BOB BURKE
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Bob Burke is originally from Ennis. He now lives in a small village with no pub just outside Limerick, with his wife and three sons. He has spent over twenty years working with computers, most recently as an IT Manager in Dell. Bob has dabbled (badly) in writing since he was very young but recently not only managed to finish something he’d started but actually succeeded in getting it published. The Third Pig Detective Agency is his first novel and he is currently finalising two sequels following the adventures of Harry Pigg, Private Investigator. Bob is also working on a horror novel – Werewolf Rising - targeted at the same readership as Darren Shan and Anthony Horowitz. When not writing and being an unpaid chauffeur for his three sons, Bob enjoys reading lots and lots of books and supporting Munster in rugby and Chelsea in football. |
Meet Harry Pigg, Private Eye. He is one of a kind.
Columbo, Kojak, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and Sherlock Holmes were all great detectives but Harry has something that none of them can boast – trotters, a curly tail and a snout for trouble. The Third Pig Detective Agency proves that you are never too old for nursery rhymes, especially when they are as twisted and funny as this. BOOK 2 - THE HO HO HO MYSTERY Things are finally looking up for Harry Pigg, detective and sole survivor of the Three Little Pigs fiasco. He’s just solved his first big case, acquired – despite his best efforts to the contrary - two new junior detectives in the Genie of the Lamp and Jack Horner and seems to have enough money to finally get his business up and running properly. Now all he needs is a new client. Enter a large, red-dressed and very angry woman named Mrs. Claus who claims her husband, Santa, has been kidnapped two days before Christmas. Against his better judgment Harry takes on the case, believing that Mrs. Claus is either having him on or that Santa has run off with another woman and will turn up sooner or later, full of apologies. Finding no clues locally, Harry and Mrs. Claus take a trip to the North Pole so Harry can continue his investigations there. On the way they are attacked by a jet-powered sleigh and barely escape... The attempt on their lives leads Harry to believe that there may be some substance to Mrs. Claus’ story after all. At the North Pole, Harry interviews a very arrogant Rudolph and all of Santa’s Little Helpers. When one of the elves tries to make a break for it, it leads to a hair-raising jet-ski chase across the snow. Just when Harry has the elf in his grasp, he is rescued by a flying sleigh – possibly even the one that had tried to kill Harry earlier. Despondent at the lack of any clues Harry heads back to base where he’s told that Santa’s sleigh has been found abandoned north of Grimmtown… To make matters worse he’s kidnapped by local crime lord Ali Baba who insists that Harry discover who is framing him for forty robberies that took place in Grimmtown the previous night. Coerced into taking the case, Harry must now deal with two formidable clients with equally aggressive deadlines – neither of whom is willing to compromise! When Mrs. Claus drops some cryptic but apparently significant references to ‘time being of the essence’, Harry has a flash of inspiration. The case is about time – or rather the ability to manipulate time… BOOK 3 - THE CURDS AND WHEY MYSTERY The Curds and Whey Bed and Breakfast is infested with giant spiders. The owner, Matilda Muffet, is on the brink of closing down. Someone is trying to put her out of business. But who – and why? Harry Pigg in his most mysterious case yet… Rights available: World ex. English language (The Friday Studio / HarperCollins UK) Praise for THE THIRD PIG DETECTIVE AGENCY, Book 1 “Once I got my snout into The Third Pig Detective Agency wild banbhs couldn’t drag me away.” “This is undoubtedly the most whimsical hardboiled detective novel ever written, and it's utterly delightful.” Matt Beynon Rees, author of the award-winning Omar Yussef novels “Is sure to spark a following from people who like a quirky, easy and well crafted read.” “You don’t have to like detective fiction to enjoy this, but if you do you’ll probably appreciate it more” Books Ireland "The Third Pig Detective Agency should raise more than a few smiles as the reader gets to meet some familiar faces from fairy tales and nursery rhymes whilst Harry wisecracks his way through solving the mystery. Harry is a unusual take on the traditional American gumshoe character and I look forward to reading his next adventure." Teenage Fiction for All Ages "The Third Pig Detective Agency is brimming with familiar characters and has enough teasing references seeded throughout to ensure readers will lap up any sequels (and it looks set to become a successful series). Culch.ie "Funny, thrilling and always entertaining, Harry Pigg is an old breed of hero for a new generation. It's as if Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney had walked into the middle of a bedtime story. A comedy caper for all ages." Goodreads.com "The Third Pig Detective Agency is a great book, totally entertaining and madcap. Harry Pigg is a fabulous character, a kind of porcine Philip Marlowe let loose in a fractured fairytale universe. I have no doubt he is going to garner a cult following." Welshcake.com |
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