The James Pibble Mysteries Volume Two

Book excerpt: Detective Pibble returns in three more mysteries in the CWA Gold Dagger–winning series by a “master of the bizarre” (Louis Untermeyer). Fired by Scotland Yard, James Pibble continues to solve the weirdest and most difficult cases, testing his wit while traveling to new and strange locales. Sleep and His Brother: When Pibble arrives at McNair House after being discharged by Scotland Yard, he discovers children there with a rare disease called Cathypny, which renders them sleepy, fat, and gifted with telepathic powers. Detective Pibble suspects these children are being used as bait in an exploitative con game—and one may even be the target of an escaped killer obsessed with the supernatural. The Lizard in the Cup: Pibble has come to the island of Hyos to protect Greek tycoon Thanassi Thanatos from the mob after he muscles in on their territory. Rumor has it the crooks are eyeing Hyos for its booming drug-smuggling industry. The mystery deepens when Detective Pibble uncovers a monastery led by Fathers Polydore and Chrysostom, who may be the richest men on the island. But a myth about a lizard called the samimithi could hold the key . . . One Foot in the Grave: At Flycatchers, a well-to-do nursing home, Detective Pibble is mired in a listless existence—until he discovers a dead body on top of the water tower, one of several suspicious deaths. The subsequent arrival of a woman in black sets off a sinister chain of events, and before he knows it, Pibble is on the case.