Dive into the world of a passionate collector and freelance detective whose life revolves around rare vinyl records and unexpected mysteries. This series takes you on thrilling adventures where each clue leads to another musical treasure or mortal danger. Follow our protagonist as he uses his deep knowledge of music and unconventional deductive skills to navigate the underworld of collectors, forgers, and murderers. It's a detective story with a unique musical flair, packed with suspense, humor, and a genuine love for analog sound.
He is a record collector — a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the “Vinyl Detective” and some people take this more literally than others. Like the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording — on behalf of an extremely wealthy (and rather sinister) shadowy client. Given that he’s just about to run out of cat biscuits, this gets our hero’s full attention. So begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the rarest jazz record of them all…
Vinyl Detective is proving to be a very amenable companion to have on a
treasure hunt. This is one vinyl nerd you won't mind spending time with -
Kirkus Reviews Great premise, great fun. Keep 'em coming. Booklist Cartmel
treats music and records seriously, plays his strange characters for laughs,
and provides a bit of danger and some unexpected twists in this affectionate
nod to the vagaries of rock stardom. - Publishers Weekly There is just
something so appealing, quirky and well, relatable about the cast of
characters - MyBigHonkinBlog a great piece of detective fiction with
characters that feel authentic. I recommend it to fans of the first novel as
well as fans of quirky detective stories. GeekHardshow.com Polished, fast-
paced and a ton of fun, this is a fantastic read that is easy to get lost in.
The Crime Review Cartmel does a brilliant job of writing outlandish
characters, that can be humorous and deadly, but not cliches or tropes -
Atomic Moo The book hooks you fast for an intriguing ride that will only serve
to whet your appetite for more books in this series. Mystery Scene Quite fun,
especially if you appreciate older music forms and can sympathize with the
feeling of finding just the right rare record hidden in a dusty corner. -
Seattle Book Review
This time the search for a rare record ensnares our hero in a mystery with its
roots stretching back to the Second World War. Three young RAF airmen played
in a legendary band called the Flare Path Orchestra. When a precious record of
their music turns up in the most unexpected place the Vinyl Detective finds
himself hired to track down the rest of their highly sought-after recordings.
But, as he does so, he finds that the battles of the last World War aren't
over yet--and can still prove lethal.
The fourth book in the hilarious and enthralling Vinyl Detective mystery series. "Like an old 45rpm record, this book crackles with brilliance." David Quantick on Written in Dead Wax At the height of their success, the electric folk band Black Dog invited journalists to a desolate island for an infamous publicity stunt: the burning of a million dollars. But the stunt backfired and the band split up, increasing the value of their final album vastly. It's this album that Tinkler's got his eye on, and he hires none other than the Vinyl Detective and Nevada to hunt a copy down. Narrowly avoiding a killing spree, negotiating deranged Black Dog fans, and being pursued by hack celebrity Stinky Stamner and his camera crew, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada discover that perhaps all was not as it seemed on the island--and that in the embers of that fire are clues to a motive for murder...
The Vinyl Detective goes punk in his fifth hilarious adventure. Like an old
45rpm record, this book crackles with brilliance. David Quantick on Written in
Dead Wax
