Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of the gang of child criminals on the streets of London trained and overseen by the elderly Fagin. The term has become an idiom describing a person who engages in skillful deception.
Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game.
Michael Joseph Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestselling author of 38 novels and one work of non-fiction, with over 74 million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into 40 languages. His first novel, The Black Echo, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1997 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of Connelly's novel The Lincoln Lawyer starred Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.
Published in 1997, Country of the Blind is Christopher Brookmyre's second novel. Following the adventures of Quite Ugly One Morning, the storyline finds Parlabane living in domestic bliss and about to get married. As part of the engagement package, he has promised his soon-to-be-wife that he will give up the more dangerous and illegal parts of his investigative journalism career.
Black Widow is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer George Kapitan and artist Harry Sahle, the character first appeared in Mystic Comics #4, published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. Claire Voyant is an anti-hero who kills evildoers to deliver their souls to her master, Satan.
The Duchess is a character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865. Carroll does not describe her physically in much detail, although as stated in Chapter 9, "Alice did not much like keeping so close to her: first, because the Duchess was very ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin upon Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin." Her hideous appearance and short stature is strongly established in the popular imagination thanks to John Tenniel's illustrations and from context it is clear that Alice finds her quite unattractive.
Graham Masterton is a British author known primarily for horror fiction. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, his debut novel, The Manitou, was published in 1976. This novel was adapted in 1978 for the film The Manitou. His 1978 novel Charnel House and 1983 novel Tengu garnered positive critical reception, the former receiving a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America and the latter being awarded with a silver medal by the West Coast Review of Books. Masterton was also the editor of Scare Care, a horror anthology published for the benefit of abused children in Europe and the United States.
The Dead Boy Detectives are a fictional supernatural detective duo who have appeared in comic books published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. They were created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III in The Sandman #25. The characters are the ghosts of two dead children, Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, who, rather than enter the afterlife, stay on Earth to become detectives investigating supernatural crimes.
The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel by the Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. It is the author's seventh book and is a stand-alone sequel to A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away.
Not the End of the World is Christopher Brookmyre's third novel, and the first not to feature Jack Parlabane, Christopher Brookmyre's most used character. The novel is also the first book Brookmyre has written that is based solely outside of the United Kingdom. The story takes place in Los Angeles.
The Magic Comic was a British comics magazine. It was the ill-fated third comics magazine from DC Thomson. It was aimed at a younger audience, with more emphasis on picture stories. The first issue was published on 22 July 1939. The comic ran for only 80 issues until 25 January 1941. Paper rationing resulting from the outbreak of the Second World War caused its demise. Its Editor Bill Powrie promised that 'the Magic' would return; however, he was killed in action in 1942.
The Payback Press was a specialist imprint of Canongate Books devoted to (initially) reprints of classic black crime novels, which later branched out into contemporary black fiction. Notable authors included Chester Himes and Clarence Cooper Jr and Iceberg Slim. As with Rebel Inc., after its successful foundation in the late 1990s, it was discontinued due to a financial crisis in its parent company.
Quite Ugly One Morning is Christopher Brookmyre's first novel, and it introduces Jack Parlabane, the writer's most used character. It was published to popular and critical acclaim, winning the inaugural Critics' First Blood Award for the best first crime novel of the year. Comedian Ed Byrne is known for being a fan of this story, as well as a friend of the author: he also chose it for his appearance on Radio 4's A Good Read.
A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (2001) is Christopher Brookmyre's sixth novel, the first book in a suspense trilogy featuring policewoman Angelique de Xavia. She is the central character in The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002) and the main protagonist in A Snowball in Hell (2008). Her antagonist in this novel, Simon Darcourt, reappears in A Snowball in Hell, where their relationship is resolved. A Big Boy touches on a number of Brookmyre's interests, including gaming, rock and roll, and childhood.
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (1999) is the fourth novel by Scottish writer Chris Brookmyre.
Nine Inches is the eighth novel of the Dan Starkey series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, released on 13 October 2011 through Headline Publishing Group. Fellow crime author, Ian Rankin, recognised the book in The Scotsman as one of his "books of the year" 2011. It was also listed by author Nick Quantrill as one of his "Top 5 Books of 2011".
Found in the Street (1986) is the twentieth novel by the American expatriate writer Patricia Highsmith, the nineteenth published under her own name. It was published in the UK in April 1986 and in the US in 1987.
A Snowball in Hell (2008) completes Christopher Brookmyre's suspense trilogy featuring DI Angelique de Xavia. She and her antagonist, Simon Darcourt, were introduced in A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (2001), while she was the central character in The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002), where she met the third main character of Snowball, the magician Zal Innez. Brookmyre himself sees Snowball as a sequel to two separate books.
Dr Marisa Haetzman is an anaesthetist and published author. Together with her husband Chris Brookmyre, she has written several historical fiction novels under the joint pen name Ambrose Parry.
