The Vinyl Detective's friends Erik Make Loud and Helene Hilditch are subject to murder attempts, all of which appear innocent until investigated. The Vinyl Detective and Nevada are asked to help as well as find the recording of their first record.

I went on to recommend this book to a friend of mine, only to find that she had already read it, and the two sequels and was totally in love with the series as I was. From there we are introduced to ‘the client’ and a search begins, not for vinyl but for people. The missing child and the person who took him. At first, our protagonists are not keen to take on the case, but a series of events take over and, nudged on by Nevada, The Vinyl Detective takes on the case. Review This post details The Afterparty Season 2 a new 10-part murder mystery comedy series on … Read more On top of that, there is a shift from the Vinyl Detective (we still don't know his name) being hired as a record hunter to actually being hired in the capacity of solving a potential crime, with the hunt for a record just being a secondary objective to get him to take the job. In short, he is hired by Helene Hilditch, former member of the short-lived but rather successful Punk band The Blue Tits and Erik Make Loud's new girlfriend, to investigate what she and Erik suspect to be attempts on her life. Since the police don't seem to believe that this is the case, they turn to the Vinyl Detective and his partner/girlfriend Nevada. This book really took me by surprise. On the face of it, this is a book about a guy hunting for a record. Thrilling right? Well, you’d be surprised, I was!

The Vinyl Detective Series Book 3 – Victory Disc

In the first chapter, the main character’s cat dies. I’m not going to lie, I almost stopped reading at this point, but the way Andrew describes cats really did win me over, and don’t worry, he does get a new cat or two. This reminded me of a talk I attended the previous year with Mark Billingham, in which he mentioned that; as a crime writer, he is allowed to do whatever he wants to a human in his books, but the moment he speaks of harming an animal, his readers are up in arms, he receives letters, he has angry conversations with readers, he has even received death threats. For a man who wrote a book about the Brighton cat killer, this can be quite challenging. Andrew has also written a couple of books under the title, The Rupert Hood Spy Thrillers, as well as several Dr Who Novels, Novellas and comic books.

On the one hand, it seems churlish to object to being given another helping of what has made the series so entertaining. The host of returning characters certainly 'played up' in their well-loved fashion, but it was the new elements that stood proud of the rest, for me: the 'punk' angle-a female punk band no less-was refreshing; the fan club aspect too. The chief delight, I thought, was the introduction of a certain older character known to one of our protagonists, very nicely done. It is a long book split into two halves. Why? Because there are two distinct stories within this one book, both surrounding the same characters. If you like there are two distinct cases which the vinyl detective takes on, all be it that they are connected. The story was ok, the characters a bit stereotypical, but fine for all that. Cliché is what makes some things easy to consume. Violent deaths, a nameless protagonist, murderous villains who favour creepy matching outfits, millionaire Japanese benefactors, sex, drugs, rare jazz albums, and a pair of cats. RA: Is there much research involved for each book? How long did you work on Written in Dead Wax before you were satisfied that it was ready for publication?The music part was a fascinating addition and I liked to read about punk and the age of Sex Pistols. It appeals to me as it is a classic adventure story where the main characters are pulled along and swept up into an adventure before they really know what is going on.

This is the fifth volume in The Vinyl Detective series, and I found it to be as entertaining as the previous four. The central character, still unnamed, is a record collector but has developed a sideline as an actual detective. The stories usually revolve around the search for a record, which triggers a series of unfortunate events. Often murder. Usually murders. Plural. Sound interesting? It makes for prismatic, quixotic reading – especially if you’re a music lover with a vinyl LP fetish. The Vinyl Detective Series is great for anyone who loves a good detective story. If a good old fashioned mystery is your thing then this series is for you. But don’t be fooled by the fact that it is based on a format which for some is a “bit oldfashioned”, the series is very up to date and contemporary. Action

The Vinyl Detective Series Book 1 – Written In Dead Wax

The Vinyl Detective plunges into the world of death metal in his sixth adventure. Expect laughs, LPs, cats and the return of fan favourites, Nevada, Tinkler, Stinky Stanmer and more. AC: “When I finished the book I realised it was overlong and I quite ruthlessly excised about 30,000 words. Once I’d done that I was satisfied with it. So it was ready about five years before it was actually published — but that’s just the nature of the business.