every chapter is headed by a different quote from George W. Bush, about whom Jimm has written a thesis for her Master's degree. The quote, from Sept. 17, 2004 reads: "Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience and who kill at the whim of a hat." Jimm says, "My analysis of George W.'s oratory style had taught me that a sincere countenance and a confident stance were sufficient to distract your audience from the fact that you were talking rubbish." Enough said.

Killed at the Whim of a Hat is very, very funny. Jimm makes allies and solves the mysteries, and in the process finds a new life. Very rewarding.

(less)

like · see review

Oct 20, 2011 Amy Corwin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I had no idea what to expect when I got this book. I'd never read any of Cotterill's books before, but I'm glad I got this one. It was a load of fun.

First point, though, I was torn about the mystery aspect because that part was almost a subplot. First and foremost this is a hilarious story about crime-reporter Jimm Juree and her completely insane family. Out of a family consisting of her whacky mother, her glum grandfather, a brother-turned-beauty-queen, and another brother who is a body builder...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 30, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Killed at the Whim of a Hat, by Colin Cotterill, b-plus, Narrated by Jeany Park, Produced by Highbridge Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Jimm Juree was a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail with a somewhat eccentric family. When her mother sells the house without telling the family first, and buys a run-down resort in a village on the southern coast of rural Thailand, she is forced to leave her job and follow her family. She is convinced that her career - maybe her life - is over. So...more

like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Killed at the Whim of a Hat (Minotaur 2011) introduces Jimm Juree, an ambitious young crime reporter for the Thailand Chiang Mai Daily Mail. Jimm is sure she is going to be promoted to senior crime writer any moment now, and is content living with her family in the home they’ve had for generations, running a small shop next to the university. But then her mother, perhaps suffering from early dementia, suddenly sells the house and shop and tells the family she has invested in a lovely resort hote...more

like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Old Mel has hired a young man to dig a hole for a new well. All of a sudden, the boy disappears as the ground gives out from under him. He finds himself standing on a VW bus from the 1970′s. Inside the bus, are two skeletons, one with hands placed appropriately on the steering wheel.

Jimm Juree, news reporter par excellence, reveals to the reader that her name is synonymous with accurate crime reporting all over Thailand. It is only a matter of time before her boss retires and she moves into his...more

Old Mel has hired a young man to dig a hole for a new well. All of a sudden, the boy disappears as the ground gives out from under him. He finds himself standing on a VW bus from the 1970′s. Inside the bus, are two skeletons, one with hands placed appropriately on the steering wheel.

Jimm Juree, news reporter par excellence, reveals to the reader that her name is synonymous with accurate crime reporting all over Thailand. It is only a matter of time before her boss retires and she moves into his chair as senior crime reporter. She loves her job and the world is her oyster, that is, until her mother announces that she has sold their home and business to a group wanting to build a condominium. In turn, Mair has purchased a “lovely” sea side resort in the south of Thailand. The family is moving.

Jimm is an optimist; she’ll find stories big city newspapers will be eager to buy. Her brother, Arny, is a competitive body builder. He is close to despair at being forced to leave the well-equipped gyms in the city but he can improvise. Granddad Jah is a man of few words who spends his days keeping track of passing cars. He will continue to track cars in a different place. “At one end of the table sat my sister, Sissi, who at one time had been my older brother, Somkiet.” Sissi has a good internet business so she is staying in place; the new location doesn’t have the modern facilities necessary to access the world wide web. But Sissi will only be a phone call away and Jimm figures that her sister’s internet skills will be invaluable as she pursues breaking news or hard hitting investigative reports. The family is still the family.

For ten months, Jimm has been the cook at the resort while her mother worked in the resort shop that is stocked with items from the time the resort first opened. Arny manages the hotel and Granddad watches cars drive by. When she first arrived, Jimm had made everyone aware of her career in the newspaper business. No one sent any stories her way until Captain Kow of the local police department comes riding on his Honda to tell her of the bodies in the VW.

With one big story under her belt, Jimm makes herself available to the local police and, if hanging around can get her the inside track on a story, that is only par for the course in the news business. It is in hanging around that Jimm learns of a truly big story, one that is so sensitive that there is a news blackout. There has been a murder at a local monastery.

Jimm teams up with Lieutenant Chompu when it becomes apparent that someone with a great deal of influence is moving behind the scenes. The murdered abbot is a visitor, a member of the Buddhist version of an Internal Affairs department. Someone has accused Abbot Kem of being in an inappropriate relationship with the temple nun. The nun becomes the obvious suspect, the only suspect, but Jimm refuses to accept that notion. She and Chompu agree to share information although Jimm thinks it likely that the lieutenant plans that most of the sharing will be on Jimm’s part.

I have been a fan of Colin Cotterill’s since the first book in the Siri Paiboun series. This first book in a new series combines a good story, a satisfying mystery, and thoroughly enjoyable characters. The book is filled with wonderful lines that sort of sneak up on the reader:

When speaking of the abbot: “I needed to look into his eyes and see what his slant on all this was.”

Jimm on her language skills: “I wanted to go to an English-speaking country but they were all full so they sent me to Australia.”

The chapter titles are a delightful walk through the speeches of George W. Bush. And Jimm makes this observation: “If nothing else, my analysis of George W’s oratory style had taught me that a sincere countenance and a confident stance were sufficient to distract your audience from the fact that you were talking rubbish.”

KILLED AT THE WHIM OF A HAT is worth reading.(less)

like · see review

Jul 10, 2011 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary_post_1945, journalist, male_author, thailand

First Sentence: Old Mel hired one of Da’s nephews—the slow-witted one with the dent in his forehead—to sink a well in his back acre.

Jimm Juree is a crime reporter with aspirations for greatness until her mother announces the family is moving to rural Southern Thailand and she fears her reporting days are over. Not when a 1972 VW camper is found buried with the driver and passenger still in place and no apparent cause of death immediately evident. Additionally, a Buddhist monk, inexplicably weari...more First Sentence: Old Mel hired one of Da’s nephews—the slow-witted one with the dent in his forehead—to sink a well in his back acre.

Jimm Juree is a crime reporter with aspirations for greatness until her mother announces the family is moving to rural Southern Thailand and she fears her reporting days are over. Not when a 1972 VW camper is found buried with the driver and passenger still in place and no apparent cause of death immediately evident. Additionally, a Buddhist monk, inexplicably wearing an orange hat, is brutally murdered. Life in the south isn’t nearly as dull as Jimm feared it would be.

The first book in a new series by Cotterill greets you with a fascinating and effective opening which catches you off-guard when it changes gears. The author’s trademark wry humor is very much in evidence…”Shot four times in the face over a period of twenty minutes? Don’t rule out suicide.”…”Like Scotch whiskies, bougainvilleas were at their happiest without water.” Cotterill has such a wonderful way with language—wonderful similes--one finds oneself going back and re-reading passages; not due to lack of understanding, but for the pure pleasure of re-reading the line or contemplating the concept created by it.

His very visual use of language makes every sentence a pleasure to read. For that, however, there is a surprising lack of sense of place. It all felt quite Westernized and, what description was provided, would not inspire one to want to visit there.

Jimm and her family may take awhile for one to warm to, but there are layers there not apparent at first glance. They are not, by any means, your average family, but they are well developed and sincere on their own and in their relationship to each other. By the end of the book, one can’t help wanting to visit them again and know them better.

There are references to Western culture offset against Buddhist philosophy. Cotterill opens every chapter with a quote (gaffe) from George W. Bush. While some might be offended by these, they are actual quotes and do have a tie-in to the story, particularly the title.

At the beginning, one could mistake the plot as being quite cozy. However, halfway through the story becomes much darker and shows a side of human we would prefer not to acknowledge. The plot was the weak spot of the book. It did seem to take a back seat to the characters; it wandered and bogged down at times. The resolution of both cases was not, perhaps, what die-hard mystery fans would have preferred but it did suit the characters and the book.

It’s impossible not to compare this book to Cotterill’s other series with Dr. Siri. There, you felt Cotterill has real affection for his characters; that feeling is not conveyed here. This seems more an exercise in seeing how unusual and dysfunctional one can make characters and still have readers read them.

“Killed at the Whim of a Hat” is an interesting new direction for Mr. Cotterill but lacks the charm, thoughtfulness or gentle philosophy of his other series. It was readable, but not completely enjoyable.

KILLED AT THE WHIM OF A HAT (Lic Inv/Jour-Jimm Juree-Thailand-1980/Cont) - Good
Cotterill, Colin – 1st of new series
Minotaur Books, ©2011, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780312564537
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 23, 2011 Joyce Lagow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-edition, police-procedural

Author of the wonderfully eccentric Dr. Siri Paiboun of 1970s Laos, Cotterill has staked out new territory in the time and country in which he lives--contemporary Thailand. The protagonist is Jimm Juree, a 34 year old female crime reporter who has been uprooted from her home in northern Thailand by her crazy mother Mair who has bought a run-down wreck of a resort in the south. Trailing along are her brother Arny and her Graddad Ja; refusing to leave their original home is Sissi, Jimm’s transgend...more
Author of the wonderfully eccentric Dr. Siri Paiboun of 1970s Laos, Cotterill has staked out new territory in the time and country in which he lives--contemporary Thailand. The protagonist is Jimm Juree, a 34 year old female crime reporter who has been uprooted from her home in northern Thailand by her crazy mother Mair who has bought a run-down wreck of a resort in the south. Trailing along are her brother Arny and her Graddad Ja; refusing to leave their original home is Sissi, Jimm’s transgendered sister, a recluse who is a computer whiz and who makes a living more or less illegally via the Internet.

With a family like that, how can you go right?

Sleepy though the south may be to Jimm’s great distress, suddenly one day her life brightens with the discovery of a buried 40 year old VW camper ban with two skeletons inside, driver and passenger. Thrilled to have a chance to report death and destruction again, Jimm throws herself wholeheartedly into discovering the identities of the corpses. But she is confronted with a plethora of corpses when two more show up.

It’s a typical Cotterill plot and the cast of characters does its best to outdo Laos in the 70s. Gays and lesbians are rather prominently featured; Jimm befriends the gay Lieutenant Chompu and lesbians show up in various ways. Jimm herself is an edgy sort, and has the kind of dialogue one would expect of a direct lineal descendent of Dr. Siri (which she is only in the literary sense).

This is a fun book, and does for modern Thailand what the Dr. Siri series does for the Laos of the 70s--give a nice look into everyday Thai life. The plot is good if nothing outstanding. There are some really predictable turns in the story, and the love interest is kind of bleh.

But the great redeeming feature of the book, alone almost worth the price of purchase are the epigrams at the beginning of every chapter. They are taken from the literary and philosophical works of the 43rd President of the United States and are awe-inspiring to those of us who can read and write (and beware--we are everywhere, showing up even in the best of families). How can one not be moved by such profound philosophical insight such as:

“If you don’t stand for anything, you don’t stand for anything! If you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand for anything!”

or the grand historical grasp displayed in:

“For a century and a half now, American and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times”, delivered on February 18, 2002 in Tokyo, underscoring to the world the depth of the then-President of the United States.

Most likely the first in a series. Recommended.

(less)

like · see review

Sep 14, 2012 Jerome Parisse rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came across this book and Brian Cotterill's work when my sister in law recommended it to me. I was intrigued by the setting of this novel, Southern Thailand, an unusual location for a crime/mystery novel. The characters are Thai, which makes the novel even more unusual, and I understand that Cotterill's work is very much always like this. It makes for a colourful read. I like Cotterill's writing - I find it quite witty and I found myself laughing out loud a few times. His characters are all qu...more

like · see review

Oct 10, 2011 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: librarybooks

‘People who connect the past and the future may know the present.’

This is the first instalment in Colin Cotterill’s new series about the ‘almost award-winning’ female crime reporter Jimm Juree. The novel is set in southern Thailand.

Jimm and her relatives move from northern Thailand to the south to run the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. There’s Jimm, her mother Mair, her bodybuilding brother Arny and her Grandad Jah. Her sister, Sissi, who used to be her older brother Somkiet, stays in th...more ‘People who connect the past and the future may know the present.’

This is the first instalment in Colin Cotterill’s new series about the ‘almost award-winning’ female crime reporter Jimm Juree. The novel is set in southern Thailand.

Jimm and her relatives move from northern Thailand to the south to run the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant. There’s Jimm, her mother Mair, her bodybuilding brother Arny and her Grandad Jah. Her sister, Sissi, who used to be her older brother Somkiet, stays in the north. Jimm isn’t at all keen on living in the south, and when she hears of the discovery of a buried Volkswagen Kombi -complete with two skeletal passengers (one of whom is wearing a hat) - Jimm is off to the scene on a bicycle. Marching up to the police, she announces: ‘Officers, my name is Jimm Juree, deputy crime editor at the Chiang Mai Mail (I deliberately omitted tense) and I’m here to report on this case.’

One official invites her to lunch, which she accepts, and another, Lieutenant Chompu befriends her. ‘Lieutenant Chompu really was a policeman. You couldn’t let those minute traces of nail polish fool you. He knew his job.’

Soon after, a monk is murdered in the nearby town of Lang Suan. Jimm’s out of the way location, which she was convinced would see the end of her career as a crime writer, is suddenly a very busy place.
Each chapter features a George W Bush malapropism, and some way into the story we learn that Jimm undertook a course at University called ‘Public Oration and Oral Improvisation’ (Pooi for short), and studied the speaking style of President George W Bush. One particular malapropism becomes relevant to the story:
‘Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.’ (George W Bush 17/9/2004)

Because there is so much information contained in the opening chapters of the novel, it takes a little while for the story to progress. But progress it does, with the kind of wit that will be familiar to those of us who enjoyed the Dr Siri series. There are a number of twists and turns, and hats are important.

Jimm is an interesting character, and her family is full of surprises. So is the local police force. Between them, they manage to solve one mystery and work out the most likely explanation for the other.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. Jimm Juree isn’t Dr Siri, and Thailand as depicted by Mr Cotterill is largely free from the political undertones of the stories set in Laos. But that’s okay: change can be good. Additionally, there’s another Dr Siri novel due shortly.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 16, 2011 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jimm Juree is enjoying a promising career as a crime reporter in the bustling northern Thai city of Chiang Mai when her mother suddenly buys a small resort in a rural area of southern Thailand and moves her thoroughly unenthusiastic family to Maprao, where Jimm’s senses are assaulted by the “constant smell of drying squid”, the “thud of coconuts falling from trees in search of a head”, and “a shallow sea so warm it breeds Jurassic life forms”. After eight months of this idyll, Jimm’s life picks...more Jimm Juree is enjoying a promising career as a crime reporter in the bustling northern Thai city of Chiang Mai when her mother suddenly buys a small resort in a rural area of southern Thailand and moves her thoroughly unenthusiastic family to Maprao, where Jimm’s senses are assaulted by the “constant smell of drying squid”, the “thud of coconuts falling from trees in search of a head”, and “a shallow sea so warm it breeds Jurassic life forms”. After eight months of this idyll, Jimm’s life picks up significantly when a VW van containing the skeletons of two hippies from the 70s is unearthed on a local farm and a Buddhist abbot is brutally murdered wearing an orange hat with a flower. Sensing a reportorial scoop, Jimm enthusiastically pursues both of these cases with help from her retired-traffic-cop Granddad Jah and gay police Lieutenant Chompu.
This is simply a delightful book. As Jimm puts together the solution to both these mysteries, the reader is introduced to many aspects of Thai society. Cotterill lives in Thailand, so I am confident the atmosphere is authentic, allowing for some literary license. The clever writing and situations gave me plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (I even laughed at the Acknowledgments!), and the plot kept moving. The colorful, well-developed characters are one of the big strengths of the book, but the quirkiness of the cast does not preclude some real warmth and moments of genuine emotion. I was especially moved by Jimm’s grief over the death of a family dog and both amused and heartened by Jimm’s mother’s actions in response to the death.
I agree with others that comparing Killed at the Whim of a Hat to the Botswana books of Alexander McCall Smith is not apt. Both series feature an exotic setting, light tone, and colorful characters, but Coterill’s book has more depth and a more fully developed mystery plot. Actually, Jimm Juree reminds me more of Stephanie Plum, complete with a grandparent sidekick, than of Precious Ramotswe.
Books like Killed at the Whim of a Hat are by their nature somewhat outrageous, and knowing where to draw the line is a matter of skill and taste. Colorful characters are great, but Jimm’s former brother Sissi, a trans-gender beauty queen who makes his living via illegal internet activities, is too much for me. Worse, the depravity shown by one of the murderers truly disgusted me. The book’s title and quotes at the beginning of each chapter are all mixed metaphors, malapropisms, and just plain slips of the tongue by former president George W Bush, and these could be offensive , especially from a non-American, but there is a plausible connection within the book that assuaged my annoyance.
The excesses were sufficient that I almost stopped reading about 40 pages into the book, but a friend’s enthusiasm for Cotterill’s Dr Siri series kept me going, and I now have a new author and two new series to enjoy and to recommend.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 10, 2012 Mary Stevens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, pton-mystery-book-club

The best parts of the book are the quotations from Dubya that begin each chapter! I really miss hearing the latest as we used to in the bad old days.

Multiple bodies turn up in a remote and seldom visited Thai resort area where an eccentric family now live, including the ex-reporter sleuth, a young woman. Intricate plot. I didn't get a very robust picture of the locale and culture. Plot involves a rental car scam, a Buddhist monastery with a nun in attendance and various dogs.
It's compared to Ale...more

like · see review

Sep 24, 2012 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

At the beginning of this first of a new series set in 21st century Thailand, Jimm Juree is a up and coming crime reporter. However, when her mother, who seems to be in the early stages of dementia, sells their home; she has little choice but to follow her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand. This has been a quiet backwater but, in no time, a van with the skeletal remains of two hippies is dug up and the abbot of the local Buddhist monastery is murdered. The local police,...more

like · see review

May 16, 2011 bookczuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-review-librarything, bookcrossing, cozy-type-mystery, great-title, made-me-look-something-up, read-for-review, wow, taught-me-something, advanced-reader-copy

I don't think I've ever started a review this way, but I think I've just found a new author to search out previous books and a new series to follow.

Colin Cotterill has introduced me to a great group of characters in Killed at the Whim of a Hat. There's crime reporter (actually more wanna-be than by-line type) Jimm Juree, who has moved from the big city, with her mother (who might be losing her marbles), her grandfather (an ex-cop who never made it beyond traffic cop because he wouldn't take bri...more I don't think I've ever started a review this way, but I think I've just found a new author to search out previous books and a new series to follow.

Colin Cotterill has introduced me to a great group of characters in Killed at the Whim of a Hat. There's crime reporter (actually more wanna-be than by-line type) Jimm Juree, who has moved from the big city, with her mother (who might be losing her marbles), her grandfather (an ex-cop who never made it beyond traffic cop because he wouldn't take bribes) and her body-building baby brother, to a small coastal town in the boonies of Southern Thailand. Left behind in the city is her transgendered, ex-beauty queen, now internet hacker brother-turned-sister.

Jimm is quite bored and condescending about her new life, unsuccessfully running a ramshackle resort with her quirky family, walking the dogs, avoiding the locals and being thoroughly disgusted with the general state of things, until her interest is piqued by the discovery of a vintage VW bus with two skeletons found buried at a nearby palm oil plantation and the hushed up murder of a Buddhist abbot at a nearby monastery. Our crack reporter begins to investigate, teams up with a lovely gay local police detective, and begins to really meet the locals.

An added bonus for me reading this book were the chapter header quotes, all taken word, by sweet little word, from actual speeches of George W. Bush. They were hilarious (and only moderately embarrassing in hindsite) but actually tied were into the story. (While working on her masters, Jimm was assigned the analysis of George Bush's oratory style, and learned that a 'sincere countenance and a confident stance were sufficient to distract your audience from the fact that you were talking rubbish'.) In fact, the title of the book springs from a GWB quote, but plays into the story as well.

Received this AR copy via the kindness of LibraryThing and the Minotaur Books. This has been one of my favorite reads this year. (less)

like · see review

Jul 09, 2011 Cathy Cole rated it 4 of 5 stars

First Line: Old Mel hired one of Da's nephews-- the slow-witted one with the dent in his forehead-- to sink a well in his back acre.

Young Jimm Juree has the life she wants as a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail, but when her mother suddenly sells the family business, familial obligation means that Jimm follows her mother, grandfather and brother to rural southern Thailand to run a decrepit resort on the coast. How in the world is she ever going to become the first female senior crime...more First Line: Old Mel hired one of Da's nephews-- the slow-witted one with the dent in his forehead-- to sink a well in his back acre.

Young Jimm Juree has the life she wants as a crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Daily Mail, but when her mother suddenly sells the family business, familial obligation means that Jimm follows her mother, grandfather and brother to rural southern Thailand to run a decrepit resort on the coast. How in the world is she ever going to become the first female senior crime reporter in the Chiang Mai Daily Mail's history when she lives all the way out in the sticks?

Running the resort takes up a good portion of her day. Let's face it: she's not getting much help from her family. Her mother, who's showing signs of dementia, spends most of her time either restacking cans in the small giftshop or taking in stray dogs. Her grandfather, a retired traffic cop, scarcely says a word and disappears for long periods of time. Jimm's brother's life revolves around body-building and trying to find a decent gym out in the back of beyond. Only Sissi, Jimm's transgendered, former beauty pageant queen, computer hacker, former older brother had the good sense to stay in the city.

It's only when a van containing the skeletal remains of two hippies is unearthed in a local farmer's field that Jimm knows this is her chance to get back to the city and the life she wants. Then when an abbot at a nearby Buddhist temple is murdered, Jimm knows she's got to solve both crimes.

I love Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri mystery series, which is set in 1970s Laos and features a spry and wily septuagenarian national coroner and a marvelous cast of secondary characters. When I learned that this book was the start of a contemporary series set in Thailand, I thought that Christmas had come early. I still do.

I've read other books set in Thailand. John Burdett's series features a Thai policeman with rather traditional cultural beliefs and values. Timothy Hallinan's Poke Rafferty series has an Anglo writer who's fallen in love with the Thai culture and wants to become a part of it. In Cotterill's book, we get to see Thailand from yet another perspective: that of a young, thoroughly Westernized Thai woman. Each series gives readers a different view of a fascinating country.

Both the crimes in Killed at the Whim of a Hat are puzzlers. Cotterill undoubtedly planted clues throughout the book, but I didn't pick many of them up. Jimm Juree may be an amateur sleuth, but this is not what's usually termed a "cozy" mystery. In particular, the killer of the Buddhist abbot is very depraved and vicious.

But this book is not just about solving mysteries. It's about a young woman coming to grips with what she really wants in life. It's about a young woman who is finally in a situation that makes her really get to know the members of her family. As a mystery, as a glimpse into life in rural Thailand, as a study of human behavior, this is an enjoyable, strong work of fiction-- even though it's not always for the faint-hearted.

It's also not always for those who are easily offended. The book title and chapter headings are all quotes from our former President, George W. Bush. If you're a fan of our 43rd President's eloquence, or if you find it offensive when people in other countries poke some gentle fun at the United States, you may want to pass on this book. All the quotes do tie into the plot, the characters, and the motivations, however.

Of course the immediate comparison for this book is going to be Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series set in Botswana. The only things they really have in common are a light tone, excellent casts of characters, and exotic locations. There is more depth and a more fully developed mystery in Cotterill's book.

I am one very happy reader now that I have both Dr. Siri and Jimm Juree to look forward to.(less)

like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-asia

Jimm Juree is determined to make it in the man's world of Thai crime reporting, and she's succeeding, until her mother suddenly sells their house and moves the eccentric family to undeveloped South Thailand to run a resort. (Sissi, computer whiz and transsexual beauty queen stays behind.) Jimm is not happy, but family is family. Then she gets a tip on a newly discovered crime, and rushes off to get the story, surprisingly making friends with a few of the local policemen, who are glad to have som...more

like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Gordon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not nearly as amusing as the Dr. Siri novels. The book is set in rural Thailand - an interesting change from western big cities like London or New York. However, many of the notions remain Western. A brilliant and unconventional freelance reporter out thinks incompetent and uninterested police officers.

The book is limited by the first person narrative that makes some the other characters look wooden. Cotterill has trouble writing from the viewpoint of a female. I had trouble picturing the narrat...more

like · see review

May 05, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

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.
While I may not read any other books by this author,...more

like · see review

Dec 25, 2011 judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

I had major problems getting into this book. I was expecting the wise, ancient and amusing Dr. Siri from 1978 in Laos. Instead, I was faced with a thoroughly modern young female reporter who lives in Thailand. Unlike the Siri books, I had no sense of place. Further, I was unfailing shocked when Jimm (our heroine) made references to current American culture--like CSI and Bon Jovi. So why would I give it four stars? Aside from the fact that I finally got used to it, Cotterill is a completely amazi...more

like · see review

Nov 28, 2012 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-kindle, crime, mystery, around-world-80-books

Jimm Juree is a crime reporter who has had to move away from Chang Mai to the sticks, to help look after her mother who is beginning to show signs of dementia. She thinks her career is over, but after a few months living in southern Thailand, two long buried bodies are discovered close by and then the next day a Buddhist abbot is found murdered. Jimm manages to get involved in solving both crimes and in so doing resurrects her former career. She is helped in this by her family, a group of social...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 48 49 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Librari...: Series title correction	2	159	May 20, 2012 08:24am

combine
Other Editions (11)

More editions...

Genres

Mystery

82 users

Mystery > Crime

15 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

7 users

Cultural > Asia

7 users

Novels

3 users

Humor

3 users

Literature > Asian Literature

3 users

Adult Fiction

3 users

Suspense

2 users

Humor > Funny

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Colin Cotterill

Colin Cotterill was born in London and trained as a teacher and set off on a world tour that didn't ever come to an end. He worked as a Physical Education instructor in Israel, a primary school teacher in Australia, a counselor for educationally handicapped adults in the US, and a university lecturer in Japan. But the greater part of his latter years has been spent in Southeast Asia. Colin has tau...more Colin Cotterill was born in London and trained as a teacher and set off on a world tour that didn't ever come to an end. He worked as a Physical Education instructor in Israel, a primary school teacher in Australia, a counselor for educationally handicapped adults in the US, and a university lecturer in Japan. But the greater part of his latter years has been spent in Southeast Asia. Colin has taught and trained teachers in Thailand and on the Burmese border. He spent several years in Laos, initially with UNESCO and wrote and produced a forty-programme language teaching series; English By Accident, for Thai national television.

Ten years ago, Colin became involved in child protection in the region and set up an NGO in Phuket which he ran for the first two years. After two more years of study in child abuse issues, and one more stint in Phuket, he moved on to ECPAT, an international organization combating child prostitution and pornography. He established their training program for caregivers.

All the while, Colin continued with his two other passions; cartooning and writing. He contributed regular columns for the Bangkok Post but had little time to write. It wasn't until his work with trafficked children that he found himself sufficiently stimulated to put together his first novel, The Night Bastard (Suk's Editions. 2000).

The reaction to that first attempt was so positive that Colin decided to take time off and write full-time. Since October 2001 he has written nine more novels. Two of these are child-protection based: Evil in the Land Without (Asia Books December 03), and Pool and Its Role in Asian Communism (Asia Books, Dec 05). These were followed by The Coroner’s Lunch (Soho Press. Dec 04), Thirty Three Teeth (Aug 05), Disco for the Departed (Aug 06), Anarchy and Old Dogs (Aug 07), and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Aug 08), The Merry Misogynist (Aug 09), Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Aug 10) these last seven are set in Laos in the 1970’s.

On June 15 2009 Colin Cotterill received the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for being "the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users".

When the Lao books gained in popularity, Cotterill set up a project to send books to Lao children and sponsor trainee teachers. The Books for Laos programme elicits support from fans of the books and is administered purely on a voluntary basis.

Since 1990, Colin has been a regular cartoonist for national publications. A Thai language translation of his cartoon scrapbook, Ethel and Joan Go to Phuket (Matichon May 04) and weekly social cartoons in the Nation newspaper, set him back onto the cartoon trail in 2004. On 4 April 2004, an illustrated bilingual column ‘cycle logical’ was launched in Matichon’s popular weekly news magazine. These have been published in book form.

Colin is married and lives in a fishing community on the Gulf of Siam with his wife, Jessi, and ever-expanding pack of very annoying dogs.(less)

More about Colin Cotterill...

Books by Colin Cotterill

The Coroner's Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #1)

Thirty-Three Teeth (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #2)

Disco For The Departed (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #3)

Anarchy And Old Dogs (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #4)

Curse Of The Pogo Stick (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #5)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Killed At The Whi...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: Killed At The Whim Of A Hat
avg rating	preview: Killed At The Whim Of A Hat Goodreads rating: 3.71 (749 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10457171-killed-at-the-whim-of-a-hat?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312076805l/10457171.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10457171-killed-at-the-whim-of-a-hat?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Killed At The Whim Of A Hat by Colin Cotterill[/url]

Killed At The Whim Of A Hat (Jimm Juree #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website