Comedy Crime Fiction

In the style of Dashiell Hammett, ex-IRS agent turned gumshoe-in-training Mortimer Angel is approached by a beautiful hooker, Holiday, in a casino bar in Reno. Mort first met Holiday two months ago, but now learns that she's not really a hooker. She's a college engineering student, searching for her younger sister, Allie, who disappeared three months ago. Having seen Mort in the news, Holiday knows he's a PI who finds missing persons.

Wilt Fusarium, a clueless American ad executive, unwittingly finds himself in the middle of political intrigue and revolution on the tiny island of Costa San Rica, while trying to save the ad agency's Choad Banana account. Complications and misunderstandings abound, as the island's despot leader thinks Wilt is a revolutionary, the revolutionaries think he's a government agent, the banana company thinks he's CIA, and the CIA, well, they don't know what to think.

Two crims. One schoolgirl. Someone's in trouble. Two dumb, wannabe criminals bite off more than they can chew when they abduct a schoolgirl from a particularly modern, angular suburban house. In the mould of Elmore Leonard or early Tarantino Blockhouse Blues and the Elmore Beast is a distinctly Australian story about kidnapping, obsession, and architecture.

From Emmy Award-winning author David Quantick, All My Colors is a darkly comic novel about a man who remembers a book that may not exist, with dire consequences. A bizarre, mind-bending story at the intersection of Richard Bachman, Charlie Kaufman, and Franz Kafka.

Björn Diemel wird von seiner Frau gezwungen, ein Achtsamkeits-Seminar zu besuchen, um seine Ehe ins Reine zu bringen, sich als guter Vater zu beweisen und die unausgeglichene Work-Life-Balance wieder herzustellen. Denn als erfolgreicher Anwalt hat Björn sehr wenig Zeit für seine Familie. Der Kurs trägt Früchte und Björn kann das Gelernte sogar in seinen Job integrieren, allerdings anders als gedacht. Denn als sein Mandant, ein brutaler und mehr als schuldiger Mafiaboss, beginnt, ihm ernstliche Probleme zu bereiten, bringt er ihn einfach um - und zwar nach allen Regeln der Achtsamkeit.

Failed Shakespearean actor and would-be private detective William Power returns to Melbourne in this wry sequel that re-creates the tension and fear of wartime Australia. Bloodied and broken but somehow unbowed, he arrives in a town struggling under war-rationing and full of cocky American soldiers and lands squarely in the bosom of his childhood home in Carlton, now dominated by his sister-in-law, the odious Darlene.

After being reformed for five years in the Wyoming pen, the celebrated criminal Mugs Birdsong decides to found a crime academy that will instruct lawmen on the ways of means of lawlessness. He sets up shop in an abandoned orphanage in Rock Springs, and soon is instructing classes in bank robbery, train robbery, and various other sterling occupations. He sells autographed wanted posters, and persuades a banker to let him stage a mock robbery at the bank, for the benefit of his students - and that's when the fun begins.

A caper gone bad is the setting for this comic novel about three 20-somethings searching to find themselves in year one of The Revolution: 1960. The year marked the arrival of John F. Kennedy, The Pill, Women’s Lib, and the crazy concept of personal satisfaction. The world, and their lives, would never be the same. Follow Mickey, Tippy, and Nino from Manhattan’s garment district filled with low-end goods, loan sharks, and knock-off artists to the couturiers of Paris with the insane pressure to constantly create great art. A hilarious story of self-realization, love, and friendship.

Straight arrow FBI Agent Kate O'Hare always plays by the rules. Charming con man Nicholas Fox makes them up as he goes along. They're working together to tackle the out-of-bounds cases ordinary FBI agents can't touch. And their relationship? Well, there hasn't been so much explosive chemistry since Nitro was introduced to Glycerin. Next on the docket: the mysterious disappearance of the Silicon Valley billionaire known as the Big Kahuna.

In Family Life, Russell Banks' first novel, he transforms the dramas of domesticity into the story of a royal family in a mythical contemporary kingdom. Life inside this kingdom includes the king (dubbed "the Hearty" or "the Bluff"), who squeals angrily as is his wont; the queen, who, while pondering the mirror in her chambers, decides to write a book; three adolescent princes who are, respectively, a superb wrestler, a fanatical sports car driver, and a sullen drunk.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly calls The Thieves of Manhattan a “delicious satire of the literary world.” Here Adam Langer introduces Ian Minoit—an aspiring writer who just can’t seem to get published. When Ian’s successful girlfriend leaves him for the talentless hack Blade Markham—whose acclaimed memoir Ian is convinced is a fake—he can’t understand why he always gets the short end of the stick.

Grant Leitch is in denial about handing over the reins of the paper to an unworthy underclassman. In denial that Rose suddenly quit the paper and now won’t talk to him. But mostly he’s in denial that she is at prom with another guy, and it’s his fault. Grant’s only hope of luring Rose back to him (and the paper) is a juicy story she won’t be able to resist. In the end it takes a toga-wearing prom crasher, an emergency lockdown, a secret stalker, and a wild after-party to bring Grant and Rose together for one last story...and one final chance to admit that they’re made for each other.

A delicious burger. A horrific murder. What can the waiters of the Midnight Owl do to solve the mystery? On a foggy Friday night in Los Angeles, a diverse group of young and sexy waiters discover a gruesome and horrific murder in the kitchen of L.A.’s hottest new restaurant, The Midnight Owl. Stunned by what they witnessed, the attractive gang embark on a pulse-pounding, high-octane, thrill-ride, tracking down other members of the Midnight Owl’s staff to uncover the evil truth.

Novelist Henry "Coop" Cooper is contemplating a new book between sipping rum and lounging on a Baja beach with hotel owner Grady Doyle. When Grady tries to save a drunk from two thugs, Coop tags along for the sake of a good story. The drunk is Ebbie Milch, a small-time thief on the run in Mexico because he has stolen the never-before-seen first draft of Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast from a wealthy rare-book dealer.

Was ist gut? Was ist böse? Diese skurrile, von schwarzem Humor angehauchte Komödie stellt so manche vermeintliche Gewissheit auf den Kopf. Zwei ältere Schwestern, Judy und Titty, leben mit ihrem Mops Filippo in einer etwas heruntergekommenen toskanischen Landvilla. Judy, die etwas Jüngere von beiden, war bereits in ihrer Jugend nach Italien ausgewandert, um dort als Wedding Planner zu arbeiten; ihre kettenrauchende Schwester Titty heiratete indes einen Engländer und zog erst nach dessen Tod in die Villa.

The star of this crime comedy short story knows the secret to being a real man in full and he needs to share it with you. Of course, you have a full pitcher of beer and all his chaos is someone else's problem. This funny wild ride ends with his very questionable wisdom.

In this short story from his Getting Even collection, Woody Allen takes an in-depth look at the Mafia, detailing heretofore unknown facts about the Cosa Nostra, from their aliases (and aliases' aliases), to how little they spend on office supplies in a given year.

Grak is just an orc trying to get by. He also happens to be a private investigator. Who solves crimes with his fists. Join Grak on his many misadventures in this omnibus edition of the Orc PI series. Included in this complete edition are Grak - Private Instigator, Grak - Orc on Vacation, and Grak - Gnomercy. Grak - Private Instigator The city of Alyon is in trouble. Its citizens are turning into monsters. Not the good kind of monsters--terrifying, bloodthirsty, flesh-rending, citizen-killing monsters. When Grak's favorite barkeep tells him that he will get a lifetime supply of free alcohol ...

After a dramatic change in character, a rather usual middle-aged man begins carrying out a series of rather unusual murders. Meanwhile Brad Shape, a crime beat reporter for the Manchester Daily News, is looking for the big scoop to revive his flagging career—and his crumbling marriage. But when he finds one of England's most notorious serial killers, it will be Brad's biggest break...in more ways than one.

There is a harvest moon over Toulouse, but it’s going to be a very dark night. Eleven-year-old Micah Stevens intends to free the dogs from a puppy mill in the woods outside of town. Teenager Jenny Allard and her boyfriend Michael Kennedy have come up with a plan to get even with two of the school’s most notorious thugs. Gloria Downing is coming home after a decade running from her past. On this Indian summer evening in October of 1981, the little town is about to add several chapters to its long and bizarre history. Come along as award winning novelist, Chris Morrow, gives you the grand...