Archives: Books

Dover: The Collected Short Stories

Posted on August 14, 2022 by - FA, FF, FFC, FFK, FFP, FIC000000, FIC022000, FIC050000, FU, Humorous Mystery and Crime, JBSC, JFSF, SOC026020, WEBFICTION

  • Publication date: 11/06/2020
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788422031
A Dover Mystery 11

Dover: The Collected Short Stories

Joyce Porter

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Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is the most idle and avaricious hero in all of crime fiction.

Honestly, why should he even be bothered to solve the case?

Collected here are eleven unforgettable short stories in the Dover series, from the 1969 story ‘Dover Pulls a Rabbit’, to ‘A Souvenir for Dover’.

Editorial reviews:

“Something quite out of the ordinary.” Daily Telegraph

“Joyce Porter is a joy… Dover is unquestionably the most entertaining detective in fiction.” Guardian

“Plotted with the technique of a virtuoso.” New York Times

“Wonderfully funny.” Spectator

 “Dover is wildly, joyously unbelievable; and may he remain so for our comic delight.” Sun

“You will be fascinated by his sheer dazzling incompetence. Porter has a keen eye, a wicked sense of comedy, and a delightfully low mind.” Harper’s

Other books in the series

The Yellowthread Street Mysteries: Books 1-3

Posted on August 14, 2022 by - 1FPCH, FH, FIC031000, FIC031010, Humorous Mystery and Crime, Satirical Comedy, WEBFICTION

  • Publication date: 07/02/2019
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788420068
A Yellowthread Street Mystery 999

The Yellowthread Street Mysteries: Books 1-3

William Marshall

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The first three books in William Marshall’s unforgettable, classic series of police procedurals – suspenseful and hilarious in equal measure.

Yellowthread Street Among the gangsters and the goldsmiths of Hong Bay, Chief Inspector Feiffer and his police department had their hands full . . . tourist troubles, a US sailor turned stick-up artist, and the jealous Chinese who solved his marital difficulties with an axe. Then the Mongolian with a kukri brought an extra touch of terror to the district . . .

The Hatchet Man Postman Lawrence Shang was watching a film called The Axeman of Shanghai when his life abruptly ended. Carpet trader Edward Peng was enjoying The Last Picture Show. So begins a series of murders across the Hong Bay district of Hong Kong – and a nightmarish investigation for Harry Feiffer and his staff at the Yellowthread Police Station.

Gelignite In the seamy Hong Bay district of Hong Kong, crimes of every shape and size were commonplace. But not letter bombs. Not till Mr Leung and Mr Ramaswamy were spread bloodily over the office walls. When Detective Inspector Spencer narrowly escaped becoming victim number 3, the Yellowthread Street police were grimly determined to track down the culprit.

Yellowthread Street brings to vivid life a seamy world where people called Osaka Oniki the Disemboweller, Shotgun Sen and The Chopper feel at home, a world of surreal possibility recorded with unique humour and a poignant sense of humanity.

Praise for the Yellowthread Street series:

“Marshall has the rare gift of juggling scary suspense and wild humor and making them both work.” Washington Post Book World

“Marshall’s style – blending the hilarious, the surreal, and the poignant – remains inimitable and not easily resisted.” San Francisco Chronicle

“Marshall has few peers as an author who melds the wildest comedy and tragedy in narratives of nonstop action.” Publishers Weekly

“Marshall is building a growing, iconoclastic body of work that mixes weird fantasy [and] wayward characterization . . . to produce a subtle, charged, atmospheric, lush fiction hybrid sure to satisfy those with a taste for mysteries on the far edges.” Philadelphia Inquirer

“Despite the wild humor, Marshall’s stories contain excellent police procedure, real suspense, and fine irony . . . incessantly scary.” Chicago Tribune

“Among the best police procedural series on the market.” Detroit Free Press

“As an inspired poet of the bizarre, [Marshall] orchestrates underlying insanity into an apocalyptic vision of the future.” New York Times Book Review

“Marshall’s novels feature seemingly supernatural events that turn out to have logical, if not precisely rational, origins. He has savage fun with police procedure.” TIME

“Nobody rivals Marshall’s ability to expose the links between comic hysteria and the most mundane human foibles, from greed to cowardice to simple funk.” Kirkus Reviews

“Moves at the speed of a bullet; don’t read it aloud or you’ll run out of breath.” Chicago Sun-Times

Other books in the series

The Miss Seeton Series: Books 1-3

Posted on August 14, 2022 by - FFC, FIC022030, FIC022070, Humorous Mystery and Crime, Social comedy, WEBFICTION

  • Publication date: 29/06/2017
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788420082
A Miss Seeton Mystery 999

The Miss Seeton Series: Books 1-3

Heron Carvic

eBook
Amazon iTunes

This collection brings together the first three adventures in the Miss Seeton Mysteries series, by Heron Carvic. While a picture may paint a thousand words, for this lovable retired art teacher, a sketch can catch a thousand criminals . . .

Picture Miss Seeton A night at the opera strikes a chord of danger when Miss Seeton witnesses a murder . . . and paints a portrait of the killer.
 
Miss Seeton Draws the Line Miss Seeton is enlisted by Scotland Yard when her paintings of a little girl turn the young subject into a model for murder.  
 
Witch Miss Seeton Double, double, toil and trouble sweep through the village when Miss Seeton goes undercover . . . to investigate a local witches’ coven!

Meet Miss Emily D. Seeton: retired art teacher Miss Seeton steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and the most endearing and unlikely master of detection.

What people are saying about Miss Seeton:

“Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“

“What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.”

“I’ve become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.”

“What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.”

“Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.”

Editorial reviews:

“A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times

“Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle

“This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun

“Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly

“Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews

“Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash

“I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

Other books in the series

The Bandy Papers: Books 1-3

Posted on August 14, 2022 by - FIC032000, FJM, Social comedy, WEBFICTION

  • Publication date: 13/12/2018
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788420075
The Bandy Papers 999

The Bandy Papers: Books 1-3

Donald Jack

eBook
Amazon iTunes

“I enjoyed every word . . . terrifically funny.” P.G. Wodehouse

With his disturbingly horse-like face and a pious distaste for strong drink and bad language, young Bartholomew Bandy doesn’t seem cut out for life in the armed services, as we meet him at the start of the First World War. 

Yet he not only survives the dangers and squalor of the infantry trenches, he positively thrives in the Royal Flying Corps, revealing a surprising aptitude for splitarsing Sopwith Camels and shooting down the Hun. He even manages to get the girl. 

Donald Jack’s blackly humorous Bandy memoirs are classics of their kind. Against an unshrinkingly depicted backdrop of war and its horrors, his anti-hero’s adventures are both gripping and shockingly funny.

Join Bartholomew Bandy in battle, in the skies and in all sorts of scrapes with this collection of the first three titles in the Bandy Papers series: Three Cheers for Me, That’s Me in the Middle and It’s Me Again.

What people are saying about The Bandy Papers:

“Reading can lead to involuntary bursts of loud laughter.”

“Very descriptive, full of air combats and written with a fine eye for period detail . . . there is quite simply no finer book of its kind. Highly recommended.”

“It is clear that Bandy likely should’ve been killed several times, but very likely the Grim Reaper was laughing too hard to hold his scythe straight . . .”

“Hysterically funny! . . . each book is another installment in the continuing saga of a Canadian and his adventures in war, the world, and women.”

“I have yet to find another author with the wit and humor of Donald Jack.”

Editorial reviews:

“Jack does more than play it for laughs . . . The mingling of humor and horror is like a clown tap-dancing on a coffin, but Jack is skillful enough to get away with it.” Time Magazine

“Funny. Very. Donald Jack has as light a touch with this fragile art as his hero has on throttle of a Sopwith Camel. Excessive corn is avoided in favour of wit and a delight in life.” New York Times

“Bartholomew Bandy is the most remarkable hero (or anti-hero) since Harold Lloyd impersonated the Freshman.” Chicago Tribune

“To know Bandy is to love him . . . you tend to gallop through and come hurtling out at the end panting for more.” The Sunday Sun

“For those to whom Bandy is a newcomer, what a treat is in store.” Toronto Star

Other books in the series

The Miss Seeton Series: Books 4-5 and Prequel

Posted on August 14, 2022 by - FFC, FIC022030, FIC022070, Humorous Mystery and Crime, Social comedy, WEBFICTION

  • Publication date: 19/10/2017
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788420716
A Miss Seeton Mystery 999

The Miss Seeton Series: Books 4-5 and Prequel

Heron Carvic, Hamilton Crane

eBook
Amazon iTunes

This collection brings together the fourth and fifth adventures in the Miss Seeton Mysteries series by Heron Carvic, plus the series prequel by Hamilton Crane. While a picture may paint a thousand words, for this lovable retired art teacher, a sketch can catch a thousand criminals . . .

Miss Seeton Sings (Book 4) Miss Seeton boards the wrong plane and lands amidst a gang of European counterfeiters. One false note, and her new destination is deadly indeed.

Odds on Miss Seeton (Book 5) Miss Seeton in diamonds and furs at the roulette table? It’s all a clever disguise for the high-rolling spinster . . . but the game of money and murder is all too real.

Miss Seeton’s Finest Hour (A Prequel) War-time England, and a young Miss Emily Seeton’s suspicious sketches call her loyalty into question—until she is recruited to uncover a case of sabotage.

Retired art teacher Miss Seeton steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and the most endearing and unlikely master of detection.

What people are saying about Miss Seeton:

“Miss Seeton is a hoot! I was torn between laughter and eye rolling with each page turn. The characters are loveable and thoroughly British. This is a perfect specimen of classic British mystery.“

“What a joy Miss Seeton is. Why did I wait so long to read them? Splashy characters, lovely setting, and just plain funny.”

“I’ve become a Miss Ess addict. Great characters that get better with each book. A must for anyone who loves a good British cozy with a twist, and surprising revelations of what a good brollie can do in a pinch.”

“What a great series. This is one of the best in English light reading mysteries.”

“Miss Seeton is a delightful sendup of the amateur sleuth. If your doctor has prescribed laughter as the best medicine, run and buy the entire series as fast as you can.”

Editorial reviews:

“A most beguiling protagonist!” New York Times

“Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce . . . This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting.” San Francisco Chronicle

“This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy . . . You can’t stop reading. Or laughing.” The Sun

“Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life.” Publishers Weekly

“Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers . . . and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton.” Kirkus Reviews

“Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple.” Ogden Nash

“I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever.” London Mystery Selection

Other books in the series

The Serge Storms Adventures: Books 1-3

Posted on June 24, 2018 by - 1KBBFL, FH, FIC031000, FICTION, Humorous Mystery and Crime, Satirical Comedy

  • Publication date: 25/01/2018
  • eBook ISBN: 9781788420099
A Serge Storms Adventure 999

The Serge Storms Adventures: Books 1-3

Tim Dorsey

eBook
Amazon iTunes

Buckle up your seatbelt and prepare for a thrilling tour of Florida’s crime-ridden underbelly in this collection of the first three Serge Storms Adventures. 

Florida Roadkill Local trivia buff Serge Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, and they all want a suitcase full of stolen insurance money.

Hammerhead Ranch Motel Local historian and spree killer Serge Storms – who has stopped keeping up with his meds – is still looking for a briefcase stuffed with five million dollars… and is now capable of wreaking more havoc than the hurricane gathering force offshore, just waiting for the opportunity to blow everything straight to hell.

Orange Crush The Republicans’ “golden boy” seems a shoo-in for re-election, until he undergoes a radical personality shift. His new-found conscience might well cost him the election, and it appears that everybody from Tallahassee to Miami Beach is trying to kill him…

Welcome to Tim Dorsey’s slice of America – where nobody gets out unscathed and untanned!

What people are saying about Serge Storms:

“Over-the-top, off-the-wall, too-much-is-never-enough, Florida insanity was never described so authentically and with such enthusiasm.”

“Humor really doesn’t get better than this. Dorsey has a style all to his own that is simply not replicated anywhere.”

“Serge and Coleman are a match made in heaven and I am still laughing … truly a great read and I can’t wait to delve into more of Dorsey’s work.”

“This is Pulp Fiction on steroids with an acid tab chaser. There is insanity on every page and every page is a good time. Twists and turns, and some of the most creative homicidal mayhem I have ever read.”

“… for pure pleasure and entertainment you just can’t beat the maniacal style of the Serge Storm series.”

Editorial reviews:

“Hilarious. … Serge Storms is, hands down, one of the most original and just-plain-captivating characters in modern crime fiction.” Booklist

“Entertaining … funny … irreverent and loving at the same time … [Dorsey] leaves the reader gasping for breath.” Washington Post Book World

“The characters in Tim Dorsey’s raucous novel would be shot on sight in any other state.” The New York Times Book Review

“Excellent … I almost exploded with laughter as I read Dorsey’s novel. It’s manic, hysterical, and puts Dorsey well up there with the cream of comic writers who seem to have made Florida the centre for satirizing America in the 21st century.” Independent

“Twisted hilarity … a compelling page-turner … Tim Dorsey is one sick bunny.” Belfast News Letter

Other books in the series