The second novel in Andrew Cartmel‘s acclaimed Vinyl Detective series, is available in Czechia! Published by Kalibr/Euromedia as VŠECHNY KOČKY MILUJÍ VALERIANU, here’s the synopsis…
Bydlí se dvěma kočkami, prvotřídním gramofonem, velkou sbírkou jazzových nahrávek a na živobytí pro sebe i obě ochočené šelmy si vydělává jako „vinylový detektiv“. Nenechte se zmýlit, o vzrušení a nebezpečí není v jeho profesi nouze! Občas jde i o život…
Když se mu na prahu objeví nesourodá dvojice v podobě bratra tragicky zesnulé zpěvačky Valeriany a mladé senzacechtivé novinářky, roztáčí se kolotoč intrik, poštovních koček, podezřelých úmrtí včetně jedné hlídací husy a život ohrožujících halucinogenních zážitků. Zemřela Valeriana skutečně přirozenou smrtí rockových muzikantů, tedy sebevraždou po požití štědré dávky drog? A nahrála na svůj ztracený poslední singl tajný vzkaz nebo temnou mši, jak se šeptá v kruzích milovníků vinylu? Odhalí jeho nalezení, co se stalo se zmizelým zpěvaččiným synem?
Ocitli se snad náš hrdina se svou vynalézavou přítelkyní Nevadou opět přímo v hledáčku zločinců, kteří se nezastaví před ničím?
Euromedia has also published the first book in the series, as POSLEDNÍ DESKA.
The Vinyl Detective series is published in the UK and North America by Titan Books: WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX, THE RUN-OUT GROOVE, VICTORY DISC, FLIP BACK, and LOW ACTION. The first two books in the series have also been published in Germany, by Suhrkamp.
Here’s the English-language synopsis for THE RUN-OUT GROOVE…
His first adventure consisted of the search for a rare record; his second begins with the discovery of one. When a mint copy of the final album by “Valerian” — England’s great lost rock band of the 1960s — surfaces in a charity shop, all hell breaks loose.
Finding this record triggers a chain of events culminating in our hero learning the true fate of the singer Valerian, who died under equivocal circumstances just after — or was it just before? — the abduction of her two-year-old son.
Along the way, the Vinyl Detective finds himself marked for death, at the wrong end of a shotgun, and unknowingly dosed with LSD as a prelude to being burned alive. And then there’s the grave robbing…
But he does find out what happened to the missing child, and it wasn’t what anyone expected — or wanted — to hear.
Here are just a few of the reviews THE RUN-OUT GROOVE has received…
‘Part of the fun of the series is the obsessiveness of record collectors, the contradictions between the mundane places in which they hunt their treasures — charity shops, church bazaars — and the sophisticated sound systems they have set up to play what they find… the 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
‘… entertaining second record-spinning mystery… 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
‘THE RUN-OUT GROOVE does a fantastic job of making its fictional history of music so fascinating and authentic that you’ll forget it isn’t all true… This a follow-up every bit the equal of its highly memorable predecessor, presenting a mystery you’ll be eager to solve and characters whose company you won’t want to leave. Written with infectious charm, the Vinyl Detective has more than proven he’s no one-hit-wonder.’ (9/10) — Alternative Magazine Online
‘Polished, fast-paced and a ton of fun, this is a fantastic read that is easy to get lost in… more polished… keeps the story rolling forward at an incredible speed – and also makes it very hard to put down… Cartmel has created an intoxicating mix of adventure, humour and mystery to lose yourself in… a truly engaging and enjoyable read. THE RUN-OUT GROOVE surpasses even the opening novel in the series for polish and fun.’ — The Crime Review
In related news, Andrew was recently interviewed for The Eternal Village-Cast. You can listen to that, below…
