Colin Bateman (1) (1962–)

I found this compulsively readable and almost equal parts funny and cringe. The Man with No Name who runs No Alibis, a crime fiction bookshop in Belfast, is a walking bundle of neuroses, and it was distressing how many of those I could relate to. (The sheer number of everyday things that the Man nopes out of, I have noped out of at least once in my life with precisely the same sort of self-protective anxiety.) It’s definitely a darker brand of humour but not darker in terms of crime: it’s mostly a puzzle sort of crime with a reasonably low body count. I would read another book in the series if I could get a hold of it.… (mer)

Mystery Man by Colin Bateman is the first book in his series about the owner of an Irish book store that specializes in mysteries who also takes on the duties of a private investigator for some clients. It started when the private investigator next door to the bookshop disappeared and his clients appealed to him for help. I have read Bateman before so was quite aware that his books are always darkly funny and full of satire so I was prepared for the many laugh out loud moment that this book provided.

Our main character is a whiny hypochondriac with OCD and still lives at home with his mother. Surprisingly, he has a crush on the pretty girl who works in the jewellery story across the street and actually manages to start a relationship with her. His cases start off simple, having to track down a pair of stolen leather pants or locate a missing girlfriend who disappeared after her boyfriend compared her ears to jugs. But the cases take a very serious turn when he finds himself surrounded by murdered victims and looking for Nazis.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book and have already picked up two more for the future. I am looking forward to the humorous literary references, the outlandish cases, and the many twists and turns that this author provides his readers.… (mer)