Monday, March 15, 2021

Review: Viking P.I.: Season one by Tommy Ueland

 


Genre: Detective Mystery/Short Story Collection

Description:

“After a failed career in writing crime, Norwegian author, Tommy, decides to try his hand at actually preventing crime as a private investigator. How hard can it be, right? The aptly named ‘Viking P.I.’ soon discovers that he has a real talent… for failing!

Case after case, Viking P.I. realizes he has bitten off more than he can chew, but he’s too far in it now. Maybe he’ll actually get better at it if he just keeps trying… or maybe he won’t.

Whether it’s a missing dog, a haunted house, cheating spouses or hunting trolls, Viking P.I. is probably (not) the man for the job! But he’s going to try his best, and there may be a few surprises in store for him along the way.

This series of 6 short and hilariously funny cozy mysteries are sure to make you smile and are the perfect companion for your coffee break. These quick-read mysteries are short and snappy, but full of sweet charm and intrigue.

Will Tommy be able to solve the crimes and make a career for himself in the ‘dark’ underworld of trivial crime investigation? Who knows! You’ll have to read to find out.”

Author:

This collection is Tommy Ueland’s first published book with several others in the works including one written in his native language, Norwegian. For more, visit his website.

Appraisal:

This is the first volume of a series of what the author is touting as “coffee-break mysteries.” At a couple thousand words apiece, these six mysteries are just the right length to read over that cup of java on your coffee break. The author calls them quirky in a short thank you note at the end of the book and I think that’s about as perfect a one-word description as there is for what you’ll find here. That the protagonist is named Tommy, just like the author, and decides to try his hand at private investigation after repeated failures as an author, need not be foreshadowing, at least if enough mystery fans give this book a try. I found these stories to be fun reads and my only significant complaint would be that I’d like more.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language, kind of.

Format/Typo Issues:

For a book this short the number of proofing errors I spotted was pushing the limits of what I find acceptable. It wasn’t quite enough for me to start knocking off stars, but close.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 12-13,000 words

1 comment:

Tommy Ueland said...

Thank you very much for reviewing my quirky little debut book!

I could tell you that your kind words hit me like a truck and made my eyes water. But since my alter-ego is cool and collected (Not!) PI, I can’t say that.

Getting reviewed by someone that knows how to review is a litmus test for every author. Friends and family are not trustworthy :)

One month ago, I hired a professional proofreader in my genre for the second season. I also hired her to go over the first book again because I felt, as you pointed out, that there was room for improvement — spoiler: It was!—The new version went live on Amazon today.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to read and review my book.

Tommy Ueland