Publisher: The Witcherley Book Company
Publication date: 1 July 2013
Publisher’s synopsis:
When the hapless Andy Caplet, then an inept local reporter, is first assigned to Inspector Hobbes he has no idea what horrors his future holds. Besides coming to terms with Hobbes’s weirdness and with the bizarre eccentricities of Mrs Goodfellow, he soon realises that not everyone is what they appear to be.
Who is behind the crime wave in town? Is it possible to catch vampirism from false teeth? And why is the secret to the mystery in the blood? These are just some of the questions Andy must answer as he struggles to make sense of this new world he’s been plunged into.
‘I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he’s hungry’
My Chronicle Book Box Review:
This is the first in Wilkie Martin’s unhuman series and I read this after enjoying the fourth in the series, Inspector Hobbes and the Bones.
Andy Caplet is a rather hopeless and accident prone journalist who is given the assignment of shadowing Police Inspector Hobbes, though only as a last resort when no other reporter is available. When Andy accidentally burns down his flat and then gets the sack, Hobbes offers him his spare room and Andy accepts realising he has no better options despite having only just met the Inspector and his unusual housekeeper, Mrs Goodfellow.
Hobbes, Andy soon discovers, is not your average policemen, he is certainly not your average human, and may not be categorised as human at all. In the course of the assignment Andy’s eyes are opened to the supernatural element of the world around him which has been there all along but which he, and most people, had failed to recognise.
Despite their obvious differences Hobbes and Andy form a friendship and they work together to solve the mystery of a spate of thefts, a murder, a suicide and a missing person which may or may not all be connected. I love the Sherlock-esque combination of detective, sidekick and housekeeper as they investigate the crimes.
While Andy is rather hapless and has generally been rather selfish and unsuccessful in life to date, when it comes down to it he puts himself in danger, after quite a bit of dithering naturally, for his new friend Hobbes.
This was a funny and eccentric adventure with a good mystery plot underlying the humour. I also found the growing friendship between Andy and Hobbes, two people who appear to have had difficulty establishing relationships, to be rather charming.
If you are looking for something a bit out of the ordinary with some quirky humour give this series a try.
Hi, I'm Louise the founder of My Chronicle Book Box and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post.
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