If Pigs Could Fly by Jonny Nexus
I was very kindly given an Advance Reading Copy of If Pigs Could Fly by Jonny Nexus, which is the delightfully silly tale of the West Kensington Paranormal Detective Agency.
Ravinder Shah is a social worker who has decided to investigate the paranormal with the elderly and not quite with it Professor, a car borrowed from his cousin Mindy and a border collie (Jess) rented from a mate. Needless to say, when they actually encounter real supernatural beings - in the form of vampire pigs - they are in way over their heads in about five seconds flat. From a goth convention in Whitby to an opticians in Bradford to, the hapless Rav does his best to unravel the conspiracies, as well as hold down his job as a social worker and attend a family wedding. Through all this, he, Jess and the Professor lurch from crisis to crisis in an immensely entertaining way.
Rav is a very likeable character. He’s smart, he thinks on his feet - I love the scene where Jess is disguised as an ‘anger management assistance dog’ and the time that Rav has a ‘paperwork face-off’ with another social worker - but his plans keep going awry. Which is bad luck for poor Rav, but very funny to read.
The books is scattered with fun pop culture references. I can’t tell you which well-known, international organisation proves to be in league with the vampires without it being a massive spoiler, but it is touches like that which make the book so funny. I’ll look forward to the next in the series, should Mr Nexus write one.
Ravinder Shah is a social worker who has decided to investigate the paranormal with the elderly and not quite with it Professor, a car borrowed from his cousin Mindy and a border collie (Jess) rented from a mate. Needless to say, when they actually encounter real supernatural beings - in the form of vampire pigs - they are in way over their heads in about five seconds flat. From a goth convention in Whitby to an opticians in Bradford to, the hapless Rav does his best to unravel the conspiracies, as well as hold down his job as a social worker and attend a family wedding. Through all this, he, Jess and the Professor lurch from crisis to crisis in an immensely entertaining way.
Rav is a very likeable character. He’s smart, he thinks on his feet - I love the scene where Jess is disguised as an ‘anger management assistance dog’ and the time that Rav has a ‘paperwork face-off’ with another social worker - but his plans keep going awry. Which is bad luck for poor Rav, but very funny to read.
The books is scattered with fun pop culture references. I can’t tell you which well-known, international organisation proves to be in league with the vampires without it being a massive spoiler, but it is touches like that which make the book so funny. I’ll look forward to the next in the series, should Mr Nexus write one.