Announcement posted by WMC PR 16 Nov 2021
Entertainment is not usually a word associated with reading a crime novel, unless of course, it’s the Dirty Work three-book-set by Brett Sody.
Having forged a career in the music business, and received awards and recognition for excellence in the process, author Brett Sody has just published three thrilling crime novels that combine murder, mystery and dirty deeds with dark humour, puns and parody.
While these books are Sody’s first as a novelist, he has written and produced a sell-out stage play and written a screenplay for a short film, which won an award at a Canadian film festival.
The three novels, Dirty Work, More Dirty Work and Dirty Work Revisited revolve around the protagonist Detective Pete Young, who lives in Adelaide and makes regular forays to his family in Melbourne. His quirky parents add another dimension to the amusing dialogue.
It’s hard not to read these murder mysteries without a chuckle when you come across phrases such as, ‘cranky as a koala up a pine tree’ and ‘as dodgy as a dingo ditching a dummy’, and following the specific dietary habits of Detective Pete, which include his must-have chai latte with extra ginger and turmeric.
[Books available for reviews, extract and giveaways.]
In writing the trilogy, Sody takes inspiration from authors Raymond Chandler, Evelyn Waugh and Ian McEwan plus satirists such as Monty Python, Cook & Moore, Fry & Laurie and Barry Humphries.
“In addition to fairly strong plot lines around a central theme, my aim is to make the pertinent point and garner a laugh in the process. I want to entertain and enlighten the reader so they keep turning the pages. Book three being almost entirely set in the afterlife has allowed more opportunity for humour,” said Sody.
“Continuing the entertainment aspect of the books, the wonderfully descriptive covers have a comic-book vibe to them thanks to the excellent illustrations by Nahum Ziersch. These endorse the comedic approach and will appeal to lovers of Disney and Looney Toons cartoons and comedy writers such Ben Elton or Carl Hiaasen.”
Reviews received endorse this structure and humour, which is inherent in all three books. Across the trilogy are characters, dialogue and events that directly relate to Sody’s music background with rock bands, musicians and recording studios adding to the story.
The first book, Dirty Work, introduces Detective Pete Young, the “youngest detective in South Australian police history” who is continually lifting the lid on all sorts of dirty work going on, right under his nose and that of the local police forces.
An interesting aspect in all the books is the use of Australian fauna such as observant ants, wasps, spiders, stick insects and bees to provide a narrative on unfolding situations, which adds an additional dimension and allows for supplementary humour.
“The books will appeal to anyone who is into crime fiction or wants to read a novel with thrilling plot lines that also leave them with a smile on their face,” said Sody. “Many characters appear in more than one of the books, so there is good reason to start with book one and progress through to book two culminating with book three,” Sody added.
Dirty Work (314 pages), More Dirty Work (318 pages) and Dirty Work Revisited (317 pages) are published and distributed by BookBaby and available in paperback and eBook from all major online bookstores. They can also be purchased from www.brettsody.com for $22.80 each including P&P or they are available as a limited special Christmas “shocking-stocking stuffer” for $50 including P&P for three books.
ends
About Brett Sody:
Born in Melbourne, Brett Sody has lived in Adelaide since age 14. He established a recording studio in 1993 called Sodypop and won the Most Outstanding Studio Engineer at the 2000 SA Music Industry awards. Familiar names in the studio include Savage Garden, Pete Combe, Don Morrison, The Borderers, Bob Downe and Katy Underwood. In 2016 he was inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame. Brett has written and produced a stage play with music that played to sell-out shows called “A Journey Through the Past” starring well known Adelaide actor Patrick Frost as Scott Young (Neil’s Dad). He has written the screenplay for a short film called Home, which won an Award of Excellence at the 2014 Canada International Film festival in Vancouver. He has written three crime fiction books (Dirty Work series) published sequentially in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Brett is now writing a collection of short stories. www.brettsody.com
Further book details:
ISBNs: Dirty Work: 9 781098 398699; More Dirty Work: 9 781098 398675;
Dirty Work Revisited: 9 781098 398651
Cover designs: Illustration by Nahum Ziersch (appointed as storyboard artist for the 2021 Mortal Combat movie, which was filmed in Adelaide). nahumziersch.com.au
Distribution: Book distribution is being handled by BookBaby: https://www.bookbaby.com/
Audio books: Dirty Work series to be released in 2022
Book summaries:
DIRTY WORK
Detective Pete Young is lifting the lid on all sorts of DIRTY WORK going on. Priest Under Pump - Rock Band on Make - Family Business Hard Hit - Celebrity Chefs on Outer - Writer Grinds Axe - Builders Stir Pot - Pastor’s New Take on Old Theme - Murders To Go. A couple of miracles tossed into the mix, then stirred. And that's just the humans. DIRTY WORK: Hard-boiled detective parody, dishing out the facts of life. Like it or lump it.
MORE DIRTY WORK
Det. Pete Young faces his biggest challenge to date. He’s about to cop what every dick worth his salt needs - an Arch Nemesis – namely, Chad Oldman - social security recipient, reality TV addict, and cover-band member. He’s going to prove to be a tough nut to crack. On the side - a bunch of anonymous texters put the squeeze on a comely continental celebrity chef while a covert surveillance team member cooks up a cool recipe for blackmail. There’s MORE DIRTY WORK than ever and as usual - that's just the humans. The hard-boiling continues.
DIRTY WORK REVISITED
Who says death is the end of the road? For the late Detective Pete Young and his arch nemesis Chad Oldman it’s just the beginning. The hereafter proves to be pretty tough going; it’s a good thing our dearly beloved recently departed late hero’s up to it. He may have crossed over, but he’s still snowed under; there’s more DIRTY WORK to attend to on the Other Side than in this one. Afterlife assignments abound. Reincarnation, soul transmigration, re-animation, time dislocation. And in the land of the vindictive living, the body count continues to rise. The hard-boiling, it seems, goes on forever.
Please direct all enquiries to Wendy McWilliams from WMC PR. wmcpr.com.au