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Formats
Ebook Details
  • 07/2014
  • B00M7JABLK
  • 178 pages
  • $3.99
Paperback Details
  • 07/2014
  • 1500669822
  • 178 pages
  • $9.99
Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery

Adult; Mystery/Thriller; (Market)

This fantasy whodunnit 'Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery,' is filled with mystery and humour, a tantalising sense of suspense and absurd darkness, which will capture your imagination in a way no other murder mystery ever has. Synopsis: "A lightning storm sparks a fire deep in Phooka Wood. The following morning, Mortal End’s self righteous rector Ænus P. Wordsworth, his sidekick Savant Poe and a motley crew of villagers venture into the wood to see what damage has been done. To their amazed befuddlement, right in the centre of the seared earth is a giant mound of molten toffee and within it, a selection of human remains. Ænus P. Wordsworth takes it upon himself to find out who these bones belong to and how they came to be there. In doing so, he uncovers a horrific tale of murder, incest and cannibalism that spreads throughout the neighbouring villages that surround Phooka Wood. Their investigation takes them to all corners of their roundabout world; from Mortal End to the oozing Hamlet of Stifle and Little Napoo. Along their colourful journey, we are introduced to a larger than life cast from Doc Sheare the barber surgeon, Verrye Brutall the handsome woodsman, Beliala Bigswoln the publican’s daughter, Baron Rubigo Bluebeard and Umbra the Bogyman. Everyone seems to have a secret that they are trying to hide that could give clues to the horror of Phooka Wood. Even Ænus P. Wordsworth has something to hide!" Why does guilt hang heavy in this village like offal in a stew? What secret has the God-fearing Ænus P. Wordsworth kept so carefully? Where have all the children gone? These and many other questions will be answered when you read Mortal End. What readers are saying about Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery: "It's a smidge of Dickens, shaken but not stirred with "A League of Gentlemen", sort of starcrossed with a bit of Neil Gaiman, plus a soupcon of Terry Pratchett. And totally and utterly your own!” “Mortal End is the funniest and most disturbing adult fairytale ever written.” "My imagination is being flooded with the most enormous canvas of human depravity… and I am finding that it fills me with delight.” "Despite it's subject matter it is light-hearted in it's delivery and the clever way the writer expresses herself is a joy to behold." "Love the incredibly clever mind of Toula Mavridou-Messer. Excited to read her next book as well!” "Love the prose, the most colourful, creepy, characters in their deliciously rancid world." "Toula's imagination knows no bounds. Her characters are original and fascinating and leap off the page. She is a smart writer with the ability to make a story exciting and mysterious and will take your breath away." - LA WRITERS CENTER Mortal End: A Simmering Pit Of Jiggery Pokery, the debut novel from Toula Mavridou-Messer, was written in the space of three weeks after two car crashes in just one hour. Even the rescue serviceman who came to collect her from the mangled wreckage was hesitant about transporting her, saying, "Things happen in threes, don't they?" "It's a sign," thought Toula, as those crashes came during the return journey from a residential crime writing course she attended, given by best-selling author Val McDermid. She had been battling a major problem faced by so many would-be authors - that of actually finishing a project and then doing something with it. Facing death head on seems to have been the antidote, although not necessarily recommended as a remedy for all. Every time Toula was faced with either a blank page or the option of walking away from the type-writer, she remembered that she had been spared a fate worse than death...or in fact, death and that small fact kept her chained to her desk. Fortunately she saw the funny side and hopefully so will you when you read Mortal End: A Simmering Pit Of Jiggery Pokery.
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk

With a title like that, I was immediately hooked. I'm a huge fan of traditional - and what can be fairly bleak - fairy tales. This is Grimm in the best way - it's a strange and twisted murder mystery, with the best logical explanation for anyone to build a gingerbread house. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed this book immensely. Wonderfully Dickensian names, completely twisted logic, weirdly gorgeous descriptions - it's a totally bonkers dark fairy tale, with fantastic twists and turns and an unexpected ending. I am already looking forward to further jiggery pokery!

Amazon.co.uk

I'm rarely able to read more than the first chapter of a book but Mortal End seems to have been written for people like me. It is delivered in bite size chapters which end almost as soon as they've begun; enticing me to 'just read one more chapter'. Easy to read and yet containing the largest collection of formerly unknown 'big words' I've ever encountered it's also suitable for the more book savvy. Despite it's subject matter it is light-hearted in it's delivery and the clever way the writer expresses herself is a joy to behold.

Amazon.co.uk

What a delight this book was, like walking into a medieval painting. My imagination was taken for the ride of its life as descriptions of these gross and yet, for me, delightful characters, piled onto the pages, one after the other. Incredibly clever use of language which further enhanced the sense of being in another world. This is crime fiction like no other! Fairy tales for grown ups with just enough humour to see you through the dark.

Amazon.co.uk

Funny, very descriptive and imaginative. I have never read anything like it, what an unusual read but so cleverly written and which took me back to my childhood at various stages, although i must say this is definitely adult humour. After reading MortelEnd i believe there should be more and that Mrs M-Messer should be on the path to a sequel.

Amazon.com

Toula Mavridou-Messer has one of the most creative minds I have ever come across, in fact, her imagination knows no bounds!

Amazon.com

Love the incredibly clever mind of Toula Mavridou-Messer. Excited to read her next book as well!

Amazon.com

What a fun, deliciously dark tale. A quick read cleverly filled with mystery and humour that takes you into the underground world of Mortal End and it's bleak, devilish goings on. Toula has created some extraordinarily bizarre characters that keep you hooked in this intriguing whodunit. A good read.

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 07/2014
  • B00M7JABLK
  • 178 pages
  • $3.99
Paperback Details
  • 07/2014
  • 1500669822
  • 178 pages
  • $9.99
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