Wilkie Martin sets his Unhuman series of novels in the Cotswolds, where he lives. He introduces readers to a close-knit, small-town community filled with quirky and occasionally dangerous inhabitants. Central to his narratives is an 'unhuman' policeman who maintains law and order within this unique world of mystery and unexpected twists.
The story follows Andy Caplet, a reporter grappling with the dual threats of job insecurity and a dubious property developer eyeing both Sorenchester Common and his wife. Amidst the tension, his encounters with the unhuman Inspector Hobbes add an element of fear and intrigue, complicating his efforts to protect his community and personal life.
As a crime wave breaks in the quiet Cotswold streets, Andy Caplet, a failed reporter, is reluctantly immersed in Inspector Hobbes's investigation. Allergic to danger and exercise, Andy is thrown into grave confusion as he discovers not everyone is human. Not only must he come to terms with Hobbes's extreme oddness, and the tooth-collection of Hobbes's housekeeper, the indomitable Mrs Goodfellow, but he must work out if a suicide, a murder, and several robberies are connected? And what is the connection? Hobbes goes missing. The cops decide he's big and bad enough to look after himself, but Andy, striving against deep-rooted incompetence and clumsiness, sets out to find him. With a big bad dog to assist, armed only with a leg of lamb, and despite losing his trousers, he discovers the key to the mystery is in the blood. But whose blood? Where is Hobbes? And can he catch vampirism off false teeth? This is the first in Wilkie Martin's unhuman series of fast-paced, comic fantasy crime adventures, with lashings of great food. 'I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he's hungry' 'Odd, inventive, and genuinely very funny indeed.' Katie Jarvis, Cotswold Life