Humor Crime

From Benjamin Franklin's newspaper hoax that faked the death of his rival to Abbie Hoffman's attempt to levitate the Pentagon - pranksters, hoaxers, and con artists have caused confusion, disorder, and laughter in Western society for centuries. Profiling the most notorious mischief-makers from the 1600s to the present day, Pranksters explores how "pranks" are part of a long tradition of speaking truth to power and social critique.

In the depths of the Knight Hawk, one of the last working collieries in downstate Illinois, the body of a reporter is found, his mini- ecorder tied around his neck and a notepad stuffed in his mouth. The Knight Hawk's owner, Matthew Luster, isn't happy. He wants answers--and he doesn't want the cops or any more press poking into his business. To protect himself and the operation, he turns to Slim, a mine employee with a reputation for "bloodhounding"--finding lost souls when the police can't or won't.

Kann es beim Bestatter zu viele Leichen geben? Wie bringt man einen Finnen dazu, mehr als drei Worte zu sagen? Ist man in einem Pyjama im Supermarkt underdressed oder kommt es auf die Accessoires an? Alles Fragen, die Maggie Abendroth nicht beantworten will. Sie hat definitiv andere Sorgen. Maggie ist 37, pleite und wohnt wieder in ihrer alten Heimat Bochum auf 22 qm - ohne Aussicht. Ihr neuer Job als Aushilfssekretärin bei einem Beerdigungsinstitut stellt ihre Nerven zusätzlich auf eine harte Probe.

Wanted: NY apartment in exchange for a great Key West house with swimming pool. In February. Who wouldn't take a swap like that? Then again, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is, as Meg and Peter Kaplan soon discover. Heading south for a supposed dream vacation, what they find instead is a panic attack waiting to happen. Coconuts crash through windows, bearing cryptic death threats.

Artist Jake Priestley has made quite a name for himself at a young age. Claiming the coveted Soul Flame Grand Prize of seven million euros had been more of a stroke of dumb luck than intentional tenacity. But that was nothing compared to the immense art event being held in Paris. As Jake and his team, The Chemical Collective, gear up for the big day ahead of them, there is nothing that will stop him from taking home the Grand Prize.

Rachael O'Brien's summer starts with a promising trip to England with her eccentric grandmother, her dad's long-time assistant, and her very good-looking, very gay friend, Travis. She thinks that distancing herself from the southern men she's developed an appetite for is the emotional breather she needs. But for Rachael O'Brien, nothing is ever simple. An amethyst oyster brooch with a scandalous past leads her into trouble far from home. Discovering that she has been followed across the Atlantic, surviving British culinary challenges becomes the least of Rachael's worries.

The Edgar-nominated author of Gun Monkeys is back with a thrill-a-minute suspense novel that mixes crime and academia - with hilarious results. Here Victor Gischler draws us into a wild and wicked world, where tenured professors are busy burying bodies, cash-up-front P.I.’s hunt for missing coeds and one desperate street-tough has to decide which he’d rather be: a live poet or a dead criminal.

No one is more surprised than Lem Altick when it turns out he's actually good at peddling encyclopedias door to door. He hates the predatory world of sales, but he needs the money to pay for college. Then things go horribly wrong. In a sweltering trailer in rural Florida, a couple Lem has spent hours pitching to is shot dead before his eyes, and the unassuming young man is suddenly pulled into the dark world of conspiracy and murder.

Questo racconto in due parti (il cui titolo originale era "La cedola di Mitja") fu scritto non prima del 1904, e fu pubblicato postumo nel 1911. E' stato giudicato una requisitoria contro il denaro, inteso come strumento di corruzione individuale e sociale. In realtà è molto più di questo: è la continuazione ideale del suo ultimo grande romanzo, Resurrezione, che si conclude con l'affermazione del potere di redenzione del Vangelo.

Phoebe has a dream - a very modest dream. She wants to own a Sno-Cone truck at the beach in Key West. Nicky, her would-be boyfriend, also dreams small. All he wants is a decent gig as a guitar player in a bar. Doesn't seem like too much to ask of life, does it? So why do things keep going so dreadfully wrong for Phoebe and Nicky? Is it just plain bad luck? Or is it the decidedly bad intentions of a sleazy local cheat, a Miami gangster desperate to stay in business, and a murderous Cuban smuggler looking for a fall guy?

A vigilante is stalking the streets of Kansas City administering his own brand of justice when the justice system fails. Criminals are being executed right under the noses of the police department. In Lady Justice and the Vigilante, a new recruit to the City Retiree Action Patrol steps up to help Walt and Ox bring to an end his reign of terror. But not everyone wants the vigilante stopped.

Dan Starkey is a young journalist in Belfast, who shares with his wife, Patricia, a prodigious appetite for drinking and dancing. Then Dan meets a beautiful and apparently impoverished student. And then, terrifyingly, she is murdered. Is it because she was not exactly who she claimed to be? Is it the IRA? A Protestant extremist group? A jealous lover? Before long, Dan is a target himself.…

Un meurtre a eu lieu à Joigny-les-deuxbouts, petite ville de grande banlieue. Joel Morvier, le patron du Balto, le bar du centre-ville, est retrouvé un matin gisant dans son sang. Un drame ? Pas pour les clients tant ce bistrotier raciste et acariâtre était détesté. Et même pas pour la victime qui, d'outre-tombe, s'amuse de la publicité faite autour de ce fait divers.

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.

What do you do if you witness a murder...but no one believes you? When Kate sees a horrific murder streamed live on her laptop, she calls the police in a state of shock. But when they arrive, the video has disappeared - and she can't prove anything. Desperate to be believed, Kate tries to find out who the girl in the video could be - and who her killer is.

Medium Dead is a fun urban fantasy chronicling the crime fighting adventures of Brenda - a reluctant medium - and Brian - a vigilante demon with an impish sense of humour. Think Stephanie Plum with magic and a dash of Carl Hiaasen. Brenda Steele is smart, funny and out of her depth. A Vigilante Demon called Brian wants her to find murdered spirits and help him track down their killers. But Brian doesn't just catch criminals, he likes to play with them first, and make the punishment fit the crime.

The landscape of contemporary Paris, replete with the best restaurants, the trendiest bars and clubs, is usually filled with the wealthy, the famous, and le rake or le rou, the charming, educated sophisticate with little or no conscience. Into this cushy world bursts Dr. Crandall Taylor - or rather the actor who plays him, the star of a dated American soap opera that is now one of the hottest prime-time shows in France. And this newfound fame, as enriching as it is unexpected, is not wasted on Crandall, eager to put his dark and often violent American past behind him and enjoy all the fruits and the women that Paris and fame have to offer him.

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.

True believer Murray Whelan makes his debut in Shane Maloney's first thriller set among the ethnic feuds, union machinations, and sexual politics of his city's working-class heartland. The fiddle at the Pacific Pastoral meat-packing works was a nice little earner for all concerned until Herb Gardiner reported finding a body in number 3 chiller. Enter Murray Whelan, minder, fixer, and general dogsbody for the Minister of Industry. Between playing off party factions and pursuing the kohl-eyed Ayisha, it's all in a day's work for Murray to hose down the situation at Pacific Pastoral.