Simon Grave Mystery

"Profound and devilishly clever . . . an exhilarating read!" -Michael Hartnett, author of The Blue RatChester Clink, serial killer extraordinaire, has struck again, dumping the body of a young blonde woman in the town square to tease Grave into action-and distraction.Confusing the situation are nine additional bodies found at the same time, all the work of scythe-swinging Death 867, the local soul collector, who is in the throes of a mid-death crisis. He's tired of his job and wants to save time by collecting bodies in a central location rather than taking them where and when they were intended to die.Meanwhile, all the Officer Larrys and other simdroids are behaving strangely. They seem to be more human than usual. Could this be the beginning of the singularity, the time when machines take dominion over humankind?As Grave and his team try to make sense of it all, Chester Clink joins forces with Death 867 to target Grave's fiancé, Polly Loblolly, setting off an intense, heart-pumping conclusion.It's 2056, the year of the dark deadly deadliness of death.

2018 American Fiction Awards Finalist –Mystery/Humor 2018 PenCraft Awards Winner for Literary Excellence "A truly hilarious mystery in the tradition of Janet Evanovich, Thomas Davidson and Rich Leder." –Best Thrillers Murder has come once more to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of "almost handsome" Detective Simon Grave and his "nearly invisible" partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, who investigate a locked-room mystery with a significant twist: the prime suspects are in the locked room, not the victim, a logic-defying situation that challenges the team at every turn. As if murder weren't enough, they must also investigate the simultaneous disappearance of The MacGuffin Trophy from that same locked room, the studio of artist Whitney Waters, famous for her stylized paintings of red herrings. Who is/are the killer(s)? How did he/she/they get out of the locked room with the trophy, kill the victim, and return unnoticed by others in the room? These and other questions, including the limits of logic and the meaning of life, are posed and perhaps even answered in this quirky, near-future mystery. Yes, there are robots.

"Boswell continues his genre-defying series in this ambitious adventure…" –PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY Murder rocks the seaside town of Crab Cove, but to solve the crime, Detective Simon Grave must first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime.Murder has come yet again to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of Detective Simon Grave, his "almost invisible" partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, and his new assistant, Charlize, a simdroid (an android lookalike of a famous person) who fancies herself a match for Sherlock Holmes, in the simulated body of Charlize Theron. When a body is discovered on a deserted beach, alongside a deactivated Betty White simdroid, the game is afoot. Grave must not only deal with the murder, but also come to grips with a deadly prognosis for his retired detective father. The murder and his father's illness take them on a tour of local cemeteries, including a new graveyard that features multiscreen videos celebrating the lives of the deceased. They soon discover that the only way to solve the murder is to first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime.

Detective Simon Grave's tour of a local winery turns sour when a body is discovered in the fermentation tank for his favorite wine, Duct Tape Chardonnay. To solve the murder, he and his team of fellow detectives will have to question strangers, a long-lost love, and his choice in wines.Publishers Weekly describes Boswell's PenCraft Award-winning series as a "genre-defying" adventure, a sort of cozy, sort of sci-fi, sort of paranormal, always-funny series set in the quirky seaside town of Crab Cove. As with all Simon Grave mysteries, simdroids (androids who resemble famous people) play a critical role in solving the crime.Expect humorous takes on the advance of technology, the effects of global warming, and nothing less than the meaning of life, death, love, and loss. Get ready for a fun read. The year is 2054, and the future is filled with mystery.

American Fiction Awards Finalist - Mystery/Humor PenCraft Awards Winner for Literary Excellence (Mystery) "Boswell continues his genre-defying series in this ambitious adventure…" –Publishers' Weekly ***This box set includes the first three mystery novels in the Simon Grave Mystery series by Len Boswell. Book #6, Simon Grave and the Wrath of Grapes, is now available! A Grave Misunderstanding (Book 1) Murder has come once more to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of "almost handsome" Detective Simon Grave and his "nearly invisible" partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, who investigate a locked-room mystery with a significant twist: the prime suspects are in the locked room, not the victim, a logic-defying situation that challenges the team at every turn. As if murder weren't enough, they must also investigate the simultaneous disappearance of The MacGuffin Trophy from that same locked room, the studio of artist Whitney Waters, famous for her stylized paintings of red herrings. Who is/are the killer(s)? How did he/she/they get out of the locked room with the trophy, kill the victim, and return unnoticed by others in the room? These and other questions, including the limits of logic and the meaning of life, are posed and perhaps even answered in this quirky, near-future mystery. Yes, there are robots. Simon Grave and the Curious Incident of the Cat in the Daytime (Book 2) Murder rocks the seaside town of Crab Cove, but to solve the crime, Detective Simon Grave must first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime. Murder has come yet again to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of Detective Simon Grave, his "almost invisible" partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, and his new assistant, Charlize, a simdroid (an android lookalike of a famous person) who fancies herself a match for Sherlock Holmes, in the simulated body of Charlize Theron. When a body is discovered on a deserted beach, alongside a deactivated Betty White simdroid, the game is afoot. Grave must not only deal with the murder, but also come to grips with a deadly prognosis for his retired detective father. The murder and his father's illness take them on a tour of local cemeteries, including a new graveyard that features multiscreen videos celebrating the lives of the deceased. They soon discover that the only way to solve the murder is to first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime. Simon Grave and the Drone of the Basque Orvilles (Book 3) A demon hound haunts Crab Cove, taking its victims as they come. When a mutilated corpse is found in the marshes, Detective Simon Grave rises to the challenge. Everything points to the hound, but it is quickly apparent that the body has been stabbed repeatedly, in a way that suggests serial killer Chester Clink also may be involved. Or maybe not. Grave and his team, including his partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, and androids Charlize and Smithers, who fancy themselves as Sherlock Holmes and Watson, follow clues that lead them from drone manufacturing plants, to the labyrinthine caves along the shore, to the abode of a strange Scotsman who plays his bagpipes on a bluff above the crime scene. As always in Crab Cove, one killing leads to another, further pressuring Grave to solve the mystery-fast. The year is 2053. Time to... Release the hounds! (And the drones.)