Humor Crime

The Black Mass of Brother Springer tells the story of Sam Springer, a drifter novelist who meets Jack Dover, the retiring Abbot of the Church of God's Flock. Dover's final official act is to ordain Springer and send him off to serve as pastor of an all-Black church in Jacksonville, Florida. Springer soon becomes entangled in the city's growing civil rights movement...and with the church deacon's earthy young wife, Merita.

July 2021. Southwest Arizona, close to Tucson. In an office trailer, Mike finds Brad, a fellow engineer, lying in his own blood. Minutes later, Mike's daughter Jean listens in when their boss Sarah says Cactex, the developer, is worried about media attention. Legal action and protests could cause very costly delays. Only the engineers are supposed to understand the purpose of all the laser-guided drills, saws, and pneumatic chisels hidden behind 30 stories of scaffolding and tarps. 

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...

Ellis Coldwater is a pretty easy-going bank robber. Wendy Larkin is a pretty woman—a little shy, a little nervous, and a little married. What happens when these two get together “on the job”? Whose recipe for living life will lead to the most happiness, the most laughter, and the least amount of jail time? Our tale jumps in immediately as this novel adroitly rolls up its sleeve to expose the funny bone of crime, love, right, wrong, the pursuit of money, happiness, the vagaries of humanity that gives life meaning.

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.

Throbbing Morton is a village in the English Cotswolds. Though there has been human habitation on the site for well over a thousand years, there is no record of it in the Domesday Book, and you will find it on no map today. Perhaps it is the boggy fields or the high hedges that have kept it out of public view. It might also have been the great fungal toenail epidemic of 1438 that kept the rest of the world at bay; no one knows for sure. The outcome of all this is that it has bred colorful characters of great distinction. 

In the court of the “King”, everyone knows their place. But as the Artist wins hearts and egos with his ballads, uncomfortable truths emerge that shake the Kingdom to its core. Part surreal fable and part narco-lit romance, this prize-winning novel from Yuri Herrera questions the price of keeping your integrity in a world ruled by patronage and power.

It was my father’s arrest that brought me here, although you could certainly say that I took the scenic route. Here is rehab, where Ben - the only son of a rich South Dublin banker - is piecing together the shattered remains of his life. Abruptly cut off, at the age of 27, from a life of heedless privilege, Ben flounders through a world of drugs and dead-end jobs, his self-esteem at rock bottom. Even his once-adoring girlfriend, Clio, is at the end of her tether. Then Ben runs into an old school friend who wants to cut him in on a scam.

Charity Deacon, private investigator, agrees to follow a client’s husband. Prove if he’s cheating or not, that’s the gig. It’s the "or not" that puts her on a collision course with the dangerous world of gangsters and human trafficking. To protect her client and the woman’s child safe, Charity must face down the biggest mob in Vancouver.

Third story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Being a top-flight chef can be stressful. Thankfully, a professional kitchen throws up some unique opportunities for body disposal….

Sixth story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. The maternity ward: the last place you’d associate with criminal activity. Which makes it as good a place as any to carry it out.

Eleventh story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. What could be more festive than a trip to see Santa at the local shopping centre? Depends on who’s gunning for Santa…

First story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Billy Partridge wasn’t really cut out to be a cat burglar, but it was ‘do the job, or come up with thirteen grand by Thursday, or have both legs shattered’.‘Do the job’ seemed the least worst option. But he’s about to find out just how bad the least worst option can be….

Fifth story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. There is never a good time to look upon the face of a dead loved one. But Mr Unwin has dedicated his life to helping the bereaved. While helping himself at the same time….

The final story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. It’s Christmas Eve, but the criminals never stop working, so neither do the police. The raid is on... but things don’t go entirely to plan.

Ninth story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Kayleigh’s a professional. But lap-dancing has rules. And when someone breaks the rules….

It's corrupt to the bone and under the ever watchful surveillance system known as the Eye. Money has been abandoned in favor of the credit system. All citizens are required to carry hand held devises containing their credit score and personal information. Dylan is recovering from the government attitude adjustment program known as the Punch since his credits reached zero. His adopted son Jimmy is missing presumed dead and his basement office is infested with contrarian rats.

Second story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. When a double suicide arrives at the city morgue, Sandra thinks it’s a Christmas like any other. But she’s about to get a very nasty shock – make that two very nasty shocks….

Tenth story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Lord Peter Forsyth-Leven, MSP, is about to discover that having it all just means you’ve got more to lose….

Fourth story in a collection of interlinked tales of crime and retribution laced with dark humour, set around the festive season. Working in a call centre normally offers few career opportunities. But it looks as if Tracy’s about to get her big break.