Hobbes

Wilkie Martin sets his Unhuman series of novels in the Cotswolds, where he lives. He introduces readers to a close-knit, small-town community filled with quirky and occasionally dangerous inhabitants, and an 'unhuman' policeman who maintains law and order. His stories reflect his love of the enigmatic, with memorable characters and, like many of the latter, he has a taste for curry.

Hobbes - Unhuman Omnibus - Books I-IVI - Inspector Hobbes and the Blood

Inspector Hobbes, a monstrous police detective, investigates grave, ghoulish goings-on. A mad pseudo vampire with the dagger of Vlad Tepes is behind robbery, and murder. It is a funny tale with a troll, human sacrifice, blood and great cooking.

'I ought to tell you, dear, he can get rather wild when he's hungry.'



II - Inspector Hobbes and the Curse

Andy becomes infatuated with a dangerously beautiful woman during Hobbes's investigations into sheep deaths and the mysterious disappearance of pheasants, which are apparently connected to a rash of big cat sightings; and something horrible seems to be lurking in the woods.

'Love may be on the horizon but, beware; something wicked this way comes.'


III - Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers

Unwelcome attention after foiling an armed robbery forces the Inspector away on holiday to the dangerous Blacker Mountains, where his accident-prone friend, Andy, stumbles across something shocking, before falling for an attractive widow.

'I always knew you'd get ahead one day.'



IV - Inspector Hobbes and the Bones

Trouble lies ahead for Andy. Is the apparently charming young woman who attempts to seduce him merely setting him up for blackmail, or is something even more sinister afoot? Hobbes certainly believes so, and, though he's not the sort to worry, he is getting worried.

'I was grateful for having been born human.'