Ready to discover another great book for this 2022? Take a look…

Inspector Dreadlock Holmes and Other Stories by John Agard

Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Small Axes
Source: Random Things Tours
Rating: 4/5
Amazon, Waterstones, Hive

About The Book

In the title story, Inspector Dreadlock Holmes and his sidekick Rudeyard Fly are sent for by the Criminal Investigation Department of Middleham-by-Sea – a little town known for tea shops, pet shops, and florists – in short, a rustic retreat for naughty weekends. Keen to kick-start their diversity policy, the Department sends for two Black cops who see this as a chance to prove their cross-cultural mettle and solve the brutal attack on Lord Montagu, a controversial political figure found unconscious with a courgette by his side. In other stories, an Anansi spider stows away on the Windrush, Cod and Chips are usurped by Chicken Tikka Marsala, and a white landscape gardener who admires Capability Brown has a mixed-race child, Cosmopolitan Brown, who is dispossessed by voices from history, including that of Martin Luther King. Surreal and playful, John Agard’s stories reveal hidden truths that subtly change our view of who we are and where we come from.

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My Thoughts

If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that I love reading mysteries so it was quite impossible not wanting to know a little bit more of Inspector Dreadlock Holmes. And I am so happy that I did it!
Because the Dreadlock Holmes cases are not the typical ones you read, the stories are really short but full of mystery and always with surprises.
This is an easy book to read, the stories are really short, so you can read between books or when you have 5 minutes for yourself. I think this makes this book more interesting, you don’t need to twist your mind about what’s happening or who could be the culprit, only let the story flow. It’s a kind of mystery in poetry; a book that I’ll never forget!
I really can’t say what’s the best story of the book, only that I enjoyed the read and it keeps me turning pages! And the truth is this is what is important in a book, don’t you think? The sensation it leaves after you read it, and this one has left me wondering if we’ll have the chance to read more short stories like these! Fingers crossed!If you are looking for a mystery book, different and surprising, this is your book. Ready?

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About The Author

Poet, performer, anthologist and prose writer, John Agard was born in Guyana in 1949 and came to Britain with his partner, Guyanese poet Grace Nichols, in 1977; they live in Lewes, Sussex. His collections of poetry include Man to Pan, I Din do Nuttin’, Mangoes and Bullets, We Brits, and Travel Light Travel Dark. John Agard’s awards include the Casas de las Americas Prize (Cuba), the 1997 Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry, and the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012. In 2021, John was awarded the BookTrust’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Inspector Dreadlock Holmes and other stories is his first collection of fiction for adults.

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