At the library where I am employed, I found an advance reviewer's copy of
what looks like the first installment of a series entitled "The Vinyl
Detective". This volume is called "Written in Dead Wax", which gives me
some hope that it won't be howlingly bad, but I haven't read it yet. It is
supposed to be released this May and following installments seem to already
be written ("The Run-out Groove", "Victory Disc") and coming out in the
next couple of years. From the looks of it, these books may already be in
print in England, but this is not certain.

The attached summary/bio blurb is as follows:

*Synopsis:* He is a record collector - a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out
rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the Vinyl
Detective and some people take this more literally than others.

Like the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of
money to find a priceless lost recording on behalf of an extremely wealthy
(and rather sinister) shadowy client.

Given that he's just about to run out of cat biscuits, this gets our hero's
full attention. So begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the
rarest jazz record of them all.

*About the Author:* *Andrew Cartmel* is a novelist and screenwriter. His
work for television includes Midsomer Murders and Torchwood, and a
legendary stint as Script Editor on Doctor Who. He has also written plays
for the London Fringe, toured as a stand-up comedian, and is currently
co-writing with Ben Aaronovitch a series of comics based on the bestselling
Rivers of London books. He lives in London.


Somehow, I doubt that this is another Maltese Falcon, but who knows? Maybe
there are Torchwood or Dr. Who fans on this list who gobble this up.

Enjoy,

Peter Hirsch