AustLit

'The Charity Cases of Neptune King is the twentieth book in the series. While Shark prefers to have paying customers, Neptune, always the soft touch doesn't mind undertaking investigations for those that can't pay. The first case, The Money Trail sees pathetic little Nancy Potts come to them willing to pay them her entire life savings of 20 pounds to find the unrequited love of her life, Jim Rudford, who quit his job after being tricked into thinking he was dying of a rare disease. She is afraid he will do something drastic, which he does. The same day he gets his death sentence he also learns he's inherited 100,000 pounds. Thinking he's dying he decides to give it all away to deserving cases. Can Neptune and Shark find him before he's broke or worse, robbed and killed for the money?

'In Half a Man, they almost hit a body on the highway. They think it's a dismembered body until it moves and proves it's well and truly alive. Oscar Barnett, a victim of a landmine has suddenly become suicidal. Shark believes the reason for this is more in their line than a psychiatrists, which proves to be the case.

'In The Case of the Desperate Movie Star, Neptune's boyhood fantasy comes to life when the old time famous movie star, Vivienne Hart walks into their office. He'd had a crush on her when he was a boy. She claims she is receiving obscene letters and is being stalked, and that someone broke into her home. She's been out of the limelight for a great many years, and now, just as she is about to stage a comeback, she's being terrorized. Shark is not quite so enamoured with her and hopes Neptune won't let his admiration for her cloud his judgement.' (Publication summary)

'A Friend in Need is the 3rd book in the Andromeda Fox series. Mathilda and Andy have finally paired up as a couple. Andy wants to treat Mathilda on her birthday and takes her to the snow for a long weekend, hoping that they will cement their relationship with a physical commitment. To Andy's delight, Tildy is willing and just as he is about to...make history...they are interrupted by a phone call. Tildy's friend Jenny has become a victim of the serial rapist targeting young policewomen. She's seriously injured and close to death. Tildy is the closest thing to family Jenny has so naturally she puts a stop to their lovemaking and wants to return home immediately to be with Jenny.

'When Jenny is finally released from hospital she moves in with them as she's traumatized and afraid to be on her own. Andy is fairly tolerant at the start, but Jenny is something of a nuisance houseguest, intruding upon him when he's trying to paint in his studio. Tildy's back at work by this time, so it's poor Andy that has to cope with her volatile mood swings and emotional upsets. Add to that that Jenny is seriously cramping his style and he has no privacy with Mathilda, he's in for a miserable and frustrating time.

'Mathilda seeing how upset he is suggests they have a go at catching the rapist themselves, and he's all for it. Anything to get Jenny out of the house. It's no bed of roses for Mathilda either as she had a taste of what Andy could offer at the snow and is feeling as frustrated as he. With a lot of coaxing she manages to get Jenny to talk about her attack and they pick up some new clues that she'd blocked from her memory after the attack. Part of their plan to get Jenny back to work is to enlist the help of her superior, Detective Senior Sargent Norman Oldfield, whom Jenny has long had a crush on. It works, and he convinces her to come back to work. With Jenny having access to police records again, they're back in business and start investigating possible suspects. It all comes to a head when the rapist turned killer (as one of his victims had died) targets Jenny again as she is the only person that can identify him. This time Jenny is more prepared and puts up a fight with Mathilda to back her. He doesn't stand a chance against two tough ladies. Much to Andy's delight, Jenny moves out to become a housemate of poor unsuspecting Sargent Oldfield, and he and Tildy finally get some time alone together.' (Publication summary)

'Natural Progression is reminiscent of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment as it describes one man's descent into ever escalating crime and violence.

'Gordon Bellmore is a happy go lucky man celebrating his 21st birthday with his friends. Despite having had a few drinks he decides to drive home. It's dark, it's raining and he doesn't see his elderly confused neighbour, Mrs Wainwright, wander out onto the road. It is an accident sure enough but he panics and decides to move the body and it is this decision that changes his life.

'When he helps to move his friend Bluey, the elderly woman from across the road comes over and questions Gordon. He seems familiar to her. Once again he panics, because it was in front of her house that he'd dumped Mrs Wainwright. He realizes that she must have seen him and therefore has to silenced before she reports him to the police. Now he takes his first step into deliberate crime, progressing from accidental death to murder, only to realize that he is still not safe, as his friend Bluey starts to question why his car was parked in front of his new flat when he had supposedly left. Another loose end: Another murder. Haunted by ghosts, lies, and his need to keep his secret at all costs he devolves into a coldblooded, emotionless, conscienceless killer. He thinks he hasn't changed, but those closest to him know there is something seriously wrong. He begins to think of himself as invincible, little realizing that the police are closing in and unraveling the threads he's cunningly tied.

'This book will draw you in as you follow his natural progression from sanity to insanity. How many will he kill before he's stopped? How far will he go? Is anyone, even his parents or his girlfriend safe?' (Publication summary)

'In this the second book of the Andromeda Fox series, Andy and Tildy are now living together as friends rather than employer-employee. Andy is learning to live to a budget now that he is working for himself and no longer collecting his allowance. To save money he buys a bunch of used canvasses to paint on. Mathilda is back working as a security guard for her father's company and her policewoman friend, Jenny is investigating a spate of senseless burglaries where only the occupant's artwork is vandalized, with nothing apparently stolen.

'Meantime, Andy is busy putting together a collection of paintings for his first exhibition, which proves to be a huge success. His joy soon turns to dismay when the art gallery is broken into and his paintings are stolen. It doesn't take Tildy long to make the connection between the art gallery thefts and the senseless burglaries, especially as one man calling himself Brian Westlake seemed particularly interested in the paintings Andy did on used canvasses.

'When Mathilda's father is shot thwarting a burglary, Tildy falls apart and straight into Andy's arms. He proves his affection, his reliability and his courage as he comforts her, takes over the running of the Harris's business and turns the tables on Westlake when that villain forces him at gunpoint and the threat of taking Tildy's life to clean the masterpieces hidden under another painted work. All this death and violence, all for art's sake.' (Publication summary)

'Night Moves is a frightening look at what could happen on night shift in a hospital when nurses go bad. The author, a nurse herself, brings the realism of experience to the story and paints a vivid picture. It almost makes one think twice before going into hospital as a patient. You may not survive the night.

'When the regular night shift nurses, Kate, Maria, Susan and Mandy play a joke on graduate nurse Christine Wilder on her first shift, they little realize that the joke would backfire and turn into a nightmare of terrifying consequences. Murder, assault, robbery, kidnap and blackmail are just a few of the horrors the nurses' face. Their friendship is tested as suspicion falls upon one of their number. Who can they trust? ' (Publication summary)

'Deathbringer is the first book in the contemporary Andromeda Fox mystery series by author Magda Jozsa. Andromeda (Andy) is the son of wealthy real estate tycoon Chalmers Fox. He lives in a luxury apartment in St Kilda with Mathilda (Tildy) Harris, ostensibly employed as his bodyguard (Thanks to his sister having been abducted and killed some ten years earlier). He's a carefree irresponsible idler living on a generous allowance from his parents and indulging in his passion for art.

'Then, when his father is targeted by a killer known only as Deathbringer, he and Mathilda set out to find Deathbringer's identity and protect Fox Senior. As his father isn't confiding in his family, Andy astonishes him by coming to work for him as way of keeping tabs on him and providing an opportunity to search his office for information. They learn that Deathbringer has a pay or die policy with direct threats made against the Fox family. During the course of their investigation they notice that at every money drop there is an elderly couple, nuns and schoolchildren, with the oldies at the top of the list due to their suspicious behaviour.

'Seeming to fail at every point, they soon realize they are getting close when an attempt is made on Tildy's life. It is a mad dash at the end when Mathilda finally figures it all out, leading to a desperate dash across Melbourne to save the lives of Andy's parents.

Throughout it all, Andy & Mathilda start to see each other in a different light and Andy surprises everyone by becoming a responsible mature adult much to the delight of his father.' (Publication summary)

'Miss Jozsa brings us more stories from the private diaries of Dr. Watson, deciding this time to concentrate on the distaff side of the multitude of characters that crossed Holmes and Watson's path. In Bad Habits, a nun is murdered on her way to see Holmes. During the investigation, Holmes, despite knowing there was a killer loose and while at his most vigilant is stabbed and thrown off a moving train. Watson finds him barely conscious and muttering "angel face." The only clue they have to go on to catch his attacker.

'In The Deadly Romeo, we meet the charming and unusual Miss Sabrina Sinclair, an intelligent, independent woman and determined spinster. She has fears that her sister is about to marry a man who is only after her money. The fact that the sister no longer has much money makes Holmes fear for Sabrina's life for if she dies her sister inherits. He and Watson infiltrate her household, Watson as an attending physician to an ill maid, and Holmes as Sabrina's love just arrived from the continent. After thwarting several attempts on her life, Robert Hill (the sister's fiancé) is apprehended, and Sabrina is shocked to learn her sister Rose was a willing participant in the attempts on her life.

'In Retribution, when Holmes is summoned to the Yard to identify the body of Dr. Watson, he little realizes that it is the start of a prolonged period of anxiety, torture and uncertainty as he and his family are targeted by an unknown enemy. The tension escalates as his brother Sherrinford is murdered and the Holmes estate burned to the ground.

Rats in a Trap brings the return of Sabrina Sinclair, as both Holmes and she are targeted by an unknown antagonist. Holmes is tormented by an influx of female clients with spurious cases and ludicrous offers to the point where he is at the end of his tether. When he learns this harassment is due to an advertisement and that the person that posted it was Miss Sinclair he completely loses his cool, only to later learn she's been impersonated. For her part when she receives a fallacious gift purporting to come from Holmes they join forces to find out who is behind it. The irritating jokes become deadly when Sabrina is abducted.

'In Revelations at the Diogenes Club, Mycroft is celebrating his 50th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the Diogenes club, the only time when members can mix, mingle and socialize. With the wine flowing and all in a mellow mood, Watson learns that all the members of the club have one thing in common-their mistrust of women. Mycroft tells of his one mistake in trusting a woman, while Sherlock finally tells Watson the story of Ricoletti and his abominable wife.

Finally in The Marriage of Sherlock Holmes he has the most terrifying fright of his life when he is tricked into getting married. The question is will he stay married?' (Publication summary)

'Neptune King and the Lunatic Asylum is the 22nd book in the series. Neptune and Shark are retained by Mrs Cartwright, a distraught mother grieving the loss of her son who supposedly killed himself whilst an inmate in Willow Downs Asylum. Doubtful at first they undertake a preliminary investigation not expecting to find anything much. To their surprise they learn that there have been eighteen suicides in the past year. That is enough to convince them that something serious is going on. Joining forces with a young enthusiastic policeman who also has doubts about the asylum, they go undercover, Neptune as a patient, Shark as an orderly, and from then on begins their terrifying ordeal. Will they survive the asylum with their health and sanity intact? Their only ally is a deranged patient who thinks he is a spy deep undercover. This is one of their toughest cases yet.' (Publication summary)

'There is a serial killer on the loose murdering young, healthy male joggers in and around Battersea Park in this the 21st book in the Neptune King series. Neptune is dying to sink his teeth into the case, but his sister Mermaid insists he stay out of it as it is her husband's, John Griffiths case and she wants him to have the chance to do it without his help. John on the other hand swallows his pride and comes to Neptune for advice. He would rather accept Neptune's help than see another man murdered. Neptune undertakes his own investigation and passes on his findings to John, preferring to stay out of the limelight on this one. Meantime, Shark is working on another case, where a millionaire after a serious car accident is suddenly liquidating his assets. The millionaires brother believes he is being coerced because the new wife and butler won't let anyone in to see him, not even his own family. Shark soon confirms that the brother has cause for suspicion and with Neptune's help sets out to save the millionaire before all his assets are sold and he is murdered.' (Publication summary)

'This is the sequel to Sherlock Holmes on the Wild Frontier. In that first book, Holmes meets a trapper, Foster Keehoe who teaches him the finer points of sign reading. In return he teaches the mountain man to read and write and continues to stay in touch after his return to England. This book takes up the story 14 years later. When Keehoe find gold and strikes it rich, he doesn't hesitate to enlist Holmes' aid to find his daughter who is somewhere in England and bring her to meet him in America.

'Hilda Keehoe is less than personable and Holmes has little tolerance for her, even the easy going Watson is irritated. They escort her to Phoenix, Arizona only to find Keehoe has been murdered, but the thieves did not get what they were after-the map to his silver mine. Holmes swears to avenge his death. To lure the killers, they set out to find the mine, joining forces with a 13 year old half Indian boy named Spotted Deer who appears strangely familiar to Holmes, even more so when it turns out his mother was Plump Beaver. It is Watson's turn to suffer the torment of emotion and unrequited love as he falls for a young abused widow, Emma, whom Hilda hires as her maid. Once again they encounter those rare individuals of the frontier, and even meet some old friends along the way, until the final shooting showdown. It could only happen in America....' (Publication summary)

'The Private Diaries of Dr. Watson brings to light 13 new cases that Watson considered either too personal to Holmes or himself or too risque. We see an unexpected side to Sherlock and his brother Mycroft in The Illegimate Daughter when they revisit the Holmes ancestral home and meet the elusive third brother.

Holmes is at his professional best when hunting for a violent axe murderer in the Seaside Horror, or solving the murder of a gardener at his Aunt's private girl's school in Death Amidst the Orchids. He's almost stumped when tackling a serial killer in the Full Moon Killer, and proves to be Watson's staunchest ally when Watson is arrested for murder in the Trial of Dr. Watson.

That old favourite, Colonel Warbuton's Madness, is finally mentioned in detail, and in the remaining cases we gain greater insight into both Holmes and Watson's characters, their strengths, their foibles, and their attitudes to fortune and the unfortunate. A must read for all lovers of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.' (Publication summary)

'Sr Marie Fitzgerald leaves the bedroom in precise order, not calling attention to the murder she has just committed on orders she knows God has placed in her head. Who can stop this nurse from her vile practices at the Lexton Court Nursing Home? Lucy O'Brien, a graduate nurse at her first job, seems to think she can. WIll it cost her her life? How many others will suffer at the hands of God's disciple? How many will die before she is brought to justice?' (Publication summary)

'This is the 14th book in the Neptune King series. In Neptune's Nightmare, he believes his worst fears are realized when he sees Rachel with another man. He becomes even more disenchanted when he finds that he is missing a large sum of money and even witnesses 'Rachel' withdrawing cash from the bank, after she had told him she was going straight home. Is this the end for the pair of lovebirds? All is not what it seems, fortunately, but the solution almost costs Rachel her life.

'In The Case of the Phobic victims, Neptune and Shark go undercover at a phobia clinic, Neptune as a Zoophobic patient, and Shark as an orderly. Someone is terrorizing the patients and turning their phobias against them. Finally in The Case of the Unhappy Unicorn, they go to Exeter to discover why a unicorn has suddenly appeared on Lord Bainbridge's nature reserve. Is it unhappy because he plans to sell ten acres to a furniture factory, or has it something to do with the radical protesters trying to stop the sale. Does a unicorn really exist, or is it a fake? Neptune hopes to prove this one way or the other, and enlists Suzy Johnson's help.' (Publication summary)

'In this the 9th book of the series, Neptune is delighted when Shark calls and tells him he is returning to England. While awaiting his return, Neptune tackles a missing person case with Rachel as his able assistant and uncovers a murder instead.

'In The Case of the Panicking Princess, Princess Helena of Slovenka is being blackmailed and needs to retrieve a letter before her engagement party to Lord Cumberland. The letter’s trail leads them on a fair chase culminating in unlikely culprits.

'In The Case of the Baby Snatchers, the boys become persona non grata at Scotland Yard when Commissioner Chadworth suffers a heart attack and is replaced by stiff necked, unfriendly Commisioner Talbot. Initially willing to work with the police, they decide to hell with them and go it alone. This is one case where they don’t plan on sharing the credit with the police, especially when the case takes on international proportions.' (Publication summary)

'In this the 19th book of the series, we once again see Neptune and Shark at their sleuthing best. In The Cataleptic Client , they are hired by Ben Korr to find out why his daughter has suddenly become cataleptic. The doctors have found no cause and he is desperate. In trying to find the cause of her catalepsy they discover that his son Jason was murdered and that both his new wife and gardener are suspect. Was the murder the cause of little Mariah's catalepsy or was it something else altogether?

'In The Mysterious Assailant, Neptune and Shark are framed for assault. The evidence looks black against them and conviction looks likely as, despite hunting through their files for a likely candidate, the fail to turn up anyone that has it in for them. Someone clearly has a grudge against them, but it doesn't seem to be anyone they know. In the Secret Enemy, the mysterious assailant strikes again, this time at Rachel, Becky and their children, almost killing them. Neptune and Shark are still no closer to discovering who their mysterious enemy is until Rachel is abducted. Then the clues come in thick and fast and a desperate hunt is on to find and rescue Rachel before she's murdered.' (Publication summary)

'...come to London to take up a position on the London Times. He proves his usefulness by sending them new clients, which is fortuitous as Neptune is broke, having paid his entire fortune to Shadow as ransom for his sister and Shark. Their first case sees them initiated into a cult, hypnotizing and using the followers for the leader's enrichment.

'Unable to afford petrol for his car, Neptune borrows twenty pounds from Shark only to see his own initials on the note. NK in the right hand corner. Every note in the ransom bundle was similarly marked. Following the trail of the money leads them to Epsom racecourse and with the cooperation of the track's manager they eventually get a lead on the punter that paid out the marked money.

'This leads them to the hit and run driver who critically injured Neptune's brother-in-law, and eventually to the Shadow himself as they follow a trail that sends them to Paris, where Shark's dalliance with a couple of French ladies of easy virtue gives them a clue to the Shadow's true identity. The case comes to a head at the Shadow's 12th century chateau in Quercy, Bordeaux, where they risk life and limb to capture him in a climatic showdown of good versus evil.' (Publication summary)

'This the 17th book of the series. In A Question of Identity, Neptune King, while on his way home from a fancy dress party with Rachel spots a light on in a bank. He stops to investigate, still dressed in his Sherlock Holmes costume. He spots someone emerging from the side door of the bank a moment before all hell breaks loose as the side wall of the bank is blown out. Neptune is caught in the blast and knocked unconscious. When he revives in hospital, he has no memory of what occurred or who he really is, instead he thinks he is Sherlock Holmes and that Moriarty is out to get him. He escapes from the hospital and returns to his office in Baker St. Deluded, he thinks Shark is Watson and Rachel is Irene Adler. Despite his identity crisis, he still manages to solve the case. Rachel hates Sherlock though, because he is such a misogynist, and takes drastic measures to try and bring him out of his delusion.

'In The Hired Killer, a woman hires Shark to murder her lover's wife, mistaking him for a tough biker. He accepts and then sets about to find out if the woman's husband is indeed out to kill her. In the meantime, the wife, Lucia Stilton comes to their agency and speaks to their insurance operative, Milo Washington about hiring them to protect her because she is in fear for her life. During their investigation they uncover various facts that just don't add up and come to an unexpected conclusion.' (Publication summary)

'In this the 7 th book of the Neptune King series, Neptune and Rachel return from their honeymoon and it's business as usual. In The Case of the Ugly Client, Bernie Taylor enlists their help to find the love her life, clumsy well-meaning Homer Heep. After several attempts are made on Heep's life, one of which is the derailment of the train they're on at the cost of many lives, the detectives realize this isn't a simple missing person's case and look for deeper motives behind the attacks.

'In The Case of the Blackmailed Politician, Shark prevents Becky's father from killing himself. Forcing him to confide, he learns he is being blackmailed to the point of bankruptcy. With Neptune's help they set out to trap the blackmailers and get Earl Evans' money back.

'Intrigue at the Academy sees Neptune and Shark enlist in the police force at the behest of Commissioner Chadworth to ferret out corruption at the cadet level.

When Becky's life is threatened, Shark realizes just how important she is to him and takes the plunge declaring his feelings for her.' (Publication summary)

'In this the 8th book of the Neptune King series. Shark's father is brutally murdered and his younger brother, is arrested for the crime. His motive? His mother was brutally beaten by his father in a drunken rage and Dolph has no alibi.

'Despite having a price on his head by the notorious biker gang, The Banderos, Shark drops everything to rush home to Australia, while Neptune stays in England to keep the agency running. It's Shark's desire to keep this in the family, but when his elder brother Lance is shot by the bikers in a case of mistaken identity, Neptune and Rachel come out to help.

'As the evidence continues to pile up against Dolph, Shark concentrates on his only clue and just as he and Neptune make a breakthrough connecting the murder to organized crime, they are kidnapped by the bikers. Death is inevitable until Rachel buys into it with a little detective work of her own and the help of Shark's sister Suzie and Vessa Kelly.' (Publication summary)