View source for Grandad There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill

{{infobox1
|title=Grandad There's a Head on the Beach
|author=Colin Cotterill
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The 2nd book in the Jimm Juree series suggests that there's great promise in this character. A great plot with some very real issues, good location with a splendidly dysfunctional family make for a recommended read.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=350
|publisher=Quercus
|date=March 2012
|isbn=978-0857387080
|website=http://www.colincotterill.com/
|cover=0857387081
|aznuk=0857387081
|aznus=B0074VPIZA
}}

Things have moved on since we [[Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill|first met]] ex-crime reporter, Jimm Juree, stranded at the Gulf Bay Lovely Resort and Restaurant with most of her dysfunctional family.  I say 'most' because the sister who used to be a brother and who has criminal tendencies isn't with them and when I say 'moved on' I mean that the tide has been in and out quite a few times.  This time it's washed up something a little unusual: a head.  Uncertain of what, exactly, you do when you find a head on the beach, Jimm sets off to see the village head man.  It's the start of a journey which will uncover piracy and slavery, violence and murder in what should be a beautiful part of the world, but isn't.

Despite its frequently jocular and occasionally very funny tone there are some ''very'' serious issues addressed here.  It's becoming obvious that a country doesn't even have to be particularly well-to-do to attract the illegals - the people who feel that there's a better living to be had than at home.  And when they come there will be people prepared to take advantage of them, even to treat them as disposable.  The issues are important and the message about what's happening is delivered with a firm hand.

This isn't the only problem facing Jimm (that's 'Jimm' with a rising intonation, by the way and not the sort of name your uncle has) - there's the question of the two elegant women staying in one of the bungalows.  I mean, why would they if they had a choice? And why does their car have no number plates? Why has the engine number been filed away?

It's a great story, very much of the ''now''.  I laughed, I was close to tears and towards the end I couldn't turn the pages fast enough in my dash to find out what happened next. The characters are great and it's a sign of Cotterill's skill that about half of them are so extreme that they could easily have become caricatures but never do. The location is to die for, possibly quite literally.  I enjoyed Cotterill's [[Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill|Dr Siri Paiboun series]] but I think Jimm Juree might have a longer shelf life and I'm wondering quite what is going to happen next.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

For more of crime in Thailand we can recommend [[Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill|Anarchy And Old Dogs]] also by Colin Cotterill.

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[[Colin Cotterill's Jimm Juree series in chronological order]]

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