The Invisible Detective

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The Invisible Detective
Author Justin Richards
Cover artistDavid Frankland, Richard Jones
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Detective fiction, Science fiction, Fantasy
Published2003 - 2005
Media typePrint

The Invisible Detective is a series of juvenile adventure novels, written by Justin Richards. Originally published in the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2005, the series has also been released in the United States.

Contents

The books are detective fiction with science fictional and/or fantastic elements (depending on the book). Set in London in the 1930s, the series recounts the adventures of four children, Art, Jonny, Meg, and Flinch, who act as "Baker Street Irregulars" to the detective Brandon Lake, who is known as "the Invisible Detective" as no one has seen more than his silhouetted figure in a darkened room. In fact, Brandon Lake does not exist; he was invented by the four children, who investigate all his cases themselves. Art plays the Invisible Detective in weekly sessions held in a darkened room, during which the Detective addresses the concerns of local residents, in exchange for a small fee.

Each book also has a parallel subplot set in the 2000s, where Art's grandson, also named Art, and his friend Sarah have related mysteries to solve.

Titles

The Invisible Detective book series
Book NumberTitlePublication DateISBNCover IllustratorLength (Pages)Ref.
1The Paranormal Puppet Show (renamed Double Life in America)June 2, 2003 ISBN   0-7434-6145-2 David Frankland (current);
Richard Jones (original)
264 [1]
2Shadow BeastJune 2, 2003 ISBN   0-7434-6146-0 David Frankland (current);
Richard Jones (original)
220 [2]
3Ghost SoldiersOctober 2, 2003 ISBN   0-7434-6224-6 David Frankland (current);
Richard Jones (original)
260 [3]
4Killing TimeOctober 2, 2003 ISBN   0-7434-6225-4 David Frankland (current);
Richard Jones (original)
227
5Faces of Evil [a] April 2004 ISBN   0-7434-7871-1 David Frankland (current);
Richard Jones (original)
264
6Web of AnubisMay 2004 ISBN   0-689-86124-9 David Frankland [b] 307
7Stage FrightSeptember 2005ISBN UnknownDavid Frankland320
8Legion of the DeadSeptember 2005ISBN UnknownDavid Frankland288

Characters

Protagonists

The series revolves around the cases of eponymous detective, Brandon Lake. The books' protagonists are the Cannoniers, a group of four children in 1930s London who solve mysteries. They are based out of Cannon Street, hence their name. They invent the character of Brandon Lake and portray him in weekly consulting sessions in a darkened room. The Cannoniers are:

Art's grandson, Arthur Drake II, is a main character who lives in the present day. In The Paranormal Puppet Show, Arthur seeks shelter from the rain in an antique shop, where he buys Art's famous casebook and the loadstone that was used to control the puppets in 1936. Throughout the books, he learns about the Cannoniers' cases, and in Stage Fright, the loadstone switches him and his grandfather, sending him to 1937 London and Art to the present day.

Recurring characters

Recurring characters in the series include:

Footnotes

  1. Original title "The Faces of Evil". When the book was reprinted, "The" in the title was removed.
  2. All the covers were redesigned by the new artist, Frankland, and all new books (Web of Anubis onwards) had Frankland's art as the original.

References

  1. Andrew, Lucy (2020), Miskimmin, Esme (ed.), "Justin Richards (b. 1961), 2003: The Paranormal Puppet Show (First Novel in the series 'The Invisible Detective')" , 100 British Crime Writers, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 411–412, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-31902-9_95, ISBN   978-1-137-31902-9 , retrieved 10 February 2025
  2. "Shadow Beast" . Booklist . August 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  3. "Ghost Soldiers" . Booklist . 1 January 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2025.