His entry begins:
A little shockaroo in this edition of Writers Read. Invariably I’m forced to admit to reading non-fiction or to have the Mad Magazine Christmas edition open on my bedside table. But, surprise, I am reading fiction and I haven’t given up before the end of chapter one as I usually do. There is a tag to this story. A few months ago I was sent a newspaper item in which a famous author; in this case, Isabel Allende, was asked what she’d been reading lately (not unlike this column except I’m not a famous author and hardly anybody cares). She openly admitted - not to reading a Colin Cotterill - but to have gone through the entire series. Not one to miss an opportunity for a blurb I wrote to Ms Allende and thanked her for the kind words. She replied and we became sort of pen friends. Then, woe betide, her books started to arrive at my post office. I hadn’t had a chance to tell her that...[read on]About The Axe Factor, from the publisher:
Since Jimm Juree moved, under duress, with her family to a rural village on the coast of Southern Thailand, she misses the bright lights of Chiang Mai. Most of all, she’s missed her career as a journalist, which was just getting started. In Chiang Mai, she was covering substantial stories and major crimes. But here in Maprao, Jimm has to scrape assignments from the local online journal, the Chumphon Gazette—and be happy about it when she gets one. This time they are sending her out to interview a local farang (European) writer, a manLearn more about the book and author at Colin Cotterill's website.in his late fifties, originally from England, who writes award-winning crime novels, one Conrad Coralbank.
At the same time, several local women have left town without a word to anyone, leaving their possessions behind. These include the local doctor, Dr. Sumlak, who never returned from a conference, and the Thai wife of that farang writer, the aforementioned Conrad Coralbank. All of which looks a little suspicious, especially to Jimm’s grandfather, an ex-cop, who notices Coralbank’s interest in Jimm with a very jaundiced eye. With a major storm headed their way and a potential serial killer on the loose, it looks like Jimm Juree, her eccentric family, and the whole town of Maprao is in for some major changes.
The Page 69 Test: Killed at the Whim of a Hat.
My Book, The Movie: Killed at the Whim of a Hat.
Writers Read: Colin Cotterill (August 2011).
The Page 69 Test: The Axe Factor.
Writers Read: Colin Cotterill.
--Marshal Zeringue
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