The Stringer Novels

by John Bayliss

Now, Stringer is definitely not your run of the mill private detective. For one thing, he's not the brightest star in the heavens and he frequently gets things wrong.

Sometimes disastrously wrong.

But he does try - that's the least you can say about him - especially if he discovers he's the prime suspect for a murder (The Word on the Street), or there's a convicted killer with a very large knife after him (Fool's Mate), or he's in the middle of a war between rival Indian Restaurants (The Dog That Didn't Bark). Oh, yes, and if there's any chance that he might actually get paid money for his services then he's really motivated.

The funny thing is, though, that he does eventually unravel the mystery and the villain always ends up behind bars - well, usually he does - and Stringer's often just as surprised by his success as everyone else.

So far, there are three complete Stringer novels and a fourth 'Work in Progress'. I have two further novels planned, provisionally entitled Each Way Bet (which is, not that suprisingly, about a betting scam) and Out of the Box (in which Stringer falls in love). I see no reason to believe that there won't be many more Stringer novels appearing in the future.

The opening of Stringer's first adventure, The Word on the Street.

The opening of Stringer's second adventure, Fool's Mate.

The opening of Stringer's third adventure, The Dog That Didn't Bark.

The opening of Stringer's fourth adventure, This Way Madness Lies. (I'm still writing this one so there's a chance that this extract might change.)

There is also an FAQ about the Stringer novels and how they came to be written, a page of Stringer's Words of Wisdom, and a short biography of the author.

A man called John Peabody has written a review of The Word on the Street which you can read here.

If you are in the publishing industry and keen to publish a series of popular novels that are destined to be bestsellers, or if you are an agent eager to be part of what is sure to be a major publishing phenomenon (in short: move over Harry Potter), then please contact the author directly.