Bøker av Jo Perry

The World Entire continues the story of Ascher Lieb (from Jo Perry's critically acclaimed 2021 novel Pure).Ascher returns in a fast-moving, intense, and layered mystery about a dog accused of murder and a violent group who are targeting the man Ascher loves.Love, as we all know, is complicated --and in her efforts to save the dog, Ascher must find the real murderer, risking everything to fulfil an impossible and dangerous promise.Praise for The World Entire"Decidedly literary and unapologetically noir, this is a monster of a beautiful book. ...A triumph." Matt Phillips, author of A Good Rush of Blood and Know Me from Smoke"A complete original. Everything happens-murder, mayhem, love and loss-to humans and pets alike. I loved this book." -Steven Cooper, author of the Alex Mills and Gus Parker mysteries"The World Entire perfectly captures LA's beauty, ugliness and energy. This finely observed and artfully crafted novel shows Perry to be the poet she was and ever will be." -Josh Gidding, author of Failure: An Autobiography"Powerful and propulsive, The World Entire is about murder, hatred and love's redemptive power. A hymn to L.A.'s frustrating and fabulous beauty, it deserves a place alongside Chandler, Ellroy and Mosely." -Derek Farrell, author of The Danny Bird Mysteries

Charles Stone has just woken up dead. Well he's pretty sure he's dead, what with the bullet holes in his chest and all. He also appears to be totally alone in the after-life except for the ghostly dog who seems to be his new companion. Unable to interact with the world of the living other than watching and listening, he and the dead dog (whom he names Rose) have nothing to do and all the time in the world to do it. When Charles and Rose try to unravel the circumstances of Charles's death, they uncover a criminal who is raking in millions of dollars by cruelly exploiting, and sometimes killing, his victims. But what difference can a ghost make? And what does the damn dog have to do with any of this?"A wonderful, original, hilarious, and brilliant book. I really enjoyed it. I think you'll like it very much indeed... A must read." --Eric Idle"Beautiful. Lyrical. Unexpected."--Linda L. Richards "Jo Perry has crafted a detailed mystery thriller with incredible heart and the real punk rock spirit ..." --It's An Indie Book Blog"It's funny, foul mouthed, almost heartbreakingly sad in the way Charlies impotence in the face of suffering reflects our own, yet, like all the best crime novels, it's satisfying in its denouement, and hope - a fragile, uncertain hope, but hope nonetheless- left me wanting more of my new favourite detecting duo.Perry's prose here is blunt, clean, simple and sharp. It's Charlie's voice, but it's also Philip Marlow, and, at times, the combination of direct language and surreality overlaying worlds unsaid makes this feel like a Noir novel by Sam Beckett. Which can not be a bad thing. Recommended for lovers of quirky crime, dark humour, Chandler (Raymond, not Bing) and the afore mentioned Hammett." --Derek Farrell, author of Death Of A Diva "DEAD IS BETTER is a total delight, a terrifically original, always surprising, very funny..." --Timothy Hallinan, award-winning author of For The Dead, The Fear Artist, Crashed, Little Elvises, The Fame Thief "DEAD IS BETTER is not just beautifully written but weirdly moving and funnier than death should be and with a dog like Rosie, the afterlife is sweeter than I could have ever hoped for." --Jervey Tervalon, author of Monster's Chef, Lita: A Novel, Understand This, and Dead Above Ground"What a wonderful book! It's witty and wise, and sometimes poignant. It's one of those rare books that made me think, 'How in the world did she think up something like that!' As one of her quotes in the books says, 'Even in the grave, all is not lost...'" --Terry Shames

Dead Is Beautiful, finds Rose leading Charlie from the peace of the afterlife to the place he hates most on earth, "Beverly Fucking Hills," where a mature, protected tree harboring a protected bird is being illegally cut down. The tree-assault leads Charlie and Rose to a murder and to the person Charlie loathes most in life and in death, the sibling he refers to only as "his shit brother," who is in danger. Charlie fights-across the borders of life and death-for the man who never fought for him, and with the help of a fearless Scotsman, a beautiful witch, and a pissed-off owl, he must stop a cruel and exploitative scheme and protect his beloved Rose. "Splendid--the best book yet in one of today's best-written and most imaginative series. There's nothing like it." --Timothy Hallinan"The [fourth] and probably the best in this unique series about a dead man and his dog. I love her writing and I love the extraordinarily original setting of a detective ghost story. Amazingly clever and deeply satisfying." --Eric Idle"Profound, irreverent, and darkly funny. Dead Is Beautiful is an existential romp that is part noir, party mystery and party comedy." --Pen & Ink Reviews"If crime novels are Redemption stories... then these books sit squarely in the canon of great crime novels... in the lines of 'Dirk Gently' with a red setter and a corpulent dead guy who's not only, in his afterlife, learning more about himself, the people he loved and the world he once inhabited; but about what it means to be human, to be afraid, and when all's said and done, what it means to be truly alive."--Derek Farrell"What is so brilliant here is that, while this is a story narrated from the afterlife, this isn't really a story about the afterlife. It's a story about life. It's about the perspective that death affords us and, with the ultimate objectivity, the possibility for reconciliation. Unvarnished, scathing, and loving, at the same time, it works, as the title suggests, beautifully. Throw in emotional suspense, a tightrope of tension, and you get a heart attack of a read and a lullaby, all the same. Read the whole series. Highly recommended!"--Steven Cooper

Charlie and Rose are back in their much-anticipated new adventure. Charlie's step-daughter lies dying on a beach. She needs help. Some serious help. But how did she get there and what can on earth can a dead guy and his dead dog do? Plenty as it turns out. As Charlie & Rose ride to the rescue in their own unique way it soon becomes clear that the body on the beach was only the beginning."DEAD IS BEST... knocked my feet out from under me AGAIN. Short chapters, great characters, razor-sharp writing, and a lot of heart."--Timothy Hallinan"..Never have two characters, alive or dead, gained my trust so implicitly. They are beautifully drawn and poignantly captured. They continue to grow as characters despite the fact that they're relegated to the afterlife. They will be your guides. They will observe and impart wisdom. They will be a force of light in an otherwise dark tale. Despite what Charles thinks of himself, you will like him. You will redeem him because you, unlike others who shared his time on earth, will value him. As for Cali, you will be heavily invested in her journey and her fight for survival. You will not rest until she finds her salvation. A mix of snark and suspense, humor and humanity, Dead is Best is a fast-paced read with a powerful payoff that is richly satisfying. Ten out of five stars."--Steven Cooper "Deadly entertaining." --Larry Kahaner"Death is different for everyone, but Jo Perry has written yet another book that gives death the finger. Charlie and Rose might be dead, but they are super cool with it."--Bibliophile Bookclub.

A woman opens fire on the North Hollywood Police Precinct and is almost immediately shot dead by the L.A.P.D. Another woman throws herself off the edge of Santa Monica Pier. One is suicide, one is art... Welcome to the world of Charlie & Rose, everyone's favourite ghost detectives. Summoned once again from the afterlife, and cursed by death to only ever be on-lookers into the lives of the living, Charlie and his dog companion Rose do their best to protect the only woman Charlie has ever loved. Life, it seems, is much more complicated than death, and very quickly Charlie & Rose find themselves attempting to untangle a complicated and deadly web of suicide, art, drug gangs and the illegal sweat-shops of downtown Los Angeles. "Dead is Good is wickedly entertaining, hardboiled supernatural deftness."--Gary Phillips"Like 'The Wire' Meets 'The Tibetan Book of The Dead.' Highly Recommended."--Derek Farrell"This is the third in her hopefully continuing series of a dead man and a dead dog. I enjoyed this one even more. Hard to solve or prevent crime when you are dead and that's the brilliant originality of these books. Charles Stone, helped by the dog Rose tries to prevent someone murdering his late wife in LA. Starts with a bang and goes on surprising. Highly enjoyable and unique..."--Eric Idle"DEAD IS GOOD is as smart, funny, moving and original as anything I've read in a long time. Maybe even longer. Highly recommended."-- Dennis Palumbo, author of the Daniel Rinaldi Mysteries"I love these characters - even while we readers don't fully understand their circumstances, how they know where to go, what brings them to this world at certain times. Even while they don't have much better of an idea than we do (at least Charlie doesn't). I love how while they can't interact with their environment, the people they see and events they watch unfold, they are driven to find answers, driven to care about what's happening. There's something about that compulsion - and success they have in figuring things out - that matters more than when Bosch or Spenser or Chin and Smith put all the pieces together to thwart someone.... For a good mystery with oddly compelling characters, once again, look no further than Jo Perry."--The Irresonsible Reader.

Caught in a pincer movement between the sudden death of Evelyn (her favourite aunt) and the Corona virus, Ascher Lieb finds herself unexpectedly locked down in her aunt's retirement community with only Evelyn's grief-stricken dog Freddie for company.As the world tumbles down into a pandemic shaped rabbit-hole Ascher is wracked with guilt that her aunt was buried without the Jewish burial rights of purification.In order to atone for this dereliction of familial duty, Ascher - in her own words 'a profane, unobservant, atheist Jew, frequent liar and grieving loser' -volunteers to become the newest member of Valley Haverim Chevra Kadisha, a Jewish burial society on-call twenty-four-seven during lockdown and performing Mitzvot at no cost to the bereaved.What follows is a journey through the insanity of lockdown in Los Angeles as Ascher attempts to bring peace to a troubled soul, and perhaps in the end redemption for herself.In the hands of a lesser-writer a novel set in the time of covid could lead to a cliché ridden trope-fest, but instead with the skill and grace we've come to expect from Jo Perry she has delivered a book that is wise and beautiful and uplifting.