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Jake Istenhedgyi:
The Accidental Detective Omnibus Volume 1 |
“Ish-ten-hedgy.”
When his best friend, and private investigator, Barrington “Bear” Gunn goes missing, Jake Istenhegyi does some investigating of his own. Mama Effie, his tenant and owner of the Odyssey Shop, keeps an ear to the street while Jake attempts to fill shoes far too big for his feet. Follow in Jake’s footsteps as he encounters cold stone bitches, an undead voodoo queen, zombie chickens, and possibly even a partridge in a pear tree. However, the odds of him running into the latter are slimmer than the former, believe it or not. In this first volume omnibus there are two novellas and one novel that introduce the story of “Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” written by Nikki Nelson-Hicks.
When his best friend, and private investigator, Barrington “Bear” Gunn goes missing, Jake Istenhegyi does some investigating of his own. Mama Effie, his tenant and owner of the Odyssey Shop, keeps an ear to the street while Jake attempts to fill shoes far too big for his feet. Follow in Jake’s footsteps as he encounters cold stone bitches, an undead voodoo queen, zombie chickens, and possibly even a partridge in a pear tree. However, the odds of him running into the latter are slimmer than the former, believe it or not. In this first volume omnibus there are two novellas and one novel that introduce the story of “Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” written by Nikki Nelson-Hicks.
Readability
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this isn’t a series that takes itself seriously, but the overall tone of the narrative isn’t always so clear either. Sometimes Jake’s voice gets awkwardly lost in the mix of wry humor served alongside the events of melodramatic horror and shallow intimacy, leaving me to scratch my head in wonder as to whether I’m supposed to cringe or laugh. Of course this could also be a matter of taste.
Structurally, I think book one: “A Chick, a Dick, and a Witch Walk into a Barn” is the most well thought out of the three entries, and the novel (book three) shows the least amount of focus compared to the other works. In this first volume, “Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” is clearly modelled after the stories from the old pulp magazines, and I think that’s why I had a better time with the novellas than I did with the novel, because pulp fiction works best when published in short format. With that said, the pacing follows the law of diminishing returns across this entire omnibus. The first novella had the best pacing of the three, whereas the resolutions felt extremely rushed in the other two, but I think they all needed more work developmentally (especially book three).
The author’s writing style for this collection is palatable; there were some minor typos, but no major mistakes or irredeemable errors to speak of. Each story feels complete (albeit haphazardly so), and they’re written in first person from Jake’s perspective. The author’s prose manages to capture the hardboiled vibe that I believe she was aiming for.
Creativity
“Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” is filled with tropes and clichés reminiscent of various pulp fiction stories. The crime syndicates take on a variety of forms. Throughout the collection there are mobsters, pirates, and characters from covens and cults! There are several supernatural elements to each story as well, and most are loosely tied to the occult in some way. For example, in book three there is a character in search of an artifact called the “Cross of Trismegitus” (clearly in reference to Hermes Trismegistus a.k.a. Thoth, and perhaps a nod to the Hermetic Cross).
There are also some fun Easter eggs to discover within the writing itself. There is a subtle mention of Black Mask magazine, in which I discovered was an actual publication that started in the 1920’s and ran until the early 1950’s. Perhaps those magazines served as the source of inspiration for Istenhegyi’s misadventures.
Delivery
Each of the three entries in this first volume of Istenhegyi stories contains satirical undertones that seem to take the piss out of the vintage pulp fiction that they’re trying to emulate. The author’s shameless use of deus ex machina made it evident to me that the hero of the story was never in any real danger (which is a sucker punch to the reader, but if done right it can be humorous). What’s funny to me is that every plot turned out to be a silly investment on my part. From the very moment I snagged this rag from the newsstand (Amazon.com actually, but you catch my drift), I was being taken for a fool. Maybe that’s what the author was trying to imply about pulp fiction.
Not unlike pulp fiction, the following stories from the Istenhegyi series do a good job at following a formula, but unfortunately it wasn’t a formula that worked for me. On pen and paper the formula seems compelling: every story opens with a snippet of suspense in the form of a prologue meant to hook the reader with the promise of high stakes tension, there’s always a fresh faced femme fatale, a new case to crack, and even a monster of the week, but the author’s farcical approach came across as clumsy rather than endearing. The pulp stories in this collection seem like they were just aiming to make a mockery rather than playfully poke fun and pay homage. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that mockery is the lowest form of comedy. What more can I say? I don’t make the rules.
“A Chick, a Dick, and a Witch Walk into a Barn”
The bubble gum setup was effective. Harleaux’s monster sounds frightening (I imagine it had the temperament of a capercaillie, LOL), and I think it gave the story an “Army of Darkness” kind of vibe. However, the splatterpunk level of description is jarring to read amid the wacky voodoo juju and zombie chickens running amok. I think “grotesque burlesque” is a fun alliteration, and I hope one day I get to use it in a real life situation. Slap some booby tassels on them chicken breasts!
“Golems, Goons and Cold Stone Bitches”
Jake’s character receives some much needed development. I had no issue with the author adding a little “spice” to the series (in terms of ripe fruit T and apricot shaped A), but adding “The Salt of Life” was a big mistake and ruined the stakes for the next book. This story had the most egregious climax out of the three.
“Boodaddies, Bogs and a Dead Man’s Booty”
Forget the hype surrounding the bog monster, book three is just a monstrous SLOG! I really had to push myself to get through this entire novel. So Jake apparently inherited his uncle Andor’s debt, and in the classified section of a newspaper he answers an ad in search of a “Treasure Hunter”. Jake Istenhedgyi becomes Louisiana Jones in search of a sacred relic so he can collect some booty and pay off his debts.
Somehow this simple inciting incident turns into a muddled mess involving side quests, jilted lovers, rigged boxing matches, and a hodge-podge of extras as well as a special cameo appearance by a familiar voodoo queen from book one for some reason. It’s a small world after all. It’s a small world after all!
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this isn’t a series that takes itself seriously, but the overall tone of the narrative isn’t always so clear either. Sometimes Jake’s voice gets awkwardly lost in the mix of wry humor served alongside the events of melodramatic horror and shallow intimacy, leaving me to scratch my head in wonder as to whether I’m supposed to cringe or laugh. Of course this could also be a matter of taste.
Structurally, I think book one: “A Chick, a Dick, and a Witch Walk into a Barn” is the most well thought out of the three entries, and the novel (book three) shows the least amount of focus compared to the other works. In this first volume, “Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” is clearly modelled after the stories from the old pulp magazines, and I think that’s why I had a better time with the novellas than I did with the novel, because pulp fiction works best when published in short format. With that said, the pacing follows the law of diminishing returns across this entire omnibus. The first novella had the best pacing of the three, whereas the resolutions felt extremely rushed in the other two, but I think they all needed more work developmentally (especially book three).
The author’s writing style for this collection is palatable; there were some minor typos, but no major mistakes or irredeemable errors to speak of. Each story feels complete (albeit haphazardly so), and they’re written in first person from Jake’s perspective. The author’s prose manages to capture the hardboiled vibe that I believe she was aiming for.
Creativity
“Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective” is filled with tropes and clichés reminiscent of various pulp fiction stories. The crime syndicates take on a variety of forms. Throughout the collection there are mobsters, pirates, and characters from covens and cults! There are several supernatural elements to each story as well, and most are loosely tied to the occult in some way. For example, in book three there is a character in search of an artifact called the “Cross of Trismegitus” (clearly in reference to Hermes Trismegistus a.k.a. Thoth, and perhaps a nod to the Hermetic Cross).
There are also some fun Easter eggs to discover within the writing itself. There is a subtle mention of Black Mask magazine, in which I discovered was an actual publication that started in the 1920’s and ran until the early 1950’s. Perhaps those magazines served as the source of inspiration for Istenhegyi’s misadventures.
Delivery
Each of the three entries in this first volume of Istenhegyi stories contains satirical undertones that seem to take the piss out of the vintage pulp fiction that they’re trying to emulate. The author’s shameless use of deus ex machina made it evident to me that the hero of the story was never in any real danger (which is a sucker punch to the reader, but if done right it can be humorous). What’s funny to me is that every plot turned out to be a silly investment on my part. From the very moment I snagged this rag from the newsstand (Amazon.com actually, but you catch my drift), I was being taken for a fool. Maybe that’s what the author was trying to imply about pulp fiction.
Not unlike pulp fiction, the following stories from the Istenhegyi series do a good job at following a formula, but unfortunately it wasn’t a formula that worked for me. On pen and paper the formula seems compelling: every story opens with a snippet of suspense in the form of a prologue meant to hook the reader with the promise of high stakes tension, there’s always a fresh faced femme fatale, a new case to crack, and even a monster of the week, but the author’s farcical approach came across as clumsy rather than endearing. The pulp stories in this collection seem like they were just aiming to make a mockery rather than playfully poke fun and pay homage. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that mockery is the lowest form of comedy. What more can I say? I don’t make the rules.
“A Chick, a Dick, and a Witch Walk into a Barn”
The bubble gum setup was effective. Harleaux’s monster sounds frightening (I imagine it had the temperament of a capercaillie, LOL), and I think it gave the story an “Army of Darkness” kind of vibe. However, the splatterpunk level of description is jarring to read amid the wacky voodoo juju and zombie chickens running amok. I think “grotesque burlesque” is a fun alliteration, and I hope one day I get to use it in a real life situation. Slap some booby tassels on them chicken breasts!
“Golems, Goons and Cold Stone Bitches”
Jake’s character receives some much needed development. I had no issue with the author adding a little “spice” to the series (in terms of ripe fruit T and apricot shaped A), but adding “The Salt of Life” was a big mistake and ruined the stakes for the next book. This story had the most egregious climax out of the three.
“Boodaddies, Bogs and a Dead Man’s Booty”
Forget the hype surrounding the bog monster, book three is just a monstrous SLOG! I really had to push myself to get through this entire novel. So Jake apparently inherited his uncle Andor’s debt, and in the classified section of a newspaper he answers an ad in search of a “Treasure Hunter”. Jake Istenhedgyi becomes Louisiana Jones in search of a sacred relic so he can collect some booty and pay off his debts.
Somehow this simple inciting incident turns into a muddled mess involving side quests, jilted lovers, rigged boxing matches, and a hodge-podge of extras as well as a special cameo appearance by a familiar voodoo queen from book one for some reason. It’s a small world after all. It’s a small world after all!
#LFLR Indie Rating: 4/10
“Jake Istenhedgyi: The Accidental Detective” is a collection of detective tales that take place in New Orleans. Volume one presents magic and mystery from the bayou in the form of a three book omnibus written by Nikki Nelson-Hicks. Nikki has also written a detective tale for middle-grade readers entitled “Sherlock Holmes and The Shrieking Pits”, as well as several other mystery and pulp stories (including contributions to anthologies that are horrific and/or strange).
“Jake Istenhedgyi: The Accidental Detective” is a collection of detective tales that take place in New Orleans. Volume one presents magic and mystery from the bayou in the form of a three book omnibus written by Nikki Nelson-Hicks. Nikki has also written a detective tale for middle-grade readers entitled “Sherlock Holmes and The Shrieking Pits”, as well as several other mystery and pulp stories (including contributions to anthologies that are horrific and/or strange).
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
