Comedy Crime Fiction

It's 1998. The Internet age is still in its infancy. Google has just been founded. Eighteen-year-old supermarket shelf-stacker Nigel Carmelite has decided that he's going to become a vigilante. There are a few problems: how is he going to even find crime to fight on the streets of Derbyshire? How will he create a superhero costume - and an arsenal of crime-fighting weaponry - on a shoestring budget?

Genuinely Dangerous follows the nightmarish yet hilarious journey of Jasper Tripp, a down-and-out filmmaker who embeds himself in a crew of wild and mysterious criminals so he can film a documentary that'll land him back in the Hollywood fast lane.

Cookbook author Mattie Carrington, Pine County's one and only celebrity, narrowly escapes being burned to a crisp when her kitchen explodes. Then someone tries to poison her. Luckily, Sheriff Cas Larkin is on the case. But when Cas visits the secluded cabin Mattie rented to finish her next book, he finds her nearly dead. With no signs of foul play and just as many clues, Cas is getting more "help" than he needs from the eagle-eyed locals as he tracks an experienced killer with the patience and skill to watch... and wait.

It's 1942, and war is raging in Europe and in the Pacific. The Japanese army is on Australia's doorstep, and the small coastal Queensland town of Maryborough is on full war footing. What they are not prepared for is the arrival in the town of a troupe of incompetent actors whose unjustifiably self-confident leader, William Power, is determined to bring his daring production of Titus Andronicus to the barbarians of rural Australia. Unfortunately for the Power Players, the only gift William Power has is a capacity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Which is more powerful: romance or revenge? Mafia princess Angelina Amaro has only ever loved one man - and even that lone affair was never consummated. Why not? Because her would-be lover, Sal Martucci, fled into the Witness Protection Program after ratting out Big Paul, Angelina's father. But when Sal is discovered, a decade later, working as a bartender in Key West, the wildly dysfunctional Amaro clan heads south - one member with love on her mind, the others with murder in their hearts.

Failed Shakespearean actor and would-be private detective William Power returns to Melbourne in this wry sequel that re-creates the tension and fear of wartime Australia. Bloodied and broken but somehow unbowed, he arrives in a town struggling under war-rationing and full of cocky American soldiers and lands squarely in the bosom of his childhood home in Carlton, now dominated by his sister-in-law, the odious Darlene.

Attacked at home by an unknown assailant, meek Lucille Stevenson should be dead, but she isn’t. She should have called the police, she should have told her family, she should have done a lot of things, but she didn’t. Because what Lucille did to her attacker went far beyond self-defense. It was cold, brutal, and vicious; and if anyone found out, her life would be over. Unfortunately, her biggest problem isn't getting rid of the body; it's that she really enjoyed killing the man and can't wait to do it again...

Maggie Pill’s characters seem like people we know: In The Sleuth Sisters Series, it’s siblings we love but can’t always relate to. In the Trailer Park Tales Series, we meet the residents of an RV park in Florida: Fussy husbands, smart-aleck wives, grumpy neighbors, conspiracy lovers, and more. The residents of B-Bird Over-55 RV Park are mostly snow-birds, so for months each year they face the joys and irritations of living in tight spaces with people from all over the place. Usually they cope with politeness and good humor, but at times it’s difficult.

Hi, I'm God. And I have a confession to make. I live with my two best friends and the girl of my dreams, Persephone. When the opportunity knocks, we are usually down the pub having a few drinks, or we'll hang out in Christchurch Park until it gets dark then go home to do college stuff. Even though I struggle a bit financially, life is good, carefree. Well, they were. Things have started going downhill recently, from the moment I started killing people.

The name is Allen. Ken Allen. These days, Ken Allen is a nobody. But once upon a time, his name was Brand. Jove Brand. Eighteen years ago, Ken Allen played the famous fictional superspy in Near Death, a movie so bad, it was never meant to be seen. Since then, Ken has faded into cult obscurity, but when his celebrated successor is killed in the same ghastly fashion as the villain in Near Death, Ken is cast as the prime suspect.

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the type, you start out rescuing a kidnapped scientist from a megalomaniac known only as Mr. E, and in the process, you destroy his doomsday machine, kill at least a baker’s dozen henchmen, and get just a little bit shot. For Shelly and Spacer Sharpe, that’s what they call a Tuesday. It isn’t until they try to take a vacation from their lives as freelance spies that things really begin to turn south.

Shirley Lyle hooks for a living. She’s a big girl who keeps her profile low. But when a drug lord and his son toss her trailer, she adds a couple letters to her name. Now, she’s killed the drug lord’s son and two meth zombies. Fed up, ready to set fire to her past, her job - and her trailer - she’s dragged back into the role she’s forsworn by a man who presses her buttons with a hammer. Shirley realizes she’ll never be more than a 400-pound hooker. But when her partner-in-revolution, Ulyana the Ukrainian stripper, disappears, Shirley puts flame to fuse.

Silicon Valley scion Captain Don Donogue is dead under mysterious circumstances. In fact, he might’ve well have been murdered. Just ask Captain Don himself. He’s been sending messages about his suspicious death from beyond the grave. Yep, he’s been tweeting from the afterlife. Or so it seems.

Björn Diemel wird von seiner Frau gezwungen, ein Achtsamkeits-Seminar zu besuchen, um seine Ehe ins Reine zu bringen, sich als guter Vater zu beweisen und die unausgeglichene Work-Life-Balance wieder herzustellen. Denn als erfolgreicher Anwalt hat Björn sehr wenig Zeit für seine Familie. Der Kurs trägt Früchte und Björn kann das Gelernte sogar in seinen Job integrieren, allerdings anders als gedacht. Denn als sein Mandant, ein brutaler und mehr als schuldiger Mafiaboss, beginnt, ihm ernstliche Probleme zu bereiten, bringt er ihn einfach um - und zwar nach allen Regeln der Achtsamkeit.

Hoist up the incontinence pants, brush the fluff from your slippers, make a nice cup of cocoa, and enjoy...because: They're back! The wrinkled rockers return for their second hilarious, action-packed adventure. A sensational new album in production. A bird watching tour that goes horribly wrong. A devious duo returns seeking revenge. A flatulent spook and a perilous rescue attempt in a foreign but familiar country.

When Trevor Hawkins hits the open road in his beat-up old camper van with his incorrigible dog, Milly, his quest for adventure soon spirals dangerously out of control. The simple act of flushing a hotel toilet transforms his life from redundant sales assistant to fugitive from a gang of psychopathic villains, the police, and MI5. Then there's private detective Sandra Gray, who could cheerfully throttle him for turning a well-paid, piece-of-cake job into a total nightmare. Or could she?

Das Leben kann ganz schön hart sein, findet Loretta Luchs. Der Job an der Sex-Hotline ist anstrengend, der Freund zu Hause erst recht. Um mal in Ruhe nachzudenken, zieht sie für ein paar Sommertage in den Schrebergarten ihrer Freundin Diana. Für Loretta ist die Kolonie "Saftiges Radieschen" das Paradies auf Erden. Selbst die ständige Präsenz von Muskelprotz Frank, der schneller redet als denkt, kann das Idyll nicht stören. Wohl aber die Tatsache, dass Parzellennachbar Uwe eines schönen Sommermorgens kopfüber in seiner Regentonne steckt - mausetot.

Even when murderous gangsters are shoving his head into a toilet, Mickey Fine can’t stop making jokes. He wants a career in comedy so badly that he takes a job as a Tummler, a comedian and host for a hotel in the Catskills, a hotel where he knows the very gangsters who abused him are staying. An already dangerous situation escalates when Mickey falls for Mutzie, the “number one girl” of Pep who is arguably the most violent thug in the hotel. Betrayals and politics within the mob play out behind the scenes while Mutzie joins Mickey on stage.

Grant Leitch is in denial about handing over the reins of the paper to an unworthy underclassman. In denial that Rose suddenly quit the paper and now won’t talk to him. But mostly he’s in denial that she is at prom with another guy, and it’s his fault. Grant’s only hope of luring Rose back to him (and the paper) is a juicy story she won’t be able to resist. In the end it takes a toga-wearing prom crasher, an emergency lockdown, a secret stalker, and a wild after-party to bring Grant and Rose together for one last story...and one final chance to admit that they’re made for each other.

Alvie Knightly flees Sicily for a suite at the Ritz after her not-so-playful sibling rivalry ends in murder. Beautiful, spoiled Beth may be gone, but Alvie's discovering what happens when you steal your twin's identity. Especially now that Beth's body has been found. The police aren't the only ones Alvie has to worry about. Her hot new boyfriend has vanished, along with all of their stolen riches. But Alvie has never shied away from a challenge. She pursues the traitor to Rome in a life-or-death game of cat and mouse. Can she get revenge before her own crimes catch up with her?