Unhuman

A reporter with nothing to lose. An inspector with something to hide. The Cotswolds' newest odd couple is on the case... Of all the journalists at his small-town paper, Andy Caplet is far and away the worst. At least he has a job. But when his latest expose on the strange and scandalous Inspector Hobbes backfires, Andy is left broke and homeless. The inspector's offer of a spare room for a few days (or months) seems like the only option... Andy agrees to accompany the inspector to investigate a sudden surge in crime and soon finds himself immersed in a world beyond humanity. It turns out that Inspector Hobbes eats raw bones, their housekeeper collects teeth, and their guests include trolls, dwarves, and ghouls. As Andy tries to piece together the inspector's true identity, his new partner is hard at work solving unexplainable murders, suicides, and robberies. If they can't learn to work together and solve the mystery in time, the chilling fate of their charming town will be sealed... Inspector Hobbs and the Blood is the first book in a series of comedy crime fantasy novels. If you like intriguing characters, hilarious wit, and small-town whodunits with fantasy flair, then you'll love Wilkie Martin's fast-paced supernatural tale.

Set in the Cotswolds, this is the next instalment in the adventures of Inspector Hobbes, Mrs. Goodfellow, and Dregs, as narrated by the still disaster-prone Andy Caplet. It is a rip roaring, funny, and moving tale of Andy's infatuation with a dangerously beautiful woman, starting off during investigations into sheep deaths and the mysterious disappearance of pheasants. These incidents appear to be connected to a rash of big cat sightings, and something horrible seems to be lurking in the woods. Is Andy cursed to be always unsuccessful in love, or is the curse something much darker, something that will arouse his primeval terrors?

Receiving unwanted attention after foiling an armed robbery, the unhuman Inspector Hobbes takes a long-overdue camping holiday, with Andy, his accident-prone friend, and Dregs, the delinquent dog. In the bleak and dangerous Blacker Mountains, Andy stumbles across something shocking, before falling for an attractive widow, while Hobbes wonders why an old gold mine has reopened. On their return to the sleepy Cotswold town of Sorenchester, Hobbes is dumbfounded when Kathy, a reminder of his hippy days, turns up on the doorstep with her baggage. Since Hobbes has to solve a gold robbery and contemplate some perfectly ordinary rocks, Andy must entertain Kathy while trying to protect his new love from a monstrous opponent working for the sinister Sir Gerald Payne.

There's going to be trouble. Andy Caplet's wife goes away, someone is out to get him, and he loses nearly everything in a storm. Amazing both himself and his unhuman friend Inspector Hobbes, he heroically rescues flood victims and uncovers something shocking. Is Andy being set up for blackmail by the apparently charming young woman who attempts to seduce him, or is something even more sinister afoot? Hobbes certainly believes so, and he's getting worried. This is the fourth in Wilkie Martin's unhuman series of cozy comedy crime fantasies.

No stranger to fear since meeting the unhuman Inspector Hobbes, Andy Caplet fears getting fired from his reporting job (again). His main concern, though, is a shady property developer who has designs on Sorenchester Common, and more annoyingly on his wife. Perhaps a trip to the mountains will help him relax, but this proves even more perilous with foul weather, inedible food, brigands, and a terrifying cruise. Fortunately, mountain leopards, yetis and Flossy, the yak, take a shine to Andy. Back in the Cotswolds, a child gets murdered and a new detective takes on the case. When Hobbes returns, he (with Andy's dubious assistance) is relegated to hunting an enormous bird with killer feet. Meanwhile, Andy still worries about the common and the reclusive Common People (surely not yetis?), who will lose their homes if the housing development goes ahead.

Enjoy a journey through the first four unhuman tales in this comedy cozy mystery fantasy omnibus: I - Inspector Hobbes and the Blood Inspector Hobbes, a monstrous police detective, investigates grave, ghoulish, goings-on. A mad pseudo vampire with the dagger of Vlad Tepes is behind robbery, and murder. It is a funny tale with a troll, human sacrifice, blood and great cooking. 'I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he's hungry.' II - Inspector Hobbes and the Curse Andy becomes infatuated with a dangerously beautiful woman during Hobbes's investigations into sheep deaths and the mysterious disappearance of pheasants, which are apparently connected to a rash of big cat sightings; and something horrible seems to be lurking in the woods. 'Love may be on the horizon but, beware; something wicked this way comes.' III - Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers Unwelcome attention after foiling an armed robbery forces the Inspector away on holiday to the dangerous Blacker Mountains, where his accident-prone friend. Andy stumbles across something shocking, before falling for an attractive widow. 'I always knew you'd get ahead one day.' IV - Inspector Hobbes and the Bones Certain trouble lies ahead for Andy Caplet. Is the apparently charming young woman who attempts to seduce him merely setting him up for blackmail, or is something even more sinister afoot? Inspector Hobbes certainly believes so, and, though he's not the sort to worry, he is getting worried. 'Grateful for having been born human.'