What do you think?
Rate this book
Road Kill: The Duchess of Frisian Tun
Cataclysmic events have occurred in the decorous upper middle class enclave within Southsea, Portsmouth, on the south coast of England.
But what were the circumstances that contributed to this violent clash involving a Sherman tank and a bazooka? The strange occurrence is Investigated by Lord Everard Pimple, a naive, upper class twit who not only inadvertently opens a can of worms, but has an introduction into the world of womanly wiles.
Everard's life is about to blow up like an atom bomb... he just doesn't know it yet. But after the dust settles, will he still be standing?
But what were the circumstances that contributed to this violent clash involving a Sherman tank and a bazooka? The strange occurrence is Investigated by Lord Everard Pimple, a naive, upper class twit who not only inadvertently opens a can of worms, but has an introduction into the world of womanly wiles.
Everard's life is about to blow up like an atom bomb... he just doesn't know it yet. But after the dust settles, will he still be standing?
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2020
11 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 14, 2020
An amusing tale of ordinary Portsmouth folk. If you believe that, you'll believe anything.
In order to fully comprehend the earth - shattering events portrayed within the pages of Road Kill, I would suggest first acquainting oneself with the author's Kind Hearts and Martinets series of books featuring Jack and Mandy Austin. If you don't, never mind, you'll soon catch on, as the author launches his new series featuring the DaDa Detective Agency.
The names of the characters in Road Kill are enough to set you tittering without even reading the story. Be prepared to met Lord Everard (Pimple), the erstwhile hero of the tale, Georgiana Lovebody, Cecilia Crumpet, and a gang of idiots, sorry, criminals, with the unlikely name of The Banana Boys, and the grandly named Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot.
The story itself will leave you laughing into your girl-grey (Earl Grey), as Pimple, in his guise as a sort of roving reporter for the local newspaper, goes in search of the truth surrounding recent events on the street known as Fresian Tun, and somehow, along the way, our upper-class twit of a reporter manages to lose his virginity almost by accident, thanks to a shattered piece of furniture piercing his derriere, and finds himself in the amorous clutches of the aforementioned Georgians Lovebody, not to mention Cecilia Crumpet, hockey player extraordinaire.
I could go on, but I daren't. You will have to read the lurid details for yourself. Read it and weep (with laughter). It takes a rare skill to write humour that really works, and the author has done a great job. 5 stars from me.
In order to fully comprehend the earth - shattering events portrayed within the pages of Road Kill, I would suggest first acquainting oneself with the author's Kind Hearts and Martinets series of books featuring Jack and Mandy Austin. If you don't, never mind, you'll soon catch on, as the author launches his new series featuring the DaDa Detective Agency.
The names of the characters in Road Kill are enough to set you tittering without even reading the story. Be prepared to met Lord Everard (Pimple), the erstwhile hero of the tale, Georgiana Lovebody, Cecilia Crumpet, and a gang of idiots, sorry, criminals, with the unlikely name of The Banana Boys, and the grandly named Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot.
The story itself will leave you laughing into your girl-grey (Earl Grey), as Pimple, in his guise as a sort of roving reporter for the local newspaper, goes in search of the truth surrounding recent events on the street known as Fresian Tun, and somehow, along the way, our upper-class twit of a reporter manages to lose his virginity almost by accident, thanks to a shattered piece of furniture piercing his derriere, and finds himself in the amorous clutches of the aforementioned Georgians Lovebody, not to mention Cecilia Crumpet, hockey player extraordinaire.
I could go on, but I daren't. You will have to read the lurid details for yourself. Read it and weep (with laughter). It takes a rare skill to write humour that really works, and the author has done a great job. 5 stars from me.
February 16, 2022
This is the most experimental novel I have read for some time.
Frisian Tun is a posh street in Portsmouth, whose middle-class standards are maintained by the self-styled Duchess and a set of unwritten rules. Much of it is destroyed after a shoot-out involving tanks and rocket launchers. The action of the novel consists of an unlikely group of residents gathering together with a cub reporter (who loses his virginity) to discuss what happened in the street.
But that is like trying to describe the 'plot' of a Monty Python sketch mixed with seaside postcard humour.
It was also very funny in its repeated use of word-play. It was like one of those stand-up comedians who specialises in puns. No opportunity was missed to poke fun at the language used, to the extent that I couldn't tell if some words had simply been misprinted or or they had been deliberately mis-spelt (for example, the repeated use of the word ‘reined’ for ‘reigned’). Here are just a few examples:
"It was in fact, a 2CV, which is twice as good as a CV."
"It was a master class in denial, the core faith of his C of E (Church of Egypt) faith, De Nile."
"a steamy, phonographic sex scene; just for the record." (Ch 18)
I was left scrabbling to try and find something else I had read that came anywhere close. It seemed to be a hybrid of the following:
The Unlimited Dream Company by J G Ballard in which the respectable suburb of Shepperton erupts into an orgiastic fantasy
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne for the endless discursiveness and the repeated intrusion of the author.
The anarchy of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter
or the anarchy of a William Burroughs novel, such as Naked Lunch
Perhaps I should be looking further afield. The author tells me that he has been considered a literary version of Salvador Dali and it is hard to disagree on the evidence of this book. It left me wondering why the novel form is so unexperimental, compared to paintings, or films.
Was it enjoyable? It wasn't difficult to read and there were some very funny moments. The bizarre characters are well-drawn. But most of all it was liberating. It blew away the literary cobwebs and showed the possibilities of a novel, once you have dispensed with convention.
I am awarding it five stars because I think it achieved completely what I imagine the author set out to do.
Frisian Tun is a posh street in Portsmouth, whose middle-class standards are maintained by the self-styled Duchess and a set of unwritten rules. Much of it is destroyed after a shoot-out involving tanks and rocket launchers. The action of the novel consists of an unlikely group of residents gathering together with a cub reporter (who loses his virginity) to discuss what happened in the street.
But that is like trying to describe the 'plot' of a Monty Python sketch mixed with seaside postcard humour.
It was also very funny in its repeated use of word-play. It was like one of those stand-up comedians who specialises in puns. No opportunity was missed to poke fun at the language used, to the extent that I couldn't tell if some words had simply been misprinted or or they had been deliberately mis-spelt (for example, the repeated use of the word ‘reined’ for ‘reigned’). Here are just a few examples:
"It was in fact, a 2CV, which is twice as good as a CV."
"It was a master class in denial, the core faith of his C of E (Church of Egypt) faith, De Nile."
"a steamy, phonographic sex scene; just for the record." (Ch 18)
I was left scrabbling to try and find something else I had read that came anywhere close. It seemed to be a hybrid of the following:
The Unlimited Dream Company by J G Ballard in which the respectable suburb of Shepperton erupts into an orgiastic fantasy
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne for the endless discursiveness and the repeated intrusion of the author.
The anarchy of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter
or the anarchy of a William Burroughs novel, such as Naked Lunch
Perhaps I should be looking further afield. The author tells me that he has been considered a literary version of Salvador Dali and it is hard to disagree on the evidence of this book. It left me wondering why the novel form is so unexperimental, compared to paintings, or films.
Was it enjoyable? It wasn't difficult to read and there were some very funny moments. The bizarre characters are well-drawn. But most of all it was liberating. It blew away the literary cobwebs and showed the possibilities of a novel, once you have dispensed with convention.
I am awarding it five stars because I think it achieved completely what I imagine the author set out to do.
January 27, 2021
On the southern shores of England, in the well-off middle-class region, calamitous accounts have occurred. A mystery backed this matter to do with a bazooka and a Sherman tank. Highfalutin, dimwit, Lord Everard Pimple inspects the bizarre incidence as well as gets acquainted with the world of opposite sex trickery.
There are several amusing characters with just as funny names, such as Lord Everard Pimple, Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot, the Banana Boys, Cecilia Crumpet, and more throughout the story.
Pimple a journalist for the Portsmouth newspaper gets news of an impressive account and gains confidence it will make him successful. But when all is said and done, things may not turn out as he anticipated. No spoilers.
Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot has fashioned a status in her entire neighborhood of Fresian Tun to be recognized as The Duchess of Fresian Tun. She resolves to rule over her community on her street, except Jack and Amanda Austin. She yearns to bully Jack out of the neighborhood, specifically after he wanted to construct a greenhouse.
Throughout the tale, there are many twists and turns and surprises. Goofiness mixed with intrigue. I see it similar to Monty Python humor but with some serious parts mixed in. This is the first book of Pete Adams' I have read. 'Adult' comedy mixed with mystery will have one laughing while scratching their head anticipating what will happen next.
There are several amusing characters with just as funny names, such as Lord Everard Pimple, Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot, the Banana Boys, Cecilia Crumpet, and more throughout the story.
Pimple a journalist for the Portsmouth newspaper gets news of an impressive account and gains confidence it will make him successful. But when all is said and done, things may not turn out as he anticipated. No spoilers.
Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot has fashioned a status in her entire neighborhood of Fresian Tun to be recognized as The Duchess of Fresian Tun. She resolves to rule over her community on her street, except Jack and Amanda Austin. She yearns to bully Jack out of the neighborhood, specifically after he wanted to construct a greenhouse.
Throughout the tale, there are many twists and turns and surprises. Goofiness mixed with intrigue. I see it similar to Monty Python humor but with some serious parts mixed in. This is the first book of Pete Adams' I have read. 'Adult' comedy mixed with mystery will have one laughing while scratching their head anticipating what will happen next.
September 20, 2023
I have read many books by this talented author and although they can be quite grisly and are crime reads, they are also full of moments where you can't help but burst out laughing. The writing is very skilful and you have to keep turning page after page. I loved the last series of Kind Hearts and Martinets, with Jack and Mandy and this book is full of new characters that you will enjoy just as much. From a budding reporter, called Pimple to Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot! These are seriously entertaining books and you are in for a hilarious ride from the moment you open the front page! I can't wait for the next read. It's already on my kindle.
March 6, 2021
another fantastic read from the master. Great characters, filled with enough amusing banter to keep you gripped along the way. brilliantly written. a must for all crime novel lovers.
August 19, 2020
Road Kill marks the first book as we step away from Pete Adams' 'Kind Hearts and Martinets' series. In some ways it is a big step, in other ways small. Imagine a person with long legs taking small steps – that’s the kind of thing!
The first thing you note is a gentle shift in the characters. No longer are we are in the orbit of Jack/Jane/Dick Austin and the Community Policing department in Portsmouth. We are certainly in the same universe, the same city in fact but our points of reference for the majority of this book are new characters. Pimple is as inadvertent a main character as you will ever meet, a court reporter for the local Portsmouth newspaper, given a tip-off about a big story and following it in the hope of his big break.
The one thing that you will not get in this book is travel. The author cleverly sets almost three-quarters of the book in a single house in Frisian Tun; the road Jack and Amanda Austin reside on and saw so much military firepower in the previous series! The story unfolds as the occupants of the house try to explain to Pimple and his glamorous colleague, Cecilia Crumpet what has happened and their part in it. This approach to storytelling is great fun, with the personalities of the different storytellers becoming more pronounced throughout the story.
Everyone will have their own favourite. Whether it’s Aedd, the geography teacher with the wandering accent, the wandering hands of Georgiana Lovebody - the synchronised swimming teacher, the Professor daydreaming about goatherds, or Dame Pimple herself! In truth, the bickering, the personal relationships and slow destruction of the room add a huge amount to the story and make it a fun read.
One other change I would comment on is that Pete Adams has utilised a different writing style for this book compared to the previous books in the ‘Kind Hearts and Martinets' series. Throughout the book the author makes asides to the reader directly. Whilst this starts as a surprise, it almost becomes its own subplot allowing the author to ponder on characters and their behaviour without interfering with the story's narrative.
This is the first book of Pete Adams' DaDa detective agency (Jack/Jane/Dick and Amanda/Duck’s) retirement venture, and it feels like we are in for another fun ride. If you enjoyed the first series then DaDa should be savoured.
I chose to read and review a free eARC of Road Kill. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
The first thing you note is a gentle shift in the characters. No longer are we are in the orbit of Jack/Jane/Dick Austin and the Community Policing department in Portsmouth. We are certainly in the same universe, the same city in fact but our points of reference for the majority of this book are new characters. Pimple is as inadvertent a main character as you will ever meet, a court reporter for the local Portsmouth newspaper, given a tip-off about a big story and following it in the hope of his big break.
The one thing that you will not get in this book is travel. The author cleverly sets almost three-quarters of the book in a single house in Frisian Tun; the road Jack and Amanda Austin reside on and saw so much military firepower in the previous series! The story unfolds as the occupants of the house try to explain to Pimple and his glamorous colleague, Cecilia Crumpet what has happened and their part in it. This approach to storytelling is great fun, with the personalities of the different storytellers becoming more pronounced throughout the story.
Everyone will have their own favourite. Whether it’s Aedd, the geography teacher with the wandering accent, the wandering hands of Georgiana Lovebody - the synchronised swimming teacher, the Professor daydreaming about goatherds, or Dame Pimple herself! In truth, the bickering, the personal relationships and slow destruction of the room add a huge amount to the story and make it a fun read.
One other change I would comment on is that Pete Adams has utilised a different writing style for this book compared to the previous books in the ‘Kind Hearts and Martinets' series. Throughout the book the author makes asides to the reader directly. Whilst this starts as a surprise, it almost becomes its own subplot allowing the author to ponder on characters and their behaviour without interfering with the story's narrative.
This is the first book of Pete Adams' DaDa detective agency (Jack/Jane/Dick and Amanda/Duck’s) retirement venture, and it feels like we are in for another fun ride. If you enjoyed the first series then DaDa should be savoured.
I chose to read and review a free eARC of Road Kill. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
August 25, 2020
I have read a couple of Pete's books now and those I have read, I have enjoyed. Pete's books are a bit different to the sort of stuff I read but as they say 'a chance is as good as a rest'. Pete's latest book is called 'The Duchess Of Frisian Tun' and it is certainly an interesting and intriguing read, which I enjoyed but more about that in a bit.
I have to be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this story but whilst trying to read the book, I was also suffering with my back and the pain kind of took over for a bit affecting my concentration. However, once I got into the story, I ended up so wrapped up in the story that I forgot all about the pain. For me, reading this book was bit like therapy. The more of the story I read, the more intrigued I became and the more I had to read. I would say that I raced through the latter half of the story. I soon reached the end of the book, which I was disappointed about. I don't mean that I was disappointed in how the story ended but I ended up enjoying the story that much that I just didn't want the book to end.
'Road Kill' is well written. Pete has a way of catching your attention from pretty early on and drawing you into the story. I love the way in which he combines the serious stuff with humour. I found that I ended up chuckling away to myself throughout the story. I loved the diverse set of characters that we meet in this book. Some of their names just made me giggle. I felt as though I was part of the story and that's down to Pete's very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I did enjoy reading 'Road Kill' and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. In particular this book will certainly appeal to those readers, who like something a bit different. I will certainly be reading more of Pete's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.
I have to be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this story but whilst trying to read the book, I was also suffering with my back and the pain kind of took over for a bit affecting my concentration. However, once I got into the story, I ended up so wrapped up in the story that I forgot all about the pain. For me, reading this book was bit like therapy. The more of the story I read, the more intrigued I became and the more I had to read. I would say that I raced through the latter half of the story. I soon reached the end of the book, which I was disappointed about. I don't mean that I was disappointed in how the story ended but I ended up enjoying the story that much that I just didn't want the book to end.
'Road Kill' is well written. Pete has a way of catching your attention from pretty early on and drawing you into the story. I love the way in which he combines the serious stuff with humour. I found that I ended up chuckling away to myself throughout the story. I loved the diverse set of characters that we meet in this book. Some of their names just made me giggle. I felt as though I was part of the story and that's down to Pete's very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I did enjoy reading 'Road Kill' and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. In particular this book will certainly appeal to those readers, who like something a bit different. I will certainly be reading more of Pete's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.
September 25, 2023
Pete Adams has a writing style entirely of his own devising. Some authors are intricate plotters. Some make it up as they go along: pantsers. Adams takes pantsing to a whole new level. One can imagine him hunched over his typewriter, banging away feverishly whilst cackling merrily to himself at the never-ending torrent of jokes and puns as they hit the page, many so good he repeats them in case the reader fails to get it the first or second time. Reading this book is akin to downhill slalom skiing or hurling yourself off the top of Niagara Falls in an inflatable. Not for Adams the normal rules of sentence structure or plot development and as for spelling, if the correct spelling fails to fit whatever joke he’s pursuing, then he’ll change it so it does fit. All this is clearly deliberate and adds to the fun. Plot? This appears at the beginning and makes a reappearance towards the end but the bulk of the tale is a series of faintly risqué meetings (or one meeting with many comings and goings) in a geography teacher’s flat, filled with repart-tea (This is possibly the only joke Adams fails to employ). It’s all very-much character-driven, the dramatis personae (most of whom have several nicknames) getting swept along giddily in the maelstrom, some washed ashore on a bend as our tale hurtles along, some to appear at random intervals as the author’s whim takes him (or her, as Adams pretends he’s writing under the very appropriate pseudonym, Sue Narmee). If you like white-knuckle entertainment, this is for you. If you think the world is too PC and should take a step back to the 70s, this is for you. If you want fifteen jokes on every page, this is for you. Strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride.
October 5, 2021
Pete Adams has a definite style. Sometimes he tones it down a bit, but it’s always there. It’s a highly comedic amped-up old-school Londoner vibe filled with expressions and malapropisms and terms of endearment. And a punchy beat. In he DaDa Detective Agency the dial is turned up. From the get go in Road Kill, I felt I needed to hitch up my skirts and run along with the narrative, spluttering with laughter and gasping for breath as I kept up.
The DaDa series follows on from the five books of Kind Hearts and Martinets, drawing on the main characters, former detectives Jack Austin and his wife Amanda, now running a detective agency, and a cohort of bumbling baddies who get their just desserts somewhere between the prologue and the first chapter. But who did it?
Enough said on that point!
I enjoyed the introjections of the narrator, which forms a witty meta-narrative, filling the reader in on backstory and making some astute and often funny observations. And I loved the way the story unfolds because of and in spite of the foibles and ineptitudes of those involved.
It’s obvious that Adams thoroughly enjoys creating his larger-than-life characters as he does telling a tale. And his readers cannot help but enjoy his colourful cast with names like Everard Pimple and Lord Teapot and all of their absurd goings on. Adams has veered further into the cosy mystery genre with this new series, although his sleuths are anything but amateur. Adams offers a refreshing read for those after something a bit different.
The DaDa series follows on from the five books of Kind Hearts and Martinets, drawing on the main characters, former detectives Jack Austin and his wife Amanda, now running a detective agency, and a cohort of bumbling baddies who get their just desserts somewhere between the prologue and the first chapter. But who did it?
Enough said on that point!
I enjoyed the introjections of the narrator, which forms a witty meta-narrative, filling the reader in on backstory and making some astute and often funny observations. And I loved the way the story unfolds because of and in spite of the foibles and ineptitudes of those involved.
It’s obvious that Adams thoroughly enjoys creating his larger-than-life characters as he does telling a tale. And his readers cannot help but enjoy his colourful cast with names like Everard Pimple and Lord Teapot and all of their absurd goings on. Adams has veered further into the cosy mystery genre with this new series, although his sleuths are anything but amateur. Adams offers a refreshing read for those after something a bit different.
March 19, 2021
Moving on from the Kind Hearts and Martinets series, the author has began to write a new series. Jack and Mandy Austin have now left the police force and have set up their own detective agency - DaDa Detective Agency.
This series begins with a meeting taking place in the home of Aedd, one of the residents in a street known as Fresian Tun. The meeting is attended by other residents of the street as well as Everard Pimple, a reporter with the local newspaper. Pimple sees himself as a future major journalist, but he is too simple-minded to get that far in his career. Though, he does swiftly learn a great deal about life outside the four walls he shares with his dominating mother, when, during the meeting, Georgiana Lovebody catches him with his trousers down while trying to remove a splinter from his nether regions.
Also, if you think that Pimple and Lovelady are fun names for characters, then you will be laughing out loud when Cecilia Crumpet, Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot and the Banana Boys (the villains of the piece) are mentioned. But there is more, you will also enjoy the antics which rather take over the meeting, especially when Mrs Fish rises to her feet and begins her lengthy speech and...
No! I am not going to say any more. You must now read this book for yourself and enjoy.
This series begins with a meeting taking place in the home of Aedd, one of the residents in a street known as Fresian Tun. The meeting is attended by other residents of the street as well as Everard Pimple, a reporter with the local newspaper. Pimple sees himself as a future major journalist, but he is too simple-minded to get that far in his career. Though, he does swiftly learn a great deal about life outside the four walls he shares with his dominating mother, when, during the meeting, Georgiana Lovebody catches him with his trousers down while trying to remove a splinter from his nether regions.
Also, if you think that Pimple and Lovelady are fun names for characters, then you will be laughing out loud when Cecilia Crumpet, Lady Francesco Blanche-Teapot and the Banana Boys (the villains of the piece) are mentioned. But there is more, you will also enjoy the antics which rather take over the meeting, especially when Mrs Fish rises to her feet and begins her lengthy speech and...
No! I am not going to say any more. You must now read this book for yourself and enjoy.
October 10, 2020
#1 in the DaDa Detective Agency series.
I am so pleased that Jack (Jane) and Mandy Austin are back albeit now retired from working in the police force, but again they are thrown into the action. Here are Sherman tanks, bazooka’s ( or is it a rocket launcher?) and danger…..obviously.
Jack has a certain way with words, his malacopperisms that sometimes only Mandy understands. Girl Grey anyone?
The story has a narrator too, who speaks to the reader and the characters which has some fun moments.
Full of fantastic characters such as Pimple, Crumpet, Lovebody and of course The Banana Boys……Dave Lilicrap or Shitlegs as he is known just makes me laugh every time.
Road Kill does have its serious moments, but oh my it’s laugh out loud funny too. Well done Mr Adams. I’m already looking forward to Book 2.
Thank you to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, for the promotional material and an ARC of Road Kill. This is my honest and unbiased review.
I am so pleased that Jack (Jane) and Mandy Austin are back albeit now retired from working in the police force, but again they are thrown into the action. Here are Sherman tanks, bazooka’s ( or is it a rocket launcher?) and danger…..obviously.
Jack has a certain way with words, his malacopperisms that sometimes only Mandy understands. Girl Grey anyone?
The story has a narrator too, who speaks to the reader and the characters which has some fun moments.
Full of fantastic characters such as Pimple, Crumpet, Lovebody and of course The Banana Boys……Dave Lilicrap or Shitlegs as he is known just makes me laugh every time.
Road Kill does have its serious moments, but oh my it’s laugh out loud funny too. Well done Mr Adams. I’m already looking forward to Book 2.
Thank you to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, for the promotional material and an ARC of Road Kill. This is my honest and unbiased review.
March 5, 2022
This is a fun read from the beginning and written as someone would speak with all the nuances that it gives. Written slightly tongue in cheek and with a wry sense of humour this tell of an investigation (of sorts) by the DADA - a detective agency and characters with names such as Lord Everard Pimple and Cecelia Crumpet, all set in and around Portsmouth/Southsea area in Hampshire which is where the street of Frisian Tun is set.
There is a talent in writing such as this - its high energy and prepare to take a breath as you dive in. Your head may spin as you get used to the writing and pace and eccentric characters. Adult comedy, a mystery and umpteen other things thrown in (with explanations of any slang etc- there is a narrator along the way). A read that is unlike no other- almost experimental and daring in very much a fun way and one you can't help but smile at or even gaffaw! A lighthearted mystery to lift the mood.
There is a talent in writing such as this - its high energy and prepare to take a breath as you dive in. Your head may spin as you get used to the writing and pace and eccentric characters. Adult comedy, a mystery and umpteen other things thrown in (with explanations of any slang etc- there is a narrator along the way). A read that is unlike no other- almost experimental and daring in very much a fun way and one you can't help but smile at or even gaffaw! A lighthearted mystery to lift the mood.
August 2, 2023
Pete Adams has brought together everything needed for a middle class, quintessentially English, comedy romp set in the suburbs. A less than brainy gang of criminal cronies, a B-list aristocrat, a married couple contracting occasionally (sometimes without invitation) to British Military Intelligence, a Sherman Tank and a rocket launcher.
Road Kill is not just a simple romp, though. Road Kill is a hilarious novel with layered levels of humour. Slapstick, wordery and observational. Playground humour sits comfortably cheek by jowl with character humour which Dickens would be proud of.
However you like to laugh, you will love doing it to every paragraph of Pete Adams’ Road Kill. Highly recommend.
Road Kill is not just a simple romp, though. Road Kill is a hilarious novel with layered levels of humour. Slapstick, wordery and observational. Playground humour sits comfortably cheek by jowl with character humour which Dickens would be proud of.
However you like to laugh, you will love doing it to every paragraph of Pete Adams’ Road Kill. Highly recommend.
March 12, 2022
As soon as I read the first few chapters, encountering characters such as Ceeley Crumpet, Thelonius Monkspot & Bernie LeBolt, I just knew that I was in for an hilarious romp. Adams writes with such wit & fluency that even the theft of a Sherman Tank & explosion of a bazooka into a row of upper-class homes has its funny side. The story centres around investigative journalist Everard Pimple, although I was glad to see the appearance of Dick Austin from previous novels, and his attempts to foil the culprits & unravel a dastardly plot. Never have I read such a cleverly crafted tale, where pun after pun bounce off the page & deliver a book of exemplary humour. Excellent stuff!
August 21, 2025
I wanted to like this book, but the more I read, the more I struggled to keep going.
I thought we might have had a Tom Sharpe successor, but no. The book had little to no plot and repeatedly laboured the same smutty jokes.
I hate not finishing a book I've started, so I made myself get to the end. Along the way there was some great humour, and it had the potential to be so much more.
I have another two books to read in this series, and I am truly kicking myself for buying the three-book bundle. When I am desperate for something to read, I will try another and pray that it will be a better experience than this overly verbose, sometimes funny, go-nowhere novel.
I thought we might have had a Tom Sharpe successor, but no. The book had little to no plot and repeatedly laboured the same smutty jokes.
I hate not finishing a book I've started, so I made myself get to the end. Along the way there was some great humour, and it had the potential to be so much more.
I have another two books to read in this series, and I am truly kicking myself for buying the three-book bundle. When I am desperate for something to read, I will try another and pray that it will be a better experience than this overly verbose, sometimes funny, go-nowhere novel.
August 21, 2020
Review to follow later.
August 2, 2021
*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Anyone new to Pete Adams’ inimitable style might do well to dive into his Kind Hearts and Martinets series first, before this first in the DaDa Detective Agency spin-off series, as those previous books set the background and some of the characters for what is turning out to be an increasingly surreal reading experience. (Unsurprising for anyone who is conscious of the tenets of Dadaism!)
For those who are already firm fans, we start this book with a little visit to Jack-Jane-Dick Austin and his lovely wife Mandy-Pumps-Duck, as they grapple amorously on a rocket launcher – or is it a bazooka? – while Keef Bananas and his hapless chums grope for a tank in the suburban fog.
It gets weirder from thereon in!
After that initial teaser, we switch to the main ‘hero’ of the story, Pimple, who is equally hapless and perhaps even more charmless than the Banana gang. Pimple is attempting to interview eccentric Geography teacher, Aedd Murphy, to discover what happened with said tanks and rocket launchers (or bazookas) and why, but he is hampered by a processions of distractions and interruptions, and of course, by his own utter incompetence as a reporter.
The political thriller aspects of the story are thus obscured and illuminated in turn by a stream-of-consciousness of puns, innuendo, wordplay, slapstick, toilet humour and Benny Hill- or Carry On-esque sexual shenanigans. The characters are deliberately unappealing in almost every way possible, and the offence-potential dial is turned up to full, with lots of non-consensual groping and casual domestic violence. And running beneath and through the whole disturbing melee is a clever sub-story about spies and suburbia which only thrusts itself into prominence with the grand finale, coinciding with a return cameo from the beloved DaDa duo themselves.
This is a story within a story, twice removed – you won’t have read anything like it.
I have commented many a time that with some writers you can relax and know that you are safe in the hands of a skilled professional. Well, with Pete Adams you must keep your wits about you at all times, because you are in the hands of a deranged chaotic genius, with a penchant for sedition and subverting expectations and a fondness for classic literary novel-of-manners… anything can happen, and usually does!
Heaven – and Pete Adams – only knows where this series will take us next, but you can be sure of a wild ride, so keep your hands in and to yourself, and watch out for your earholes if they are within clipping range.
'Before and After – What follows is before, and then, afterwards, is after. Not afters, as that would be a dessert, say, apple crumble and custard. Suffice to say this is a scary story when you get to the after bits, especially if the custard has gone cold. You, the innocent reader, will be lured into a sense of a secure world of haute-monde and geography and, when you are least aware – Bam!'
– Pete Adams, Road Kill: The Duchess of Frisian Tun
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Anyone new to Pete Adams’ inimitable style might do well to dive into his Kind Hearts and Martinets series first, before this first in the DaDa Detective Agency spin-off series, as those previous books set the background and some of the characters for what is turning out to be an increasingly surreal reading experience. (Unsurprising for anyone who is conscious of the tenets of Dadaism!)
For those who are already firm fans, we start this book with a little visit to Jack-Jane-Dick Austin and his lovely wife Mandy-Pumps-Duck, as they grapple amorously on a rocket launcher – or is it a bazooka? – while Keef Bananas and his hapless chums grope for a tank in the suburban fog.
It gets weirder from thereon in!
After that initial teaser, we switch to the main ‘hero’ of the story, Pimple, who is equally hapless and perhaps even more charmless than the Banana gang. Pimple is attempting to interview eccentric Geography teacher, Aedd Murphy, to discover what happened with said tanks and rocket launchers (or bazookas) and why, but he is hampered by a processions of distractions and interruptions, and of course, by his own utter incompetence as a reporter.
The political thriller aspects of the story are thus obscured and illuminated in turn by a stream-of-consciousness of puns, innuendo, wordplay, slapstick, toilet humour and Benny Hill- or Carry On-esque sexual shenanigans. The characters are deliberately unappealing in almost every way possible, and the offence-potential dial is turned up to full, with lots of non-consensual groping and casual domestic violence. And running beneath and through the whole disturbing melee is a clever sub-story about spies and suburbia which only thrusts itself into prominence with the grand finale, coinciding with a return cameo from the beloved DaDa duo themselves.
This is a story within a story, twice removed – you won’t have read anything like it.
I have commented many a time that with some writers you can relax and know that you are safe in the hands of a skilled professional. Well, with Pete Adams you must keep your wits about you at all times, because you are in the hands of a deranged chaotic genius, with a penchant for sedition and subverting expectations and a fondness for classic literary novel-of-manners… anything can happen, and usually does!
Heaven – and Pete Adams – only knows where this series will take us next, but you can be sure of a wild ride, so keep your hands in and to yourself, and watch out for your earholes if they are within clipping range.
'Before and After – What follows is before, and then, afterwards, is after. Not afters, as that would be a dessert, say, apple crumble and custard. Suffice to say this is a scary story when you get to the after bits, especially if the custard has gone cold. You, the innocent reader, will be lured into a sense of a secure world of haute-monde and geography and, when you are least aware – Bam!'
– Pete Adams, Road Kill: The Duchess of Frisian Tun
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews