Wilkie Martin

Books: Fantasy | Mystery

Inspector Hobbes: Inspector Hobbes and the Blood (2013), Inspector Hobbes and the Curse (2013), Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers (2014)

Inspector Hobbes

Inspector Hobbes and the Blood (2013)

I actually had a great deal of trouble with this book.

At the start of the story, the narrator is an idiot AND rather unlikable.

Unlikable enough that about a third of the way through I was thinking, "if this guy remains this much of an asshole by the end of the book, I am NOT going to forgive the author for making me spend so much time in his head"

I located the bread in a cream-coloured, enamel bread bin with a wooden lid. On opening it, I hit a snag: the bread was all in one lump – and I'd usually known it to come in slices.

That's not actually the stupidest thing the narrator says.

I groaned, not being keen on dogs since one ate my football when I was six. I've always blamed it for my failure to shine as a sportsman. At least, I've blamed it when not blaming my father.

It was, in it's favor, just plain silly, which is why I kept going.

I gulped down air, waiting for my pulse rate to drop to something feasible, and realising I wasn't as fit as I'd thought, though I'd thought I was pretty unfit.

I removed my jacket, all grimy and soggy, stinking of wet sheep and, more worryingly, urine, and dropped my trousers. They were round my ankles, I was bending to remove them, when the door opened, striking me firmly on the backside.

Mrs Goodfellow entered with the trousers I'd ruined in the morning hanging from her skinny arm. 'They're all cleaned and repaired. Have you lost something?'

'Only my dignity, though there wasn't much to worry about.'

That was one of the things that made me keep going, hoping that Andy wasn't quite the complete ass he was making himself out to be.

So he was in idiot, but he did redeem himself (although NOT gracefully). But it was rough going for awhile.

Publisher: The Witcherley Book Company

Rating: 6.5/10

Inspector Hobbes and the Curse (2013) 

This is the second Inspector Hobbes book.

Weirdly, I still can't decided how I feel about this series. It's very silly, but it sometimes feels like it's trying too hard to achieve that silliness.

Wolfifesting is the process whereby a werewolf transforms into wolf form; it's the opposite of manifesting.'

OK. That bit was clever. But other bits are just a bit much.

That doesn't mean I don't want to read the next book, it just means I have no interest in pay more than a dollar or two for the next book.

Publisher: The Witcherley Book

Rating: 6/10

Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers (2014) 

The third Inspector Hobbes / Unhuman book.

Andy Caplet is still living with Hobbes, and slowly (slowly) becoming a better human. Hobbes might not be human, but he's good at being human.

We finally discover things about Hobbes!

'I expect,' said Sid, with a glance at Hobbes, 'that Wilber told you part of the story, just enough to get you worried.'

'Would I do anything like that?' said Hobbes, trying to look innocent.

'Yes,' I said, nodding, 'you would. Umm … Wilber?'

'It's short for Wilberforce,' said Sid.

Hobbes remains Hobbes, with his super fast reflexes and healing ability and terrible sense of humor.

'What do you mean private land? We're not trespassing are we?'

'Only in the legal sense,' said Hobbes.

Andy is visiting his parents when Hobbes makes the news–chasing gold thieves. Andy hurries back to Hobbes house, to discover that the press really want to know more about Hobbes, and are prepared to sit outside his house for days until they learn more.

So Hobbes, Andy, and Dregs head off to the mountains for some late fall camping.

This is another perfectly fine story. The mystery seemed to hang together a little less well for me than the previous stories, but it was interesting and distracting, so it was fine.

Publisher: The Witcherley Book Company

Rating: 6.5/10