Inspector Hobbes and the Blood: (unhuman I) Cotswold Comedy Crime Fantasy
Wilkie Martin
Jul 2013 · The Witcherley Book Company
4.2star
12 reviews
Ebook
310
Pages
About this ebook
'Odd, inventive, and genuinely very funny indeed.' (Katie Jarvis, Cotswold Life)
Set in a small Cotswold town, Inspector Hobbes and the Blood is a fast-paced comedy crime fantasy about the adventures of Andy, an incompetent reporter, when he is reluctantly working with Inspector Hobbes, a police detective with a reputation. Andy soon finds himself immersed in a world where not everyone is human, and a late-night visit to a churchyard nearly results in grave consequences, and a ghoulish outcome. An accidental fire leads to Andy having to doss in Hobbes's spare room. Contending with a wave of murder, suicide and robbery, as well as Hobbes's weirdness, is the just the start; he must also get to grips with Mrs Goodfellow, Hobbes's housekeeper, who collects teeth. Although they are mostly from humans, she also claims to have some vampire specimens. However, Andy soon finds her wonderful cooking compensates for her eccentricities.
Despite Andy believing he is coping, he is nearly unhinged by horror when a stressed Hobbes's concealed nature reveals itself in an orgy of bone-crunching. Yet, coming through unscathed, Andy develops respect and admiration for his host, even when he uses weird, occasionally brutal, methods to begin unravelling the mystery, which would appear to link The Order of the Dragon and Vlad Tepes, the original Dracula, to the crime wave.
When Hobbes goes missing, Andy, with the dubious assistance of Dregs, Hobbes's big, bad dog, and armed with a leg of lamb, searches for him. Will he triumph over crazed blood lust and human sacrifice? Can Andy with Hobbes's friends, a binge-drinking dwarf and a troll who looks uncannily human, save the day? And can Andy catch vampirism from false teeth?
'I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he's hungry'
This new comedy fantasy book series is suitable for teenagers and upwards.
Read these new humorous mysteries and you'll never look at The Cotswolds in the same way again. All the novels feature the same memorable characters but they are standalone and can be read individually.
From Reviews:
‘It was fun and entertaining’ ( books reviews forevermore)
Inspector Hobbes and the Blood was shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Writers 2012
Set in a small Cotswold town, Inspector Hobbes and the Blood is a fast-paced comedy crime fantasy about the adventures of Andy, an incompetent reporter, when he is reluctantly working with Inspector Hobbes, a police detective with a reputation. Andy soon finds himself immersed in a world where not everyone is human, and a late-night visit to a churchyard nearly results in grave consequences, and a ghoulish outcome. An accidental fire leads to Andy having to doss in Hobbes's spare room. Contending with a wave of murder, suicide and robbery, as well as Hobbes's weirdness, is the just the start; he must also get to grips with Mrs Goodfellow, Hobbes's housekeeper, who collects teeth. Although they are mostly from humans, she also claims to have some vampire specimens. However, Andy soon finds her wonderful cooking compensates for her eccentricities.
Despite Andy believing he is coping, he is nearly unhinged by horror when a stressed Hobbes's concealed nature reveals itself in an orgy of bone-crunching. Yet, coming through unscathed, Andy develops respect and admiration for his host, even when he uses weird, occasionally brutal, methods to begin unravelling the mystery, which would appear to link The Order of the Dragon and Vlad Tepes, the original Dracula, to the crime wave.
When Hobbes goes missing, Andy, with the dubious assistance of Dregs, Hobbes's big, bad dog, and armed with a leg of lamb, searches for him. Will he triumph over crazed blood lust and human sacrifice? Can Andy with Hobbes's friends, a binge-drinking dwarf and a troll who looks uncannily human, save the day? And can Andy catch vampirism from false teeth?
'I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he's hungry'
This new comedy fantasy book series is suitable for teenagers and upwards.
Read these new humorous mysteries and you'll never look at The Cotswolds in the same way again. All the novels feature the same memorable characters but they are standalone and can be read individually.
From Reviews:
‘It was fun and entertaining’ ( books reviews forevermore)
Inspector Hobbes and the Blood was shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Writers 2012
Ratings and reviews
4.2
12 reviews
Midge Odonnell
- Flag inappropriate
April 18, 2019
I was disappointed with this book, on the whole, as I was expecting something along the lines of Ben Aaronivitch's PC Peter Grant series and this really isn't that. On the surface they seem to have a similar premise - all is not what it seems and myth and magic collide just out of sight of human eyes. It is just a shame that Me Martin's take on this is much less well thought through and the myth and magic is just bolted in to a regular small town scenario. There are also no real reveals in the book, hinted at heavily but no outright acknowledgment. Initially this works well as Andy is more than a bit gormless so you go with it as we are seeing things from his perspective. As things progress it starts to become a wee bit tedious, it is obvious what Hobbes is and now Andy has met the Ghouls and The Olde Troll why not just fess up? The crime caper element of the story is marginally more successful with home break-ins, a daring raid on the local museum and even a smash and grab at the local church. What do the items stolen have in common? Why did the thieves not cover their tracks by taking a selection of random items to hide what they were really up to? The second question, alas, is never answered but the first one is with a great big shovelful of related, but worthless, information accompanying it. The only thing that really saved the novel from being unfinished and flung in a corner was the characters. There are definitely a large number of eccentrics living in this sleepy little town. Hobbes and Andy are the central characters but they are somewhat eclipsed by Dregs The Dog, who steals each and every scene he appears in. Even after a whole book I still don't really know Hobbes, which is a problem when it comes to making you want to pick up the next in a continuing series. This is doubly so when the main character is so hopelessly bumbling that all I really want to do is shake and slap him. I think I may have been over-forgiving when I jotted 3 Stars down in my notebook against this title. However, that was my immediate reaction on completing the book so I will stick with it. Must say I am regretting buying the boxed set of the first 3 books now as reading another doesn't fill me with joy.
deborah england
- Flag inappropriate
November 24, 2017
Very funny, plenty of bad puns. Andy is a disaster but hopefully will improve. Hobbes is fascinating & kind. Will definitely read the next books.
Heidi Ragsdale
- Flag inappropriate
August 3, 2015
I enjoyed it - enough that I'm going to get the next one in the series!
About the author
Wilkie Martin sets his Unhuman series of novels in the Cotswolds, where he lives with his partner. He introduces readers to a close-knit, small-town community filled with quirky and occasionally dangerous inhabitants, and an 'unhuman' policeman who maintains law and order. Wilkie intersperses writing his novel with short stories and funny poems, which he enjoys performing and uploading to YouTube. His stories reflect his love of the enigmatic, with memorable characters and, like many of the latter, he has a taste for curry. He is a qualified scuba instructor and has dived in many places around the world and in the UK.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.