Author:Nicholas Blake
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BEAST MUST DIE - NOW A BRITBOX SERIES
Private detective and poet Nigel Strangeways is invited to address the Maiden Astbury literary society. The picturesque Dorset town is home to Bunnett's Brewery, run by the much disliked, and feared, Eustace Bunnett and shortly before Nigel's visit, Bunnett's dog Truffles, was found dead in one of the brewery's vats. The culprit was never caught - although there was no shortage of suspects - but when a body is then found in the same vat, boiled down to its bones, Nigel is called into action to help capture the killer.
The third book in the Nigel Strangeways series, this is a gloriously inventive, puzzling and witty investigation to delight all fans of classic crime.
A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction to the most charming and erudite detective in Golden Age crime fiction.
Blake's resourceful and well-read amateur investigator Nigel Strangeways is a distinctive sleuth, inveigling his way into the trust of his suspects via a loquacious charm
—— The TimesA master of detective fiction
—— Daily TelegraphHis plots are ingenious
—— Times Literary SupplementThe Nicholas Blake books are something quite by themselves in English detective fiction
—— Elizabeth BowenThe gifted Joseph Knox continues his upwards trajectory...forging something original and innovative.
—— Barry Forshaw , Financial TimesBest new fiction. Knox tears up the rule book, this bravura performance it's darkness leavened by very black humour
—— John Williams , Mail on SundayThis satire of the true crime genre is ingenious, funny and totally original
—— The SunReads like a cinematic true crime documentary. Brilliant, compelling and original.
—— Steve CavanaghAn absolute triumph. It sucked me in, chewed me up, spat me out and left me blinking like the moment the lights go on at a fuzzy basement nightclub. Phenomenal, current, bleakly devastating. An iron gauntlet in the guts. Loved it.
—— Matt WesolowskiHighly original and mischievous novel - a complete triumph
—— John BoyneAbsolutely brilliant. I think it's a game-changer
—— Martyn WaitesPure genius - all the things you want to a crime novel to be, also hilarious. I love it
—— Jane CaseyTrue Crime Story is phenomenal. One of the most original thrillers I've read in years, perhaps ever. A gritty, twisted murder mystery told in the unique style of a true crime account. I've rarely raced through a book so fast. I'm just gutted that it's probably ruined me for thrillers for a good long while! Absolutely remarkable.
—— Robyn YoungWOW ! this is a work of outstanding and staggering genius! You always get beautiful prose and a crackling plot from Mr Knox. But this has extra madness. It's the most original book I've read in ages
—— Imran MahmoodThe most exciting and original crime book you'll read this year
—— Anna MazzolaDark, seedy, and not to be trusted, and that's just the character Joseph Knox, as written by Joseph Knox!This is a very clever book indeed. Fiction so convincingly written as true crime that I ended up Googling the victim just to check I hadn't got the wrong end of the stick.
—— Jack GrimwoodTotally gripping, original, and white- hot suspenseful
—— Robert CraisAn audacious idea, ingeniously executed
—— Sarah HilaryOne of the most unafraid contemporary crime writers ... a genre defying complex construct of smoke and mirrors, this book is very, very clever.
—— Helen FieldsA story that'll leave your head spinning and questioning just who gets to shape the narrative when a woman goes missing...
—— StylistIngenious...brilliantly original
—— Laura Shepherd RobinsonHugely ambitious
—— Irish IndependentInventive, playful and hugely enjoyable.
—— Sunday ExpressSupple and urgent - another slab of Knox brilliance
—— MetroKnox has produced something extraordinary ... post-modern playfulness [embedded] in a rich and compelling plot that twists and turns until the final pages
—— The Big IssueAstonishing! So clever, so original! Highly recommended
—— Jane FallonThis clever novel reads like a true crime story (at times you have to remind yourself it's fiction), which makes it all the more compelling
—— IndependentAn ingenious thriller
—— Choice MagazineA very stylish novel revealing not only the unreliability of witnesses, but also the voyeurism in much crime reporting, crime investigation, and yes, in those of us who enjoy crime fiction
—— The TabletBook of the year
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox, a provocative mix of real and fictional crime in which the author himself investigates the disappearance of a student named Zoe. But is she a real or fictional character? With a fragmentary narrative style, this is something new in the overcrowded crime genre
Joseph Knox cements his reputation as one of the best of the new guard of British crime writers with True Crime Story, in which one Joseph Knox - a deliciously unflattering self-portrait - becomes entangled in the investigation into the disappearance of a student. It's a meta-fictional trick that helps to create a genuine (and genuinely pleasurable) sense of unease.
—— Best Books of 2021, The TelegraphA thrilling mystery with a strong emotional heart
—— Woman & HomeIngeniously constructed, with real flesh-and-blood characters and cliff-hanging suspense
—— Louise Candlish