Hooky Goes to Blazes

Hooky Goes to Blazes
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901157

The man in the dock up on an arson charge considers that Sebastian Wrighton, who owned the building, is responsible for his daughter committing suicide. What he's done, he says, is an act of justice. Sebastian next turns up as an antiques dealer in the Cotswold village of Bardbury. Once again he has a young woman in tow and therefore (some think) in danger. Spurred on by his terrifying aunt, Hooky Hefferman finds himself in Bardbury too, and soon he is investigating another case of arson ...

Hooky Hooked

Hooky Hooked
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2014-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901262

Hooky Hefferman is commanded to spend his forty-first birthday with his aunt, the formidable Theresa Page-Foley. While there, the occasional private eye is directed to look into the affairs of the devastatingly beautiful Lois Girling, who appears to have walked off with a piece of his aunt's jewellery, given to her by a maharajah in the days of the Raj. Never averse to investigating a female, Hooky arranges to meet Lois, and quickly realises that she is embroiled in greater crimes than theft. Soon he unveils a web of fraud and deception that threatens the standing of a major public company ...

Hooky on Loan

Hooky on Loan
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2014-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901246

A tiny Sussex village harbours a motley collection of inhabitants. Millerscroft, the big house, is now an expensive school, run by the flamboyant and promiscuous Raymond Montague. Hooky Hefferman is introduced into the community supposedly as a temporary teacher at Millerscroft, but in reality to investigate the theft of £500 from one of the students. It doesn't take Hooky long to discover that underneath the outwardly tranquil veneer of the village there's a tangle of adultery, debt and venomous hatred. But before Hooky can identify the thief a body is found in a stream. Did he fall or was he pushed?

Hooky Catches a Tartar

Hooky Catches a Tartar
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2014-02-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901238

Hooky Hefferman, amiable old Etonian, womaniser, layabout and occasional private eye is despatched by his formidable aunt to discover what a not-so-young woman, Monica, in Buckingham has been up to. When Hooky arrives at Cropover Farm he finds eccentrics are three-a-penny, including Monica herself. Then there's Jill Dawson, a woman on a quest for money. This young gold-digger is using her sexual magnetism to gain some. And when a violent death occurs and money goes missing, Hooky is on the case.

Hooky and the Villainous Chauffeur

Hooky and the Villainous Chauffeur
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901114

Hooky arrives in the Sussex village of Sweeting by accident, the consequence of winning a bizarre bet and being nearly killed by a speeding limousine. Herbert Aston arrives there on purpose and in disguise, seeking revenge for a wrong done years ago to his dead brother - a wrong that has led indirectly to the suicide of Herbert's young niece. The ruthless tycoon who had made himself squire of Sweeting village soon becomes the quarry they are both looking for. Others have been looking for him too, and someone's killed him. And now it's up to Hooky to solve the crime. 'Booze, gusto and humour again as the roguish adventurer Hooky Hefferman wins a bet and stumbles across murder' Yorkshire Post

Hooky and the Crock of Gold

Hooky and the Crock of Gold
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901033

When Bunny, disguised as Major Beresford, fails to con a lady out of £500, his partner and bedmate becomes extremely discontented. Dolly was after a bigger game, and she sets out to enliven their partnership with a far more ambitious plan. She is going to use her feminine wiles to persuade a young peer to cough up £20,000 of investment in a non-existent company. For the extortion to happen Bunny and Dolly have to separate. But the separation has unforeseen consequences, and soon it's apparent that the master plan is doomed to go hopelessly awry. 'His best yet' The Times 'Well written, thoroughly enjoyable' Sunday Telegraph

Don't Stop for Hooky Hefferman

Don't Stop for Hooky Hefferman
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901017

A demented millionaire is convinced his awful son will be kidnapped for ransom, and Hooky Hefferman finds himself acting as companion and guard to the boy in a remote house on Exmoor. It looks like a cushy number, even if the youth is pretty intolerable. Hooky is drawn, as always, to the local inn, where he makes his usual acquaintances. But who are the real villains and what confusion will reign until they are finally unmasked? 'Don't Stop for Hooky Hefferman is in Mr Meynell's best vein, and that's as good a vein as they come' Eastern Daily Press

The Frightened Man

The Frightened Man
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2012-09-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471900908

Hooky Hefferman, private detective, is, as they say in the theatrical profession, 'resting'. So when the thin little man in the shabby blue suit calls to ask for professional advice, though he looks by no means promising as a provider of much-needed funds, Hooky is at least prepared to listen - and finds his interest at once held. Edward Rider wants to stay alive until the following Friday, and asks Hooky to help him achieve this modest ambition. On that day, he is anxious to meet a certain person arriving from Berlin, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that someone is determined to prevent this.

The Open Door

The Open Door
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2013-08-14
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471901181

Stella Brendan was accustomed to a comfortable unearned income and she was fifty-two years old when it vanished. How could she survive? She could survive by marrying Sir Loder Cholerton, tycoon and ageing bachelor. But Stella has skeletons in her past, skeletons that would not appeal to Sir Loder should they come out. When that threat occurs Stella calls Hooky Hefferman, who finds himself trying to protect Stella's interests. Then there's a murder. A man has been shot and there are several people who could have fired the fatal bullet ... 'Thoroughly civilised writing, managing to up-date the easy, humorous, engaging mood of pre-war days, floods this pleasant country house mystery with a sunny glow' Glasgow Herald

Too Clever By Half

Too Clever By Half
Author: Laurence Meynell
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2012-09-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1471900924

When Lady Darley asks for Hooky Hefferman's help, he wonders what sort of trouble she can be in. She doesn't look the sort to have a very grisly skeleton in her cupboard, but you never can tell ... Hooky's insatiable curiosity is soon aroused by her story, and he is easily persuaded to go down to Monkhamblin Hall, the old family mansion. Once there, a corpse and the odd behaviour of the present owner are quite enough to keep his famous nose glued to the trail.