Review: James Bong - Agent of Anarchy by Todd Borho

Synopsis: My name is James, James Bong!

Follow the daring exploits of James Bong, a former MI6 spy turned renegade, as he defies authority and takes on daring missions alongside his trusty team. With the brilliant hacker K, the fiery blogger Miss Moneybit, and the mysterious AI Symphy at his side, Bong navigates a world of danger and intrigue, leaving a trail of laughter in his wake.

But as Bong and his team push the limits of what's possible, they soon find themselves pursued by their former employers, determined to put an end to their rebellious antics. Will Bong outsmart his adversaries and emerge victorious, or will he be caught in a web of deceit and betrayal?

Packed with cutting-edge technology, pulse-pounding suspense, and laugh-out-loud humor, “James Bong" is a must-read for fans of sci-fi adventure and spy thrillers alike.

~ ~ ~

A spoof of the James Bond spy genre,written as a play - minimal stage direction, characters of very little substance, plenty of humorous dialogue that doesn't overtax the little grey cells. A pastiche to while away an hour or so. Cue Leslie Nielsen.

Review: The Tailor of Riga by Jonathan Harries

Synopsis: I had absolutely no intention of getting into the family business. As I told my father the night he enlightened me on what my ancestors had been up to for over a thousand years, "Sticking a curved dagger into someone's liver ain't quite my cup of tea."

As it turned out, I had no choice. When your family's been assassinating reprobates and other loathsome individuals for seventy generations, you have a certain obligation.

So, while it was a little disconcerting to hear how dear old granny would have become a prostitute if Grandpa Joe hadn't whacked one of Germany's top agents just before the start of World War I, it certainly piqued my interest. Of course, as I discovered, prostitution and murder were pretty de rigueur for my family.

After all, it was my great-grandfather who was hired by the British secret service to kill Jack the Ripper and my mother's cousins who took part in the attempted assassination of Lenin.

My only regret when I finally took up the family sica was not eliminating Jean-Bedel Bokassa just before he crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire and ate my two friends.

But we all make mistakes.

~ ~ ~

A rather curious (and dubious) tale of the author's discovery of his "real" family history.

"When your family's been assassinating reprobates and other loathsome individuals for seventy generations, you have a certain obligation."

Harries takes us on a journey of discovery - that he is descended from a long line of assassins dating back to Biblical times - and showcases a couple of incidents out of what is no doubt many acts of subterfuge and murderous expediency, de rigueur.

For those who definitely like their humour accompanied by satire, witticisms, anecdotal snippets of questionable historical accuracies and fallacies, then this is for you.

Looking forward to reading more of the exploits in the next books in the series: The Carpet Salesman from Baghdad, The Bodyguard of Sarawak, and The Correspondent of Petrograd.

Review: The Physicist Detective by Raymond Marylowe

Synopsis: Meet Professor Raymond Marylowe — flamboyant theoretical physicist and self-proclaimed “world’s greatest private detective.” Armed with absurd logic and bizarre applications of physics, he can theorize anyone into guilt—no matter how innocent they are. Wrong and humiliated often, uncertain never.

Follow him on a globe-trotting adventure through seven cases, as he attempts to tackle impossible crimes, outwit phantom thieves, duel secret spies, uncover mythic treasures—and face his most baffling mystery romance, with a woman as much of a chaotic wildcard as he is.

But in every shadow lurks his sworn nemesis, the worst nightmare of every an elite criminal defense attorney, who vows to defend all criminals Professor Marylowe accuses, no matter how guilty…

~ ~ ~

Suspend all belief all ye who enter here. This is a farcical, comical, nonsensical, self-indulgent piece of buffoonery. Picture the Tassie Devil from the WB cartoons - that is Professor Marylowe - as he pontificates, accuses, surmises, rushing in like a bull in a china shop, and literally makes it up as he goes along, solving (??) crimes with the use of physics. Usual one dimensional crooks, villains, suspects and numerous other characters, who don't seem to be allocated any real depth but a pretty much page fillers to keep the highly unusual narrative flowing (or rocketing along at break neck speed into oblivion). Continue the journey at your own peril .....

Review: A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage by MK Oliver

Synopsis: A whip-smart and darkly funny crime novel—perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Maid—that follows a wife and mother with a deadly secret that she must suppress if she wants to maintain her picture-perfect façade.

Meet Lalla Rook. Lalla has a lot on her plate: She needs to guarantee her husband makes partner, secure her dream house in Hampstead, and get her daughter into a prestigious prep school. And on the afternoon she stabs a stranger seven times after he breaks into her living room, she has a four-year-old’s birthday party to host.

With an unambitious partner, two demanding children, and a barely adequate large house in a nice (if not quite fashionable) part of town, Lalla’s life isn’t quite perfect yet. And she can’t pretend she hasn’t missed the adrenaline rush that comes with transgressing. Besides, as a wife and mother, she’s already an expert multi-tasker. So, disposing of a body, framing a friend, and being the world’s best mother can easily be managed alongside the usual domestic minutiae.

It’s just that her husband Stephen seems distracted, her daughter’s drowning of the class hamster is affecting her academic future, and then there is the unexpected intruder. Who is this man and what does he want from her? Because Lalla has a past she’d rather keep hidden—and the sudden appearance of the police means that avoiding them will be yet another task to cross off her to-do list.

Funny, calculating, hyper-competent, and ambitious, Lalla is your next favorite anti-heroine. Just don’t mention it to her mother-in-law.

~ ~ ~

This is a great fun read with a protagonist who will stop at nothing to maintain the perfect facade of her life and the ensure the pathway to her future life poses no obstacles.

You cannot but help like Lalla - afterall, if we are honest, we all have a little of the sociopath in us. Author Oliver provides the reader with a quirky and irreverant look at life in suburbia - at bit like "Desperate Housewives" meets "Housewives Of ...." meets "Stepford Wives". The short snappy chapters keep the narrative flowing like a well-oiled machine. And love the "to do" lists at the end of each chapter. 

This tome does not take itself too seriously - and neither should the reader. Lalla aspires to what we all want in life - happy family, comfortable lifestyle, good friends, good job with promotion, good schools for the kids - she just has a slightly different way of achieving it - and being the sociopath that she is, will let nothing get in her way and stop her from getting it - not family, not friends, and certainly not a little murder or two or three!.

As Lalla muses ... "... the past will come back to haunt you if you don't smother it with a pillow ..." - and her most assuredly does! Will she let that get in the way of her ambitions - certainly not! Though at times we do worry that she may not have the full control over events that she thinks she has ..... but this is Lalla, our narrator, our BFF, our anti-heroine. Of course she will triumph!

Oh, and to those "reviewers" who didn't like the book because it "... was down to a male author putting on a female narrative voice... " - get over yourselves you nufties!  Are you implying men are not ever permitted to write female characters - and vice versa. If so, where would we be without some of the great literary pieces we have today. I would take their reviews with a pinch of salt or better yet, ignore completely.

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd

Synopsis: Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended ( badly). Only here’s the That’s not how it ended at all.

Romeo and Juliet are alive and well and the parents of seven kids. I’m the oldest, with the emphasis on ‘old’—a certified spinster at twenty, and happy to stay that way. It’s not easy to keep your taste for romance with parents like mine. Picture it—constant monologues, passionate declarations, fighting, making up, making out . . . it’s exhausting.

Each time they’ve presented me with a betrothal, I’ve set out to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. After all, someone sensible needs to stay home and manage this household. But their latest match, Duke Stephano, isn’t so easy to palm off on anyone else. The debaucher has had three previous wives—all of whom met unfortunate ends. Conscience forbids me from consigning another woman to that fate. As it turns out, I don’t have to . . .

At our betrothal ball—where, quite by accident, I meet a beautiful young man who makes me wonder if perhaps there is something to love at first sight—I stumble upon Duke Stephano with a dagger in his chest. But who killed him? His late wives’ families, his relatives, his mistress, his servants—half of Verona had motive. And when everyone around the Duke begins dying, disappearing, or descending into madness, I know I must uncover the killer . . . before death lies on me like an untimely frost.

Knives Out meets Bridgerton in Fair Verona, as New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd kicks off a frothy, irreverent, witty new series with an irresistible premise—Romeo and Juliet’s daughter as a clever, rebellious, fiercely independent young woman in fair Verona—told from the delightfully engaging point of view of the captivating Rosie Montague herself…

~ ~ ~

I loved this rom-com set in the time of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" - Verona in the early Renaissance period. Our narrator and heroine is Rosie Montague - daughter of said Romeo and Juliet - who now finds herself in yet another unenviable position - yet another betrothal of marriage - and one she cannot (and will not) foister on an unsuspecting potential bride (Rosie is in the habit of playing matching maker for any potential or impending suitors put forward by her parents). This suitor is suitably unsuitable ....

"... he had said he wanted me for power and revenge -power over me, I assume, but revenge? on whom? ..."

On the day of the official betrothal, Rosie suddenly finds herself enamoured by another (a gate-crasher); her betrothed - Duke Leir Stephano - cruelly murdered; and herself the prime suspect. But Rosie is no ordinary fair maid - she is intelligent, independent, obstinate, and determined to find out who killed her betrothed if only to clear her name .. not so easy when the body count is rising.

This is a very enjoyable read - the chapters are short and concise, filled with compelling and humourous dialogue, narrated by a self-deprecating heroine, peppered with themes found in many a Shakespearean tome - jealousy, greed, envy, revenge, hatred, love and ... mean girls!

I believe this to be the first in a new series - so am eagerly awaiting what fate - and author Dodd - have in store for Rosie Montague.

For the reader worried that author Dodd has taken liberties with two of Shakespeare's own characters, fear not, the Bard himself was an habitual "borrower" of other peoples' stories. A keen reader may discern that in this instance, the Bard borrowed from a poem by Arthur Brooke who himself borrowed the plot from a story by Matteo Bandello.

Review: Penny Pinching Tips For The Morally Bankrupt by Libby Marshall

Synopsis: Penny Pinching Tips for the Morally Bankrupt is a fantastically funny, wonderfully weird, and surprisingly sincere collection of short stories, humor pieces, and miscellaneous bits.

Debra, an unhappy billionaire’s wife, decides to resurrect the 18th-century trend of hiring a man to live on their property as an ornamental garden hermit. An elderly serial killer, bored by her dull nursing home existence, finds a deadly new purpose when her high school nemesis ends up living down the hall. In 1953 a young couple drives to Makeout Point where instead of an evening of heavy petting, they find mountain lions, a man with no gaps in his teeth, and the opportunity to kill Henry Kissinger. Within these pages, a man tries to date after losing his wife to The Salem Witch Trials, a Wi-Fi router gains sentience, a series of cardboard boxes oozing with smoky-sweet baked beans mysteriously appear at a woman’s front door, and a Chuck E. Cheese is haunted by the spirit of Princess Diana.

Boldly strange, deliciously satirical, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Penny Pinching Tips for the Morally Bankrupt swings from the grim and ghastly to the exquisite and lovely. This one-of-a-kind book takes the reader on a surreal journey through the compulsory despair of daily life and concludes that the only sensible reaction to that much pain is laughter.

Although I do at times have a rather warped sense of humour, I am disappointed to say that I am not a fan. I found nothing that brought a smile (or smirk), nothing that elicited a belly laugh or even a stifled chuckle, nothing that compelled me to move forward or hold my interest. Not for me.

James Flynn series by Haris Orkin

You Only Live Once

From Zero to Hero …  James Flynn is an expert shot, a black belt in karate, fluent in four languages and irresistible to women. He’s also a heavily medicated patient in a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital. Flynn believes his locked ward is the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Secret Service and that he is a secret agent with a license to kill.

When the hospital is acquired by a new HMO, Flynn is convinced that the Secret Service has been infiltrated by the enemy. He escapes to save the day, and in the process, Flynn kidnaps a young Hispanic orderly named Sancho.

This crazy day trip turns into a very real adventure when Flynn is mistaken for an actual secret agent. Paranoid delusions have suddenly become reality, and now it’s up to a mental patient and a terrified orderly to bring down an insecure, evil genius bent on world domination.

Once is Never Enough

The Perfect Hero For A World Gone Mad .... An old enemy seeking revenge sends James Flynn back around the bend and into a wild adventure even more deranged than his last one. Once again he believes that his psychiatric hospital is the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Secret Service and that he is a secret agent with a license to kill.

With the help of Sancho, his reluctant sidekick, Flynn confronts a mysterious new adversary just as unhinged as he is and far more deadly. The entire planet is in danger and the only one who can save it is someone no one believes.

The fate of the world now rests in the hands of a man suavely dancing on the thin line between objective reality and batshit crazy.

Review: Because He's Jeff Goldblum by Travis Andrews

Synopsis: An irreverent yet deeply researched biography about the always offbeat, suddenly meme-able, and wildly popular actor.

When did you first encounter Jeff Goldblum? Maybe as a deranged killer in his 1974 screen debut in Death Wish? Maybe as a cynical journalist in 1983s The Big Chill? Or a brilliant if egotistical scientist-turned-fly in 1986s The Fly? Perhaps as the wise-cracking skeptical mathematician in 1993s Jurassic Park? Or maybe you're not a film buff but noticed his face as part of one of the Internet's earliest memes. Who knows?

Whenever it was, you've probably noticed that Goldblum has become one of Hollywood's most enduring actors, someone who only seems to grow more famous, more heralded, more beloved through the decades, even though he's always followed his own, strange muse. The guy primarily plays jazz music these days, but is more famous than ever. Actor, pianist, husband, father, style icon, meme. Goldblum contains multitudes, but why? What does he mean?

The Washington Post's Travis M. Andrews decided to find out. And so he set out on a journey through Goldblum's career, talking to directors like Lawrence Kasdan and Philip Kaufman, colleagues like Harry Shearer and Billy Crudup, and pop culture experts like Chuck Klosterman and Sean Fennessey, to get to the bottom of this whole Goldblum thing. And then he took what he learned and he wrote this book, which is titled Because He's Jeff Goldblum and is the best thing written since The Brothers Karamazov and slightly easier to follow. But you should already know that. In this new semi-biography, semi-rumination, and semi-ridiculous look at the career of Goldblum, Andrews takes you behind the scenes of his iconic movies, explores the shifting nature of fame in the twenty-first century, and spends far too much time converting Goldblum's name into various forms of speech.

Want to hear how Goldblum saved a script supervisor from an amorous baboon? Or what he would write on the mirror after taking showers when he was a teenager? How about his feelings on various brands of throat lozenges? (That one could be an entire book unto itself.) Then this is the book for you! 

Very quirky biographical /memoirish style of book with absolutely no contribution from the subject at hand - but I was fascinated none-the-less as Goldblum is such a tenacious, enigmatic, figure, seemingly beloved by all. What more can I say.....

Review: Yellowthread Street by William Marshall

"... a world of surreal possibility recorded with unique humour and a poignant sense of humanity ..."

Set in a fictional suburb of Hong Kong, Chief Inspector Harry Feiffer and his motley crew of detectives are part of the night shift at Yellowthread Street Police Station. What begins as a routine night soon devolves into a comedy of errors and conversations lost in translation as the team investigate a bloody murder, a lost husband, a crime spree that coincides with the arrival of a US naval ship, a rampaging Mongolian, and local gangsters (with names like Osaka Oniki the Disemboweller, Shotgun Sen and The Chopper).

Loved every page ! Could not stop reading. It's hard to believe that this was first published in the mid-1970s, and is the first of many; and that it was a UK TV series in the 1990s (thank you youtube).

As I was reading this, it put me in mind of William Wyler's 1951 movie, "Detective Story", starring Kirk Douglas (that tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad). Yellowthread Street seems to have been written in the same style.

Definitely a series to follow up on! 

See:

Wikipedia - Yellowthread Street TV Series

Goodreads - Yellowthread Street books

Scoundrels by Major Cornwall and Major Trevelyan

These memoirs are authored by two disreputable spies; or cads, rakes, rascals, bounders - call them what you will. Based in the form of a manuscript submitted to a publisher, these two "gentlemen" - Major Victor Montgomery Cornwall and Major Arthur St John Trevelyan - have been under house arrest for 30 years and for what we do not yet know - and have decided, by means of a series of letters (ie: snail mail) to relive certain aspects of their lives (adventures) to set the record straight and vindicate themselves.

I will preface this by saying that these memoirs are at times, humourous, vulgar, questionable, comedic, slapstick, incredible. These are tales of war, sex, love, adventure, deceit, murder, with the central point being the Scoundrels Club of Piccadilly. 

As over-confident seventeen year olds, Trevelyan and I were initiated into Scoundrels Club. Lunk Snr immediately handed us an undertaking, club parlance for ‘something that needs squaring away, putting right, or sweeping under the carpet’. Little did we know it would mark the start of a long and illustrious career of lying, cheating, stealing and skullduggery. Or to dignify it, espionage."

One must begin with the first in the series - Scoundrels - wherein we are introduced to the two Majors as they are now and as they begin to look back (from the 1920s to the 1950s). Sometimes the story-telling is more along the lines of a game on one-up-manship (there is also a healthy dose of animosity between the two) wherein we are treated to both sides of the story, and where the Majors' nemesis, in the form of former school chum Gruber Hansclapp, emerges.

The memoirs are also based around a series of well-known historical events - which readers will readily identify with, though will find themselves questioning if either of the Majors actually appeared in anything they have previously read.

Scoundrels: The Hunt for Hansclapp continues in the same vein - and takes place in the period from the 1950s to 1970s. And outwitting them at every turn - their Moriarty - is Gruber Hansclapp. Will they get their man - will the mystery of their house arrest be revealed - will the ever be released back into the real world.

It's billed as "... historically accurate, morally questionable and absolutely true ..." and dare I say, so politically incorrect! So if you are easily offended - step away now.

Interview with James Peak & Duncan Crowe (publishers or trustees of the memoirs) here @ The Turnaround Blog

Review - A Long Crazy Burn by Jeff Johnson

" ... nothing good ever happens after 3am .."

And it certainly doesn't in Jeff Johnson's acerbic tale of revenge, murder, love, and double dealing. This puts me in mind of the graphic novel - akin to Sin City - where Darby Holland is a crude, rude, violent street hustler, and the story is raw, gritty and no holds bar. 

Darby's tattoo parlour is blown up, he is beaten senseless, and behind the scenes, a real estate scam to clear out Portland Old Town and make it new and trendy develops.  As the caper unfolds, the action hots up, the pace quickens (as does the readers' pulse rate), as Darby embarks upon the long road to revenge.

Found it not at all difficult to read as this is the follow on from "Lucky Supreme".

see more

@ Great Pink Skeleton
@ Gehenna & Hinnom

Lucky Supreme:

The night world of Old Town Portland Oregon has gone mad in the grip of gentrification and at the center of it all is Lucky Supreme a seedy tattoo parlor whose proprietor is a street-bred artist with a unique approach to problem solving Darby Holland has enough on his radar but when some flash tattoo artwork stolen from him resurfaces in California he cant help himself. His efforts to reclaim it set him on a dangerous path dragging along his delightfully eccentric colleagues including the brains behind his brawn, Delia a twiggy vinyl-clad punk genius secretly from the other side of the tracks Before the wrecking balls swing through Old Town in the name of progress Darby must settle old scores and face new demons to save his reputation his shop and his sanity. He has secrets of his own and a tattoo shop in Old Town was a perfect place to hide but when cash, lies, crime and history collide, Darby Holland will need his ramshackle skill set his wits and a lot of luck to rise to the top of a human food chain or be eaten alive.

The Animals After Midnight:

In this third novel in the Darby Holland Crime Novel series, Darby's past rises up to do more than haunt him. You can run, but in the information age you can only hide for so long. Midnight Rider Productions is a dark web nightmare machine, headed by the one man who years ago drove Darby to hide in the seamy environs of Old Town and make his life there. But Darby left his own mark back in the day and the shadowy head of production has a grudge to settle. Rider has found him at long last and plans to make an example of him. Every dark secret of Darby's is exposed, every triumph reversed, every dream made real is set on fire, and as the Feds circle, smelling blood in the water, Darby has to run the most brutal rearguard action in the history of crime-meets-crime and gamble that he has finally grown powerful enough, crazy enough, and hard enough to beat the Devil himself. Meanwhile is best friend and should-be lover Delia, is about to be married to someone with his own dark secrets. With the help of his friends new and old, Darby must save Delia and himself and the rest of the Lucky Supreme faithful as he plays one force against another with desperate brilliance in an epic conflict that rages through the dark underbelly of Portland, Oregon.

Review - Noir: A Novel by Christopher Moore

Modern novel harkening back to the times of the classic noir fiction genre with the story set in 1940s San Francisco.

The tale is populated with characters such as Sammy "Two Toes" and "The Cheese", men with dark glasses, and a Chinese side-kick. I love the use of the snappy chapter titles and the use of the authentic (though certainly not PC) language of the characters.I stuck close to Sammy and the Cheese as things went from bad to worse, as a shady air force general based at a little outpost in New Mexico enters the mix.

Whilst the opening scene worked really well as a first person narrative (voiced - in my mind - by none other than Bogart) - the switching between first and third person creates a little confusion. It would really have worked much better sticking to the one style of narrative.

see also:
review @ Kirkus Reviews
interview @ Goodreads

The Baker’s Alchemy by John Stephenson

Review by Robert Jones for the Blue Mountains Gazette:

Stephenson’s first opus, The Optimist, is based on the early years of the iconic Australian poet, Christopher Brennan.

The new novel, The Baker’s Alchemy, also has at its core the central themes of romance and difficult liaisons except, and with painstaking authentic detail, this book is set in Poland and weaves a dense story of magic laced with ancient European ‒ and specifically ‒ Polish beliefs and traditions.

This is a truly hilarious book, very well written and most enjoyable. I found myself reading aloud to my partner great slabs of Stephenson’s glorious prose, ripe with clever wit and marvellous word-play. Be warned, if you pick it up to read you honestly won’t be able to put it down. Like one of the baker’s piquant gingerbread men, it is a pure delight! 

Review: The Brewer of Preston by Andrea Camilleri

This was an added extra when I picked up a few of Camilleri's "Inspector Montalbano" books from the local library.

The setting Vigata in the 1870s, and the proposed production of a play - the Brewer of Preston - at the local theatre by the Prefect of Vigata - an event which the townsfolk intend will never happen. 

What was unexpected was how this writing style differs so much from the "Inspector Montalbano" novels. The chapters, which introduce us to an eclectic and eccentric cast of characters, are presented in no particular order - in fact we are told to read them in whatever order we like! As we slowly read, we pick up little hints as to how each scene and the characters will eventually relate, and the circumstances that bring them all together begins to unfold.

" ... how many things in Sicily happened by mistake ..."

The writing is at times sardonic, comedic, tragic, farcical, absurd. Loaded with clever, and often satirical, writing, Camilleri reveals tempestuous political scheming and double crossing, murder, infidelity, police corruption, anarchy, organised crime - and above, the Sicilian style of justice.

One is left wondering ... is the opera being acted out on the stage or in the real lives of the novel's characters...

Review: The Price You Pay by Aidan Truhen

" ... I guess everyone's the morally conflicted hero of their own narrative am I right? .."

Jack Price is a cocaine dealer, targetted by an international syndicate of killers - the Seven Demons - and Jack's out for revenge - that's "... the price you pay ...".

The story is sassy, descriptive, mouthy, fast paced, punchy. Jack Price is a thoroughly despicable character - self- involved, egotistical, sociopathic, infallable, sardonic; creative and enterprising. There are just too many good one-liners in this story, to many LOl moments (I literally had tears) that you just have to read this. 

Not everyone is going to appreciate Truhen eloquent use of language or his lack to traditional punctuation (I myself have lamented this of other writers) - yet it works here - and works really well.

" ... coffee is the judge of a person .." - I love coffee, Jack loves coffee - Truhen nails it!

Review - The Bandy Papers by Donald Jack

Bart Bandy is the anti-hero who seems to always come up trumps in this first volume of his wartime exploits. I kept imaging Bart in the visage of Rik Mayall's "Lord Flashheart" from the "Blackadder" series, with the naive innocence of Inspector Gadget.

Bandy's memoirs begin with his early years in Canada, then onto the battlefields of France during WWI, and then to his career in the Royal Flying Corps.

It is a humourous and witty tale written in the style of a "boys own adventure".  And finding out that the author served in the RAF in WWII, makes me wonder if this is slightly auto-biographical.  A ripping good yarn.

For fans of - "Flashman", "Biggles", and "Inspector Clouseau" or maybe even, "Inspector Gadget".  I could maybe also add for those you (like me) enjoyed Spike Milligan's books of his wartime exploits.

Link to full series here @ Farrago Books and @ Wikipedia

Review: Ten Dead Comedians

The title caught my attention.  Then I read the premise:

A darkly clever take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and other classics of the genre,Ten Dead Comedians is a marvel of literary ventriloquism, with hilarious comic monologues in the voice of every suspect. It’s also an ingeniously plotted puzzler with a twist you’ll never see coming!

So I knew what I was in for - a comedic take on a classic elimination murder mystery. And I wasn't disappointed.  The story was simple - a series of text messages are sent out to various comedians, inviting them to a small Jamaican island to take part in the next big thing.  No-one is about to greet them, and in each of their rooms is a memento of the past or the future.  A video by their host, the great Dustin Walker, accuses them all of crimes against comedy - all are to be judged and no-one is leaving - alive.

" ... a room full of comics turns into a shark tank with one sniff of blood in the water ..."

The story then builds up with each chapter.  There are plot twists upon plot twists, the characters are suitable odorous, and you found that you didn't really know which character you should be rooting for to survive the obligatory gruesome end.

I knew what I was in for and found myself engaged, having some preconception of the proposed plot-line as I am a dedicated Agatha Christie fan.  Fred van Lente's homage to this classic crime genre, style of story-telling, and sardonic humour will not be to everyone's taste ... but it is what is is.

Reviews:

@ Kirkus Reviews

@ Criminal Element

For movie-buffs, see also:

And Then There Were None (1945 film)

And Then There Were None (1974 film)

Ten Little Indians (1965 film)

Ten Little Indians (1987 film)

Ten Little Indians (1985 film)

Clue (1985 film)

And Then There Were None ( 2015 miniseries)