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Hobson & Choi #2
Rush Jobs
“Sometimes #crime feels like the Matrix. Or the #patriarchy or #porn. It's everywhere, even in people you trusted, and there's so MUCH of it.”
Angelina Choi returns for her second and final week of work experience at John Hobson’s detective agency, ready for anything after their first successful murder solve.
After all that online buzz, they’re in phenomenal demand. Can Hobson & Choi solve a kidnapping, play chicken with corporate crime, beat back gentrification, save a dog from drug dealers and head off violent backlash from their last case?
Or will grim revelations about Hobson’s past leave them floundering in the chaos?
Rush Jobs collects the second major storyline in the Hobson & Choi saga, #1 on Jukepop Serials and #2 in Dark Comedy on Amazon, adding brand new chapters and scenes to the case.
Also included: bonus story Infernal Accounting, exclusive to this book. An unfortunate accountant is terrified of his first day working for Rush Recruitment - but they’re only a temp agency, right? How bad can it be?
Angelina Choi returns for her second and final week of work experience at John Hobson’s detective agency, ready for anything after their first successful murder solve.
After all that online buzz, they’re in phenomenal demand. Can Hobson & Choi solve a kidnapping, play chicken with corporate crime, beat back gentrification, save a dog from drug dealers and head off violent backlash from their last case?
Or will grim revelations about Hobson’s past leave them floundering in the chaos?
Rush Jobs collects the second major storyline in the Hobson & Choi saga, #1 on Jukepop Serials and #2 in Dark Comedy on Amazon, adding brand new chapters and scenes to the case.
Also included: bonus story Infernal Accounting, exclusive to this book. An unfortunate accountant is terrified of his first day working for Rush Recruitment - but they’re only a temp agency, right? How bad can it be?
243 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
About the author
Nick Bryan
17 books21 followersNick Bryan is a London-based writer of genre fiction, usually with some blackly comic twist. As well as the ongoing self-published detective saga Hobson & Choi, he is also working on a novel about the real implications of deals with the devil and has stories in several anthologies.
He can primarily be found on his own website at Nick Bryan Dot Com and on Twitter as @NickMB, both of which are updated with perfect and reasonable regularity.
When not reading or writing books, Nick Bryan enjoys racquet sports, comics and a nice white beer.
He can primarily be found on his own website at Nick Bryan Dot Com and on Twitter as @NickMB, both of which are updated with perfect and reasonable regularity.
When not reading or writing books, Nick Bryan enjoys racquet sports, comics and a nice white beer.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 27, 2015
Hobson and Choi are back. Choi is starting her second week of work experience, Hobson has moved business premises and together they cause a stink!
Hobson tries to do the best thing after facing the darker self of his past. He wants to put his past behind him whilst saving someone from almost certain death. Along the way he and Choi's working relationship gets stronger and they see different sides to each other personalities.
Parts of this book are dark, but equally there are parts with the same humour as the first investigation. I liked Hobson's character development and how, even though she's 16, he treats Choi more like a co-worker. Choi too comes out of shell more and is quicker to make her own decisions.
I enjoyed this book. Hobson has his flaws but they make him all the more realistic. I also like meeting Markus the dog. I hope he (and his nose) will be a feature of future cases.
Hobson tries to do the best thing after facing the darker self of his past. He wants to put his past behind him whilst saving someone from almost certain death. Along the way he and Choi's working relationship gets stronger and they see different sides to each other personalities.
Parts of this book are dark, but equally there are parts with the same humour as the first investigation. I liked Hobson's character development and how, even though she's 16, he treats Choi more like a co-worker. Choi too comes out of shell more and is quicker to make her own decisions.
I enjoyed this book. Hobson has his flaws but they make him all the more realistic. I also like meeting Markus the dog. I hope he (and his nose) will be a feature of future cases.
January 22, 2015
I have to say straight away that I absolutely adored this. I liked the first book quite a bit, but this second volume really stepped up a notch. Hobson & Choi shows its origins as a serialised work with a number of smaller cases interweaving as the story goes, which was where it really hooked me.
As I’ve said above, I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, but I do watch a lot of US-style police procedurals, with a general season arc and a case solved every episode, excepting the occasional two-parter episode or recurring serial-killer villain. Maybe someone watches these shows for the intricate investigations, but I’m unashamedly in it for the characters. The same goes for Hobson & Choi.
This second instalment picks up right where the first left off and builds on the interesting glimpses of conflicts and relationships between characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing Choi grow in confidence as her work from the first book is acknowledged, and I liked Hobson’s pragmatism about the Twitter account: he thinks it’s nonsense, but he’s getting more paying clients out of it, so he’s getting Choi to keep it up.
There are more shades of good and bad in this one, more moments in which both Hobson and Choi screw up big time, more hesitation about the right thing to do. And as the story progresses, it becomes pretty clear that the Big Bad of the book is actually bloody terrifying, in a much more mundane and inhuman way than the hyper-aggressive ‘wolf’ from the first book. This made for some really tense moments when the jokes were reigned in and the true disturbing nature of the whole thing (including Hobson’s murky past) was revealed.
The book also ends on a more uncertain note as Choi’s two-week internship with Hobson has ended, but a third case, Trapped in The Bargain Basement, has already been announced, so we should see some more of Hobson and Choi. Don’t skip the bonus short story at the end of the book; it’s excellent and guaranteed to give you the creeps in a big, nasty, Orwellian way.
As I’ve said above, I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, but I do watch a lot of US-style police procedurals, with a general season arc and a case solved every episode, excepting the occasional two-parter episode or recurring serial-killer villain. Maybe someone watches these shows for the intricate investigations, but I’m unashamedly in it for the characters. The same goes for Hobson & Choi.
This second instalment picks up right where the first left off and builds on the interesting glimpses of conflicts and relationships between characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing Choi grow in confidence as her work from the first book is acknowledged, and I liked Hobson’s pragmatism about the Twitter account: he thinks it’s nonsense, but he’s getting more paying clients out of it, so he’s getting Choi to keep it up.
There are more shades of good and bad in this one, more moments in which both Hobson and Choi screw up big time, more hesitation about the right thing to do. And as the story progresses, it becomes pretty clear that the Big Bad of the book is actually bloody terrifying, in a much more mundane and inhuman way than the hyper-aggressive ‘wolf’ from the first book. This made for some really tense moments when the jokes were reigned in and the true disturbing nature of the whole thing (including Hobson’s murky past) was revealed.
The book also ends on a more uncertain note as Choi’s two-week internship with Hobson has ended, but a third case, Trapped in The Bargain Basement, has already been announced, so we should see some more of Hobson and Choi. Don’t skip the bonus short story at the end of the book; it’s excellent and guaranteed to give you the creeps in a big, nasty, Orwellian way.
October 31, 2015
This review was originally posted on www.talesofyesterday.co.uk
The second book in the Hobson and Choi series starts off right where the 1st one left off with it being the second week of work experience for intern Choi who wants to prove herself to Hobson and Hobson moving his detective premises and being in popular demand following cracking the wolf case! I again, like the first, LOVED, this book. A superb sequel! I cannot believe I have never read these books before now! Shame on me! Again a great mix of adult crime, but with a crossover appeal to YA...just perfect.
This time Hobson and Choi are tasked to solve a number of various crimes including a kidnapping, saving a dog from some dodgy drug dealers and much more all with interesting consequences and a great back story for Hobson is revealed!
The good old Subway stakeout is back in this book in all its glory! I also loved how Hobson seemed more protective of Choi , but at the same time Choi seems to mature and grow page by page which I loved as a character development for the series. I loved how whilst still hating twitter it made me laugh when Hobson tells Choi to purposely tweet about a case with Choi becoming quite speechless at Hobson's change of heart, but deep down Hobson knows its good for business!
As much as I loved the first book I loved how this one had more of a variety of cases and a bad terrifying villain to boot. As well as the comic element which is still present there were a lot more really tense moments which really hooked me into the book.
I heard on twitter that there will be a 3rd Hobson and Choi book coming which was a relief and caused me much excitement as I get to see what happens now Choi's works experience ends and ...well basically just more Hobson and Choi! Yay!
For more book reviews and more please visit www.talesofyesterday.co.uk
The second book in the Hobson and Choi series starts off right where the 1st one left off with it being the second week of work experience for intern Choi who wants to prove herself to Hobson and Hobson moving his detective premises and being in popular demand following cracking the wolf case! I again, like the first, LOVED, this book. A superb sequel! I cannot believe I have never read these books before now! Shame on me! Again a great mix of adult crime, but with a crossover appeal to YA...just perfect.
This time Hobson and Choi are tasked to solve a number of various crimes including a kidnapping, saving a dog from some dodgy drug dealers and much more all with interesting consequences and a great back story for Hobson is revealed!
The good old Subway stakeout is back in this book in all its glory! I also loved how Hobson seemed more protective of Choi , but at the same time Choi seems to mature and grow page by page which I loved as a character development for the series. I loved how whilst still hating twitter it made me laugh when Hobson tells Choi to purposely tweet about a case with Choi becoming quite speechless at Hobson's change of heart, but deep down Hobson knows its good for business!
As much as I loved the first book I loved how this one had more of a variety of cases and a bad terrifying villain to boot. As well as the comic element which is still present there were a lot more really tense moments which really hooked me into the book.
I heard on twitter that there will be a 3rd Hobson and Choi book coming which was a relief and caused me much excitement as I get to see what happens now Choi's works experience ends and ...well basically just more Hobson and Choi! Yay!
For more book reviews and more please visit www.talesofyesterday.co.uk
February 6, 2015
Rush Jobs follows on from The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf. Choi is in her second week of interning and has no idea how to say to Hobson that she'd like to stay but on the other hand it does look like she might have an actual date with Will the receptionist. Hobson has burnt his bridges with Ellie, his ex-wife and is floundering a bit. Instead of one case our dynamic duo take on several, including a kidnapping involving an accountant and a shady recruitment agency, a drug mule dog who might just be the newest recruit and a favor for Benny, the chap from the first book who sits outside the tube station promoting the word of God, and actually turns out to be an estate agent!
In my opinion Rush Jobs is the better book, maybe because we see Hobson & Choi working on more cases, but I love the dynamic that's developing between them and I'm thrilled that they will be returning in Case Three: The Hardest Bargains In Town. It's quite hard to know how to categorize these books, there is massive crossover appeal I think but given that there is a lot of profanity (the F-word is a favorite of both Hobson & Choi) I would be wary of giving them to a YA reader.
In my opinion Rush Jobs is the better book, maybe because we see Hobson & Choi working on more cases, but I love the dynamic that's developing between them and I'm thrilled that they will be returning in Case Three: The Hardest Bargains In Town. It's quite hard to know how to categorize these books, there is massive crossover appeal I think but given that there is a lot of profanity (the F-word is a favorite of both Hobson & Choi) I would be wary of giving them to a YA reader.
March 10, 2015
This second book in the Hobson and Choi series really steps it up a notch to great effect. I loved the first one's humour and how it shows the relationship between the two totally mis-matched partners develop. However, in this book the stakes get raised and we close in on a much nastier threat. Not only that, but we start to see how Hobson's past weaves into this threat and understand he's been to some pretty nasty places in his time. At the same time we see Choi grow in confidence and Hobson start to rely more on her which makes the whole question of how exactly her work experience will end up an increasingly interesting one. I alway enjoy a good crime story but it's the characters which have to make it sing, they need to be just as interesting as the crime itself and this book certainly delivers on that. Looking forward to the next one! p.s. don't miss the bonus story, 'nuff said.
April 5, 2015
Rush Jobs is a direct follow on in the story of Hobson and Choi. We are now into the second week of Choi's work experience with Hobson, and they take on a series of smaller cases that are inter-related to each other and partly to the previous book.
Although this was a nice continuation, the nature of some of the cases and the descriptions that were written, really left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm also not sure how much I like the development of Hobson's character. He seems to have been involved in some incredibly shady dealings before becoming a detective.
I found Rush Jobs to still be a good book but I definitely preferred The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf.
The bonus story was a nice touch, but again just not to quite my taste.
Although this was a nice continuation, the nature of some of the cases and the descriptions that were written, really left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm also not sure how much I like the development of Hobson's character. He seems to have been involved in some incredibly shady dealings before becoming a detective.
I found Rush Jobs to still be a good book but I definitely preferred The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf.
The bonus story was a nice touch, but again just not to quite my taste.
December 20, 2015
I love the characters Hobson and Choi, they're a fantastic duo that really make these books! There are a jumble of cases in this book as the title 'Rush Jobs' suggests. I found that I wanted to read more of this series and so I hope it turns into a lot of books! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review these books, and the best of luck with the blog tour, Nick Bryan and Faye Rogers!
January 26, 2015
This is a really good read, entertaining, clever and at times hilarious. It has great characters and it fast paced and interesting. I discuss it in more detail on my website here:
http://www.nimbusspace.co.uk/2015/01/...
http://www.nimbusspace.co.uk/2015/01/...
February 8, 2015
Am round up. It's better than The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf. So 3.5 stars
Review coming soon...
Review coming soon...
February 24, 2016
I love this series. A believable relationship between a teenage intern and a shady private investigator. The best balance of humor and grit that I've read in a long time.
September 12, 2016
Hilarious!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews