Book picks similar to
The Queen's Envoy by David Prosser
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Fat Bald Jeff: A Novel
Leslie Stella - 2001
When her boss, the repulsive Coddles, heaps another new project on her department -- with no additional remuneration naturally -- she decides she's had enough. She spends her days battling with her roommate, Val Wayne Newton, about whether Black Sabbath or Neil Diamond will occupy the turntable and her nights beating her overeager suitor, Martin Lemming, away from the door of her boudoir. When she discovers a piece of vile pornography in Coddles's dry cleaning, she has the means to retaliate. Meanwhile, Fat Bald Jeff, the tech-support guy who has to cope with her mechanical self-sabotage, turns out to be even more disaffected than she, and they hatch the ultimate plan to give the pigs some of their own medicine. With a surreal wit and a keen eye that bring to mind Lily Tomlin set loose in Dilbert-world, Fat Bald Jeff is a sharp satire and a paean to the petty humiliations of workers everywhere.
Sacrifice of Isaac
Neil Gordon - 1995
Following the death of his world-renowned father, a great Israeli statesman, a young man finds himself confronting his father's legacy as he travels across Europe in search of his brother.
The Colour of Death
Toni Mount - 2018
They find a safe haven in the isolated Norfolk village where Seb was born. Yet this idyllic rural setting has its own murderous secrets and a terrible crime requires our hero to play the sleuth once more.Even away from London, Seb and Emily are not as safe as they believe - their enemies are closer than they know and danger lurks at every twist and turn. The sixth Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mystery from bestselling author Toni Mount brings the medieval era to life once again.
Boxer, Beetle
Ned Beauman - 2010
It is a novel that engages the mind while satisfying those that crave the thrill of a chase. There are riots and sex. There is love and murder. There is Darwinism and Fascism, nightclubs, invented languages and the dangerous bravado of youth. And there are lots of beetles. It is clever. It is distinctive. It is entertaining. We hope you are too.
A Billion Jokes: Volume 1
Peter Serafinowicz - 2012
Peter Serafinowicz's Questions and Answers is a showcase for the razor wit and joyful nonsense of one of Britain's cleverest comedians, firing back genuinely funny instant replies to a stream of questions from the general public. This book collects together several hundred jokes from Peter's store of one-liners in a stylish, faux-Victorian, gifty hardback, just in time for Christmas. 'Peter Serafinowicz is hilarious' David Walliams' 'It's funny, but Peter Serafinowicz is the kind of funny person that funny people find funny' Simon Pegg 'Peter Serafinowicz is one of the funniest women in the world' Derren Brown
Lore and Order
Steve K. Peacock - 2014
The fire brigade have been doing their best, as have the other emergency services, but whoever is behind the fires has been systematically running them ragged. Whitehall is worried. Something doesn’t add up, so they’ve dispatched a warlock – a former illegal mage, pressed into service of the government to deal with matters of the arcane – to look things over. Jameson Parker is that warlock, and he’s pretty okay with that. His freedoms might be heavily restricted, and any unauthorised use of magic means he’ll be struck down dead instantly, but it could be worse. He gets more or less free rein to swan around Humberside like the big I am, and it gives him a way to atone for his less than stellar past. He’s better off without magic, and he knows it. But is magic better off without him? The warlocks of Humberside don’t seem to think so, and there are rumblings that, as well as the fires, something big is about to go down. Jameson is not best pleased.
Slice
David Hodges - 2010
THERE’S A KILLER INSIDE THE POLICE STATION. A police station should be a safe place. But not when there’s a psychotic serial killer working there. THE FIRST VICTIM IS FOUND GRUESOMELY MUTILATED IN HIS MOST SENSITIVE AREA. HE IS DRESSED IN A JUDGE’S WIG. Detective Superintendent Jack Fulton takes on the grisly murder enquiry and discovers that his murderer might actually be one of the police station staff. MORE EMINENT VICTIMS FOLLOW. KILLED IN THE SAME SADISTIC MANNER. The press nickname the razor-wielding assassin “The Slicer.” With the killer stalking the shadowy Victorian building, Fulton has to contend not only with press harassment and police who will stop at nothing to get a result, but also with other problems much closer to home. As the killer leads him on a grim game of cat and mouse, Fulton has little idea of just how personal that game is about to become . . . YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT THIS ONE DOWN Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. THE AUTHOR A former police superintendent, with thirty years’ service. Since ‘turning to crime’, he has received critical media acclaim, including a welcome accolade from Inspector Morse’s creator, the late great, Colin Dexter, and he is now a prolific novelist with eleven published crime novels and an autobiography on his police career to his credit. His previous police experience has enabled him to provide a gritty realism to his thrillers and his Somerset Murder Series, featuring feisty female detective, Kate, and her partner, Hayden, has gone from strength to strength, attracting interest in the United States as well as in the UK. DETECTIVE KATE HAMBLIN MYSTERY SERIES Book 1: MURDER ON THE LEVELS Book 2: REVENGE ON THE LEVELS Book 3: FEAR ON THE LEVELS Book 4: KILLER ON THE LEVELS Book 5: SECRETS ON THE LEVELS Book 6: DEATH ON THE LEVELS STANDALONES SLICE
Craft Circle Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6
Stacey Alabaster - 2017
George is the owner of a craft store in Pottsville. From her first days in town, she has found herself in the middle of trouble. And now that she has expanded her horizons into volunteering at the animal shelter, wedding planning, and blogging, she is faced with even more intrigue. She will have to be at her mystery-solving best if she’s gonna keep six killers from getting away? This collection of cozy mysteries includes books one through six in the Craft Circle Cozy Mystery series. If you like cozy mysteries with interesting characters, the Craft Circle Cozy Mystery series is for you. Buy the Craft Circle Cozy Mystery Boxed Set and start solving your next mystery (or six) today! Steps from Death - When you’re the new girl in a small town, you have to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people. But sometimes that can leave you only Steps from Death. Arts, Crafts and Murder – Crafts are big deal in Pottsville. But is it big enough to murder for? A Finely Crafted Murder – When someone is murdered in a rival craft store, her suspicions intensify. Was her ex-husband capable of murder? Crafts, Cat Burglars, and Murder - Georgina starts volunteering at the local animal shelter in an effort to find balance in her life. When cats start disappearing, she takes it upon herself to find out what’s going on. When she tracks down the cat burglar, events take a deadly turn. Can Georgina find the killer before he lands on his feet and gets away? Weddings, Receptions, and Murders – Life is getting crazy for craft store owner turned super sleuth, Georgina Holt. When she signs on to help with a DIY wedding, things take a deadly turn. Can Georgina solve the murder and save the wedding? Beaches, Blogging, and Bodies – Georgina’s craft store has become established and a mainstay in the Pottsville community. When she decides to expand into the online blogosphere, things start to get weird. After a new online friend seems to disappear, Georgina sets out to find her missing friend. Her search leads her to a beach home…and a murder mystery? Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited
The Trial
Larry D. Thompson - 2010
She had volunteered for a clinical trial of a drug that both the company and the FDA knew was dangerous. When his daughter's liver starts to fail, and he realizes a liver transplant is out of the question, he decides to fight the drug company on the playing field he knows best...the courtroom. Discovering what was hidden from the public, he finds himself faced with a ruthless adversary willing to commit bribery, kidnapping and murder to keep the drug on the market.
The Last Lesson
Jon Athan - 2019
A gang-infested school. A vengeful teacher. After his star pupil, Rina Ogawa, is sexually assaulted in a school restroom, Edward Clifford sets out on a journey to find the truth and bring her attackers to justice. He finds himself delving head-first into the lives of his other students—lives filled with crime, violence, and hatred. What starts as a desperate attempt to achieve justice quickly sends Edward down the path of vengeance... Who attacked Rina Ogawa? Can Edward bring her attackers to justice? Or will he take matters into his own hands? From the provocative author of The Law of Retaliation and Grandfather’s House, Jon Athan brings you a shocking thriller packed with mystery, suspense, and extreme violence. This is a story of human horror. WARNING: This novel contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
A Killing in November
Simon Mason - 2022
As a young Detective Inspector, he's lost none of his disgust with privileged elites - or his objectionable manners. But he notices things; they stick to his eyes. His professional partner, DI Ray Wilkins, of affluent Nigerian-London heritage, is an impeccably groomed, smooth-talking graduate of Balliol College, Oxford. You wouldn't think they would get on. They don't.But when a young woman is found strangled at Barnabas Hall, they're forced to.Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat. St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others?As tensions rise, things aren't going well. Ray is in despair. Ryan is in disciplinary measures. But their investigation gradually disentangles the links between a Syrian refugee lawyer now working in the college kitchens, a priceless copy of the Koran in the college collection and the identity of the dead woman.A Killing in November introduces an unlikely duo from different sides of the tracks in Oxford in a deftly plotted murder story full of dangerous turns, troubled pasts and unconventional detective work.
V for Victor
Mark Childress - 1988
The war is everywhere, but Victor--a sixteen-year old boy sent by his father to care for his dying grandmother on a lonely island in Mobile Bay--can only dream of it. Then he wakes one amazing night to a thunderous roar from the Bay, and watches as a thug burns his boat. He also discovers a decomposing corpse, witnesses a near-seduction . . . and sees the ominous shadow of an enemy submarine surfacing at night.Suddenly Victor is playing unforeseen roles--now hostage, now pursuer--in the perilous war at home. . . .
A Hopeless Case
K.K. Beck - 1993
So when the young widow's "eccentric" Uncle Harold dies, she jets back to the States to claim the fortune she dearly needs to ransom her Visa card. Unfortunately, Jane finds her inheritance conditional and her situation critical. It seems Uncle Harold and his old-codger cronies are part of a secret society dedicated to aiding and abetting offbeat lost causes, and Jane must carry on her uncle's "work" if she expects to see anything resembling a windfall. But just how far will the chic expatriate go when her "hopeless case" forces her to mingle with a sleaze-ball lawyer, a scheming psychiatrist, a sinister New Age cult, a stone-cold corpse--and a ruthless murderer?
A Rosie Life In Italy: Why Are We Here?
Rosie Meleady - 2020
Everyone dismisses her long-term dream to live in Italy as another ‘mad hippy whim.’ While she’s busy planning other people’s happy endings, grief, eviction and debt nip at her heels. Trying to stabilise her life as an entrepreneur in the middle of an economic crash is almost impossible.When her landlord suddenly doubles the rent, Rosie is left with no choice but to pack up her family, two dogs and possessions into a 20-year-old camper van and head off in search of her own happy ending in sunny Italy.She soon discovers integrating into life in a new country isn’t as easy as it looks on TV, especially when the language is a minefield of accidental sexual innuendo. And trying to buy an abandoned villa in Umbria from eight crazy cousins with a longstanding family battle bubbling under the surface doesn’t make it any easier. While Rosie is determined to create the perfect life for her family in Italy, despite a hurricane, a raucous family dispute and a little thing called a global pandemic to top it all off, she begins to realise that the Italian dream may be too big for her. Will she ever get to live her rosy life in Italy? Or has she bitten off more than she can chew?
The Takedown
Patrick Quinlan - 2007
Miller - an A-list handsome ex-con, and Dot's former lover and employee, has no idea how the body got there. All he knows is he will do nearly anything to make it to go away. Dot's other former lover, freelance cocaine trafficker and murderer Nestor Garcia, is on the run from the cartels. He's interested in Dot's keys to safe deposit boxes in the Bahamas with more than a million dollars tucked away inside.Cool Breeze is a survivor and a warrior. Sex and deception are her weapons of choice. Breeze plans to let all Dot's lovers and business partners kill each other off. After they're dead, Breeze will walk away with the money. Nothing will happen as planned.The Takedown is a roller coaster ride of a novel that twists and turns toward a stunning showdown readers won't soon forget.