Book picks similar to
Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces by John Mortimer
fiction
mystery
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humour
Sisters Gonna Work It Out
Caimh McDonnell - 2007
The novella explores the origins of the mysterious Sisters of The Saint order of nuns. They have been described as what the A-Team would be like if they were made up of arse-kicking nuns. The novella finds the sisters in Colombia in 1985, with nooses around their necks, having upset the local drug baron. With the end so close, they each look back on the chain of events that lead them to this place, while also arguing as to who exactly is to blame for their current predicament.
Gym Rat & The Murder Club: Two New Stories (Kindle Single) (Crime Fiction Academy Presents...)
Lawrence Block - 2016
Not quite what he expected, and not for the faint of heart.Founded in 2012, The Center for Fiction's Crime Fiction Academy is the first ongoing program exclusively dedicated to crime writing in all its forms. Hone your skills with bestselling crime fiction authors Alison Gaylin and Jason Starr. Attend master classes with crime fiction greats like Mary Higgins Clark, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Nelson DeMille, Michael Connelly, Lisa Unger, and many more. Students receive a Writers’ Studio membership with access to our extensive circulating collection, and have the opportunity to read their work to an audience filled with editors, agents, and publishing professionals at our seasonal Crime Fiction Slam. Not in New York? Check centerforfiction.org for information about our online classes.
Dead Man's Gift: Yesterday
Simon Kernick - 2014
MP Tim Horton arrives home to find his seven year old son has been abducted by a ruthless gang of kidnappers. All they have left behind is the brutally murdered body of the Horton's nanny.
The gang's demands are simple: Tim must sacrifice his own life in order to save his son's.
It's the ultimate dead man's gift .
Brooklyn Blue
M.Z. Kelly - 2017
Okay, so her mother abandoned her as a girl to live with her crazy aunt and uncle who are tribute artists, performing as Twisted Mister and Little Sister. So what if her perverted cousin Mojo is moving into her basement apartment and has a habit of showing up naked in her shower? What does it matter that Madison’s best friend Amy is a Jersey girl with raging hormones on the rebound from the world’s worst marriage? Things could be a lot worse...like Madison could agree to save on rent by moving into the caretaker’s quarters of a Brooklyn cemetery with Amy and Max, a fellow officer, where they meet a cast of characters that could literally raise the dead. Come to think of it, maybe things can’t get any worse, especially when Madison and her friends form a secret crime fighting club and are determined to take down a sex trafficking ring, find a man who has ties to a drug cartel, and learn the truth about what happened to her long-lost mother. Brooklyn Blue, the first book in the Madison Knox Mystery Series, has more twists and turns than an out of control subway train. WARNING: This series contains adult language and laugh out loud situations, not for the faint of heart! If you think you can handle Madison’s crazy life, order Brooklyn Blue today. Other books in the series, Brooklyn Blood and Brooklyn Gone, are coming soon!
Bangkok Cowboy
Ron McMillan - 2013
Two days after private eye Mason sees a drunken Australian kicked to death in Bangkok’s notorious Soi Cowboy, he is approached by one of the men involved. Mobster Raymond Long owns nightclubs on the seedy sex strip and wants Mason to find his American accountant, who has disappeared, taking with her a computer hard drive. Mason is about to turn him down, when he realises the missing accountant is his friend Nathalie West. A British Army veteran of the Afghan war, Mason has seen his share of conflict - but finding out why Nathalie was secretly working for scum like Raymond Long pushes him beyond even his combat-hardened limits. Mason and his Thai partner Dixie urgently need to discover why the missing hard drive is so important – and to get to Nathalie before Long’s murderous gang find her. The arrival from Vancouver of a psychotic hitman representing Raymond Long’s mob bosses only adds to tension that mounts all the way to a late night climax on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. By the author of the critically-praised Yin Yang Tattoo, (Sandstone Press, 2010), Bangkok Cowboy is the first in a series of action-packed Mason & Dixie crime thrillers set within the grimy folds of one of the world’s great cities.
The Return of the Hippy
David Luddington - 2010
He thought he understood the way the world worked, but now, as a sacrificial lamb of the credit crunch he finds himself drifting... drifting into the clutches of the ever resourceful Pete who could find the angle in a Fairy Liquid bubble... and into the arms of the enigmatic hippy girl, Astrid, who’s about to introduce Tony to rabbits, magic caves and the joys of mushrooms. eBook of the Month Club describes ‘The Return of the Hippy’ as “The funniest and most heart warming novel of the year.”
Cold Land: A Mystery Thriller
John Oakes - 2017
The agency has fallen on hard times and jumps at the chance to have a Texas Ranger in its ranks. Jake soon realizes the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is staffed with a collection of undesirables dumped from other state and local agencies, but he has no choice but to help chase down leads on a fraud investigation. An investigation that turns up a freshly murdered corpse. Partnering out of necessity with one of the BCA's odd ducks, Jake doggedly pursues answers in the stabbing death of a local fraudster. His search for truth takes him into rural Minnesota where nothing he encounters is as it first seems. After navigating newly released convicts, illicit affairs and a secretive family pretending to be Native Americans, Jake gets closer to the murderer than he even realizes. After infiltrating a heist teeming with potential suspects, Jake fits the pieces of the puzzle together. But just as he identifies the killer, one last under cover role has his mental state unraveling before his eyes. Cold Land is a slow-burning mystery with a thrilling conclusion, but is also a tale of loss, identity and the will to survive. Its gripping turns and vivid characters will leave you thinking long after the tale is told.
Faecal Money: A Very Lucrative Cr*p (A Raucous Tom Sharpe Style Comedy)
Giles Curtis - 2016
Easy reading and enjoyable.." - John P Sam's trousers were round his ankles. The microwaved chicken - long past its sell-by date - had made a hasty exit. He was down a ditch in the middle of nowhere, and there weren't any tissues. Suzy had dumped him. Things weren't going well. He was only one wipe away from his life changing forever when he found a blue IKEA bag packed with banknotes. Gary wants to kill him. So does Vlad. Ashton wants to paint him naked and then there's the Contessa. Suzy isn't certain they've broken up. One thing’s for sure: Sam's life has been turned upside down.
A Very Funny Murder Mystery
Paul Mathews - 2018
And when Lady Peculiar’s butler – a part-time comedian – is found drowned in his own mango chutney, Detective Inspector Clinton Trump comes blundering onto the scene – ready to shun logic, breach protocol and trust in his own gut instincts. What will South East England’s greatest detective uncover? Is her ladyship a murderess? Was the killer a comedy rival? Or are darker forces at work in this particular corner of Brokenshire? Join our self-proclaimed British detective genius, as he races against time to solve this very funny murder mystery – so he can play golf at the weekend!
The first novel in the ‘Clinton Trump Detective Genius’ series
This riotous English detective spoof is murderously good fun from first page to last, as Inspector Trump and his unwanted sidekick, Constable Dinkel, encounter a procession of crazy comedy characters in the Great British countryside. Stuffed solid with British humour (or ‘humor’, if you’re one of the many American tourists who visit Upper Goosing), its mix of black comedy, British farce, funny one-liners and downright silliness is guaranteed to generate tremendous titters across the very civilised world.More amateur sleuth than professional investigator, Clinton Trump will bring a smile to your face like no other Trump has before, or probably ever will. So, jump aboard the Trump detection train, blow your Clinton trumpet and join the movement – Make Murder-Mystery Great Again!
A Word from Detective Inspector Clinton Trump:
“Greetings from Upper Goosing – the murder capital of Europe. You’ll find the scenery, tea rooms and cake shops are well worth the risk of a premature, grisly death. But before purchasing this novel, please note that it only employs British English, as spoken by Her Majesty the Queen. I don’t want anyone griping about me saying ‘per cent’ instead of ‘percent’, ‘metre’ instead of ‘meter’ or ‘tea’ instead of ‘coffee’. If you must grumble, please do as the English do and complain only to yourself. And if you’re planning on enjoying a cup of Earl Grey with this quality e-book, please remember: it’s tea first, milk second. Finally, don’t be afraid to laugh thunderously when reading this novel. Just don’t laugh yourself to death – we have enough fatalities around here as it is. Thank you.”
Broadchurch: Thirteen Hours (Story 8): A Series Two Original Short Story
Erin Kelly - 2015
Containing completely new material not available anywhere else, this is a must-read for all fans of the show.The final instalment in a collection of eight short stories to run alongside the second series of ITV's BAFTA award-winning show, Broadchurch. This story will be released at midnight following the broadcast of episode eight.The stories, written by bestselling author Erin Kelly in close collaboration with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, will consist of 100% original plotlines that are tied closely to that evening's episode. The stories will offer an unrivalled opportunity to spend more time with the characters, allowing you to delve deeper into their lives, histories and secrets in order to find out what really makes them tick.This first-time creative collaboration between author and series creator will enhance your enjoyment of the TV series in a completely ground-breaking style. You won't be able to wait for the next episode and story!
Shattered
Donna Ball - 1997
a desperate mother... a frantic call in the night... is this a cruel hoax, or the work of a maniacal serial killer? The peaceful resort town of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea on Florida's Forgotten Coast is known for its low crime rate, pristine beaches, and great fishing. But tragedy can come even to Paradise, as Carol Dennison found out two and a half years ago when her fourteen-year-old daughter, Kelly, disappeared on her way to a Tallahassee concert. Now, just as Carol as beginning to rebuild the pieces of her shattered life, she receives a midnight call from someone who calls her "mama" and begs for help. Is this a cruel prank designed to terrorize and punish Kelly's father for the role he played in bringing a recently paroled criminal to justice? Or is it possible that Kelly is still alive?A grim investigation uncovers a connection between Kelly and other girls who have gone missing along the Gulf Coast in the past few years. When the body of one of those missing girls washes up on the shores of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea, the police are forced to admit they may have a serial killer in their midst. And with over three thousand college students poised to descend on the tiny community for spring break, their only hope for stopping him before he strikes again is the frightened voice of a teenage girl on the telephone... and the desperate determination of the parents who love her.Shattered is Donna Ball at her best: spine-tingling terror, chilling realism and unforgettable characters. No parent will ever watch her child leave the house in the same way again.Praise for the work of Donna Ball:"A maelstrom of suspense… gripping, intense”--Rendezvous“[Ball] knows how to keep a story moving”--Kirkus Reviews“A major talent of the genre”--Publisher’s Weekly“A must read”--Examiner.com
Mrs. O'Malley's Midnight Mystery
M. Louisa Locke - 2020
O’Malley, especially when you have seven children and are forced to live in one of the crowded neighborhoods South of Market. Late one night, as she sat at the window of her crowded flat, sewing and worrying, she noticed something strange going on across the street. Her decision to investigate will have unexpected consequences. Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery is a short story in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and it comes right after the short story, Dandy’s Discovery, and before Lethal Remedies, the seventh novel in the series.
Karma
Walter Mosley - 2010
He was a private investigator who had "decided to go from crooked to slightly bent," turning down the shady but lucrative work that New York's thugs and mobsters had long brought to his door. In "Karma," Walter Mosley tells us the story of the moment McGill decided to change his ways, when a seemingly classic femme fatale forced him to confront the reality of his life of corruption and betrayal. It was the culmination of a dark and tragic case that reached back through McGill's entire career, plumbing the full, complex history of the soul-scarred figure now hailed as "a poignantly real character . . . [and] a more than worthy successor to Philip Marlowe." (The Boston Globe) Originally published in Otto Penzler's anthology Dangerous Women, "Karma" was included in Best American Mystery Stories 2006, edited by Scott Turow.
One by One
Robert Enright - 2015
Daily Muay Thai training sessions with his best friend, a progressive career as a mechanic and married to Helen, the love of his life. All of it comes to an end on a rainy saturday night in London. When Helen is ripped from the world by the notorious Drayton family on a visit to the capital and the police, including the prodigal Officer Starling, do little to bring them to justice, Lucas embarks on a rain soaked London to put things right himself. As the body count rises and the ripple effects of the escalating violence reaches further than he could have imagined, Lucas has to confront his dark past, his continuous grief, a nationwide police hunt and, of course, the Draytons.... One by One. A riveting story of revenge and redemption with hard-hitting action and heart-wrenching grief, One by One is a must for fans of Crime Thrillers.
The Slaughtered Virgin of Zenopolis
David Blake - 2016
Meanwhile, the city is under threat of Roman invasion and their leader, Becky Philips, is taking no prisoners.