Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Ex King s Daughter written by Simon Brett and published by Felony & Mayhem Press. This book was released on 2012-12-15 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A duke’s halfwit son and brainy daughter search for a kidnapped princess and a dangerous killer in this hilarious historical mystery series debut. It’s that glorious period between the two World Wars, and the exiled king of Mitteleuropa is celebrating with a visit to Tawcester Towers, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Tawcester. When the ex-king’s daughter is kidnapped, noblesse obliges Blotto, the Duke’s brave and handsome son, to drive off to the rescue. Sadly, he is rather staggeringly stupid—with a nickname like “Blotto,” what could one expect?—but his sister, Twinks, got all the family brains, and she is inclined to be helpful. And in more good news for the purloined princess, Blotto’s devoted valet is coming along for the ride. Plus, they’ve got a really swell car. First in a new series by a master of the comic mystery, Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter is a deliriously funny parody of the Golden Age of mystery. “Brett’s latest is a complete wow. . . . Brett re-creates the aristocratic world of Wodehouse and Dorothy Sayers piece by piece. . . . A breakneck plot in the Restoration comedy mold, absolutely bullet-riddled with Wodehouseian wit. Brett’s best yet.” —Booklist, starred review “Zany. . . . Brett puts a hilarious spin on the traditional British mystery.” —Publishers Weekly

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Rodents of the Riviera written by Simon Brett and published by Felony & Mayhem Press. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pair of aristocratic siblings chase art thieves to the French Riviera only to find more trouble in this humorous historical mystery. In yet another installment of the Blotto, Twinks series, his very funny parody of the golden age of mystery, Simon Brett sends his heroes to the French Riviera of the 1920s. Someone has stolen valuable paintings from Tawcester Towers, ancestral home of Blotto (the future Duke of Tawcester) and his sister, Twinks. Blotto is content to run around in a (handsome) sweat, cursing the thieving varlets and vowing revenge, but Twinks, rather more pragmatically, tracks the varlets to France. She and Blotto, accordingly, go zipping off to Paris—where they have rather a jolly time with the Left Bank bohemian set—but before the hangovers can take hold Twinks has redirected the search to the Riviera, headquarters of that dastardly criminal mastermind, La Puce! Will the noble Blotto and the brilliant Twinks recover their paintings, vanquish La Puce, and rescue the kidnapped film star I neglected to mention? Mesdames et messieurs, place your bets. Praise for the Blotto and Twinks Mysteries “A hilarious spin on the traditional British mystery.” —Publishers Weekly “This is the kind of book you’ll have to put down, frequently, as you roar with laughter.” —Booklist, starred review

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess written by Simon Brett and published by Felony & Mayhem Press. This book was released on 2012-12-15 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pair of aristocrat siblings must find a killer to clear their chauffeur’s name when a weekend house party goes awry in this historical mystery. Hurrah for the return of that intrepid duo: Blotto (handsome, honorable, not the sharpest knife in the drawer), and his sister Twinks (just a bit brainier than a girl should be)! As this is the 1920s, they are of course attending a weekend house party, where—how astonishing!—a murder is announced. One of the guests has the gall to accuse Corky, the siblings’ family chauffeur, so Blotto and Twinks have no choice but to find the real murderer and clear Corky’s good name. And also, you know, keep Corky from hanging and so on. Their sleuthing will take them to an opium den, a crumbling Scottish castle, and—most thrillingly—the headquarters of the evil League of the Crimson Hand. Second in Brett’s highly praised, outrageously funny new series of parodies of the Golden Age of mystery. “Brett intensifies the satire and the action, delivering readers absolute barrages of wordplay and one-liners, which make this romp reminiscent of theatrical farces like The Importance of Being Earnest or You Can’t Take It with You. . . . As in his other novels, Brett is a devastating social critic . . . and master of devastating physical characterization. This is the kind of book you’ll have to put down, frequently, as you roar with laughter.” —Booklist, starred review

Download or read book Corpse in a Gilded Cage written by Robert Barnard and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A man’s home is his castle, but for Percy Spender that motto has been taken just a bit too literally. After the sudden death of first one distant relative and then another, the amiable Perce has become the 12th Earl of Ellesmere. And his home, no longer a cozy council flat, is now the drafty, imposing Chetton Hall, complete with more bedrooms than Perce can count and an army of servants. Frankly, all these fancy trappings make Perce itch. He’d just as soon sell up, buy a comfy cottage, and put a bundle on the ponies. However, some of his mates and family members have other ideas. And the sad fact is that an Unfortunate Accident can happen to anyone, even a lord of the realm.

Download or read book The Incident at Fives Castle written by Clara Benson and published by Mount Street Press. This book was released on 2014-06-14 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is Hogmanay, and Angela Marchmont is at Fives Castle, the Scottish seat of the Earl of Strathmerrick, to see in the start of 1928. But when she finds out that the Foreign Secretary, the American Ambassador and the Head of British Intelligence are also among the guests, Angela begins to suspect that something momentous is afoot. Before long, they are all snowed in and a body is discovered, and Angela soon finds suspicion directed against herself...

Download or read book There Goes the Bride written by M. C. Beaton and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-08-31 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wedding bells are ringing, but not for Agatha Raisin in this irresistible new adventure by "New York Times"-bestselling author Beaton. Martin's Press.

Download or read book A Decent Interval written by Simon Brett and published by Severn House Publishers Ltd. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Charles Paris: a washed-up actor with a taste for wine, women . . . and solving crimes! A binge-worthy cozy mystery series from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman - but with added bite! "Like a little malice in your mysteries? Some cynicism in your cosies? Simon Brett is happy to oblige" THE NEW YORK TIMES "Few crime writers are as enchantingly gifted" THE SUNDAY TIMES "One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Perfect entertainment" THE GUARDIAN "A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans" P.D. JAMES "Murder most enjoyable" COLIN DEXTER _______________________ A middle-aged actor - and sometimes sleuth - takes on Hamlet Two TV talent show winners are in the star roles . . . Who has murderous intentions towards Hamlet and Ophelia? That is the question in A DECENT INTERVAL! Eternally struggling, jobbing actor Charles Paris is relieved to be offered the roles of Ghost and First Gravedigger in a production of Hamlet opening at the Grand Theatre, Marlborough. The star roles of Hamlet and Ophelia have been entrusted to TV talent show winners Jared Root and Katrina Selsey to attract a younger, social media savvy audience. With tickets already sold out, it's on the verge of being an overwhelming success - until one of the stage's giant skull bones crashes on to Jared during rehearsals. And when Katrina is found dead during the opening night interval, Charles suspects foul play. Is there a connection between Jared's injury and Katrina's demise? Diva Katrina was roundly disliked, but who despised her enough to commit murder? Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, Anthony Horowitz, Alexander McCall Smith, M.C. Beaton and Faith Martin will love this hilarious cozy traditional mystery series featuring one of the funniest antiheroes in crime fiction. Written over a fifty-year-period, it perfectly captures life and contemporary attitudes in 1970s London - and beyond! READERS ADORE CHARLES PARIS: "Brett has a rare gift for balancing humor and detection" Publishers Weekly Starred Review "More than worth the price of admission" Booklist Starred Review "An exhilarating read" Daily Mail "A brilliant, extraordinary whodunit" Ryan, 5* Goodreads review "Effortlessly readable" Adrian, 5* Amazon review "A marvellous book" Paulinderwick, 5* Amazon review "Another great Charles Paris mystery" David, 5* Amazon review THE CHARLES PARIS MYSTERIES, IN ORDER: 1. Cast in Order of Disappearance 2. So Much Blood 3. Star Trap 4. An Amateur Corpse 5. A Comedian Dies 6. The Dead Side of the Mike 7. Situation Tragedy 8. Murder Unprompted 9. Murder in the Title 10. Not Dead, Only Resting 11. Dead Giveaway 12. What Bloody Man is That 13. A Series of Murders 14. Corporate Bodies 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit

Download or read book Elvis Jesus and Coca Cola written by Kinky Friedman and published by Bantam. This book was released on 1994-08-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kinky Friedman is a Jewish Texan country-and-western singer tunred Greenwich Village amateur detective, with a collection of smelly cigars, a cat, and two former—but simultaneous—girlfriends named Judy. Shortly after the possibly suspicious death of one of his closest friends, Kinky finds himself short one Judy, as Uptown Judy vanishes under mysterious circumstances. Before long, the death and the disappearance seem to be connected, along with Elvis impersonators, a missing documentary film, and a five-year-old mob murder. It’ll take the Kinkster, with an assist from the Village Irregulars and Downtown Judy, to wrap this case like a New York Tex-Mex, decidedly nonkosher burrito. “Kinky is a hip hybrid of Groucho Marx and Sam Spade.”—Chicago Tribune

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Intimate Revue written by Simon Brett and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A quick trip to the capital goes horribly wrong when Blotto and Twinks get accidentally involved in London's criminal underworld . . . It starts innocently enough at the intimate review 'absolutely everyone is talking about', Light and Frothy, where its glamorous star, Frou Frou Gavotte, has rather taken the fancy of Blotto's school friend Giles 'Whiffler' Trumpington. But while Blotto and Whiffler wait for the star outside the theatre to take her to dinner, Whiffler is seized and manhandled into the back of a cab which then drives off into the night . . . Leaving Blotto with the problem of how to rescue his kidnapped schoolmate. Naturally, he enlists Twinks's help and the two of them encounter actors, singers, impresarios, revue writers, cockney showgirls and Scotland Yard's finest - and white slave traders, who succeed in abducting Twinks - leaving it up to Blotto and his trusty chauffeur, Corky Froggett, to rescue her before she's shipped off to foreign parts forever . . . Praise for Simon Brett 'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Suspicious Guests written by Simon Brett and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2022-01-13 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter 'What? You mean the earl does it for money? That's way beyond the barbed wire!' This explosion of disgust from Blotto is provoked when Twinks informs him of the activities of the Earl of Woking. The gentleman in question is owner of Clusters, a stately home not far from Tawcester Towers, and he has been renting out parts of Clusters for private functions - and charging his guests! The discovery of this appalling lapse in aristocratic behaviour sets Blotto and Twinks off on their latest adventure. Determined to find out more about the Earl of Woking's activities, they discover the existence of a sinister group called Aristotours - brokers between impoverished owners of stately homes and the common people, offering 'a taste of the high life' to characters such as stockbrokers, surgeons and solicitors. And if this were not bad enough, the siblings discover Aristotours trying to infiltrate their evil practises into Tawcester Towers itself! So Blotto and Twinks set off on a quest to identify - and stop - the evil genius behind Aristotours. Praise for Simon Brett 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

Download or read book Looking For A Weegie To Love written by Simon Smith and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-12-16 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weegie, n. and adj.: A native or inhabitant of Glasgow; a Glaswegian. Meet Jack Kemp; a 33-year-old, English journalist living in Glasgow. With his older brother vanishing into married life, Jack has put himself at the mercy of dating app Hinge. Told through 11 short stories, Simon Smith's Looking For A Weegie To Love - One Man, One App, One Goal offers a glimpse into the realities of being a guy looking for love. Embarrassingly honest, hilarious and raw, Jack Kemp is the male Bridget Jones of the millennial generation.

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen written by Simon Brett and published by Constable. This book was released on 2017-07-18 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Another hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo! The end of the cricket season spells gloom for Blotto, until he is invited to bat against the Hollywood cricket team out in sunny LA, where rain never stops play. And so begins the latest adventure for Blotto and his supremely gifted sister Twinks. Although their mother, the Dowager Duchess of Tawcester, keeps a strict rein on her two children, she knows America is full of wealthy young men, all of whom will fall in love with her daughter - and marriage to a Texan millionaire would solve the Tawcester financial problems once and for all. So, accompanied by trusty chauffeur Corky Froggett, the intrepid siblings head out to California. On arrival in Hollywood they are invited to a glitzy party where they are introduced to a firmament of Hollywood stars, directors and gossip columnists, but the mood of the party suddenly curdles with the breaking news that beautiful starlet Mimsy La Pim - the (former) love of Blotto's life - has been kidnapped. And Blotto is determined to make it his personal mission to rescue her. But in the world of old-fashioned cricket matches, gigantic Hollywood egos, film-making disasters and merciless crooks, it soon falls to Twinks to rescue her brother from the various messes he creates when attempting to rescue his damsel in distress. Will the siblings ever get back to Tawcester Towers - or will it be a case of death before wicket?

Download or read book The Death on the Downs written by Simon Brett and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 2019-06-06 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘King of the witty village mystery’ Daily Telegraph ‘Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories’ JILLY COOPER ‘A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans’ P. D. JAMES It wasn’t the rain that upset Fethering resident Carole Seddon during her walk on the Downs, or the dilapidated barn in which she was forced to seek shelter. No, what upset her was the human skeleton she discovered there, neatly packed into two blue fertiliser bags . . . Amateur sleuths Carole and Jude go to the small hamlet of Weldisham where gossips quickly identify the corpse as Tamsin Lutteridge, a young woman who disappeared from the village months before. But why is Tamsin’s mother so certain that her daughter is still alive? As Jude sets out to discover what really happened to Tamsin, Carole digs deeper into Weldisham’s history and the bitter relationships simmering beneath the village’s gentle facade.

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Phantom Skiers written by Simon Brett and published by Constable. This book was released on 2024-01-11 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: font="+1"'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter Blotto and Twinks are off on another adventure - and this time they're bound for the Alpine village of Luzvimmen in Switzerland, where Blotto participates in racing the prestigious and very fast Croissant Run, though someone seems determined to sabotage his chances. Twinks, on the other hand, is on a mission to rescue her friend's sister from the sinister finishing school she is trapped in - the Convent of the Sacred Icicle. Once inside, Twinks is threatened by an elderly nun who shows her a secret glacier in which the Phantom Skiers are entombed... awaiting resurrection so they can wreak vengeance on people who are too curious... like Blotto and Twinks. Meanwhile, up at Schloss Luzvimmen, the crazed Count von Strapp is set on global domination via a deadly arsenal of Swiss cheese hardware he's planning to unleash on the world... Yes, everything's much as usual in the world of Blotto and Twinks Praise for Simon Brett 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Conquistadors Gold written by Simon Brett and published by Constable. This book was released on 2023-05-25 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: font="+1"'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter The two aristocratic siblings Blotto and Twinks are once again launched into another death-defying adventure, this time in the civil war-torn republic of Jalapeno, in Mexico. But how did they ever get to such a foreign and distant land in the first place? For Twinks it was an easy decision - to escape her mother's match-making attempts she sets out to visit her old friend, Begonia Guiteras, who lives in Jalapeno, which is fortuitously on the doorstep of an Aztec dig Twinks wants to work on. Unfortunately, her visit coincides with the War for Jalapeno Independence, headed by Colonel Henriquez Guiteras, Begonia's father. At the same time, Twinks's excavation of the Aztec site is revealing the exciting prospect of a hoard of Conquistadors' gold - but will taking it away from the burial ground unleash the dreaded Curse of Attatotalloss? Into this confusion stumbles Blotto, who only comes to Mexico as he's missing his sister. On being reunited with Twinks they then discover Begonia has been kidnapped by Mexican government forces and both set out to rescue her. This leads to many chases and challenges across the Mexican countryside, resulting in the capture of the twins where death by firing squad seems inevitable... but will trusty chauffeur Corky Froggett, as so very often in past adventures, be able to save the day? Praise for Simon Brett 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Maharajah s Jewel written by Simon Brett and published by Constable. This book was released on 2021-01-21 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: font="+1"'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter Anyone for cricket - and a spot of burglary? /font An idle conversation on the merits of the glorious game with an old Etonian chum is just the excuse Blotto needs to put himself forward for a cricket tour to foreign climes... and so begins the next adventure for our intrepid duo, where the action takes them to India where, as everyone knows, the finest cricket players hail from - as well as the world's most skilled jewel thieves... The Dowager Duchess has no problems in letting her two children go to the subcontinent as having her beautiful daughter Twinks married off to a massively rich Maharaja offers the Dowager Duchess the prospect of a permanent solution to the cash-draining maintenance of the Tawcester Towers plumbing. So Twinks joins Blotto on a steamer bound for India, one that is full of young woman desperate to marry well there - only once having encountered the dashing Blotto, a lot of them fancy the idea of getting married before they reach their destination. And, unbeknownst to the siblings, also on the ship is the international jewel thief Archie Montmorency, passing himself off as one of Blotto's cricketing entourage. His real mission though is to steal the diamond which adorns the turban the Maharajah of Koorbleimee . . . Praise for Simon Brett 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

Download or read book Blotto Twinks and the Suspicious Guests written by Simon Brett and published by Constable. This book was released on 2022-01-13 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: font="+1"'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James 'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter/font 'What? You mean the earl does it for money? That's way beyond the barbed wire!' This explosion of disgust from Blotto is provoked when Twinks informs him of the activities of the Earl of Woking. The gentleman in question is owner of Clusters, a stately home not far from Tawcester Towers, and he has been renting out parts of Clusters for private functions - and charging his guests! The discovery of this appalling lapse in aristocratic behaviour sets Blotto and Twinks off on their latest adventure. Determined to find out more about the Earl of Woking's activities, they discover the existence of a sinister group called Aristotours - brokers between impoverished owners of stately homes and the common people, offering 'a taste of the high life' to characters such as stockbrokers, surgeons and solicitors. And if this were not bad enough, the siblings discover Aristotours trying to infiltrate their evil practises into Tawcester Towers itself! So Blotto and Twinks set off on a quest to identify - and stop - the evil genius behind Aristotours. Praise for Simon Brett 'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian 'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times 'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper