Andrew Cartmel Books In Order

Publication Order of The Vinyl Detective Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Doctor Who Books

Publication Order of Judge Dredd Comic Books

Publication Order of Strontium Dog Comic Books

In the mid-eighties, Andrew attended a post-graduate course in Computer Studies and worked in computer-aided design for Shape Data Ltd in Cambridge, England.

Andrew writes the “Vinyl Detective” series of novels which began publication in the year 2016, when “Written in Dead Wax” was released.

“Written in Dead Wax” is the first novel in the “Vinyl Detective” series and was released in the year 2016. He is a record collector- a connoisseur of vinyl that hunts down elusive and rare LPs. His business card has him down as the “Vinyl Detective”. Some folks take this more literally than others do.

Like the gorgeous and enigmatic woman that wants him to pay him a big sum of money to locate a priceless lost recording. This is on behalf of one extremely wealthy-and rather sinister- shadowy client.

It gets our hero’s undivided attention, especially since he is about to run out of dog biscuits. So starts a dangerous and painful journey to find the rarest jazz record of all.

Readers found this book to be totally hilarious, and they learned some great insider technical jargon about the record industry. This unnamed main character is a ton of fun, and it is a lot of fun to travel with him and his girl to various spots that record collectors know to go for obscure finds. Readers had fun checking this one out and hope to check out more stories with the Vinyl Detective.

“The Run-Out Groove” is the second novel in the “Vinyl Detective” series and was released in the year 2017. His first adventure was the search for a rare record, while this second is for a lost kid. Specifically the kid of Valerian, who was the lead singer of a great rock band of the sixties that hanged herself under mysterious circumstances after the boy was abducted.

On the way, the Vinyl Detective finds he is marked for death, unknowingly dosed with LSD as a prelude to being burned alive, and at the business end of a shotgun.

Cartmel’s writing style is wonderfully easy to read and there are quite a few spots when the novel makes you smile over and over. Each of these characters are just as eccentric as ever, whether they are villains or heroes. The novel also has some strong turns and twists that keep you guessing, and readers found this to be a real page turner with a good homely feel.

“Victory Disc” is the third novel in the “Vinyl Detective” series and was released in the year 2018. One of the Vinyl Detective’s cats accidentally discovers a rare Victory Disc, he and his girlfriend Nevada are thrust into the world of big band swing music. There is also a mystery that started in the middle of World War Two.

Our hero, hired to hunt down the rest of the highly sought-after recordings of the Flare Path Orchestra, is going to learn that the battles from the last world war are not over yet. If any of this sounds simple, it is only because things like murderous neo-Nazis, drive-by shootings, or that tiny case of being buried alive have not been mentioned.

This author’s style is easy and light to read, yet behind all this fun there is a tightly plotted and superb thriller that goes back to World War II. The novel does a great job of pulling you through with a smile, with its lurking assassins, high-end coffee, hi-fi audio equipment, and fictional music nostalgia was a great addition to the novel.

“Flip Back” is the fourth novel in the “Vinyl Detective” series and was released in the year 2019. It is all Tinkler’s fault. If it weren’t for his obsession with Black Dog, the seventies electric folk band, not a single bit of this would’ve happened.

The members of Black dog, at the height of their success, invited journalists to Holy Island, which is a desolate island off of the northern coast of England for an infamous publicity stunt. They burned one million pounds on one enormous bonfire. However, the stunt went and backfired, and tensions exploded between the band members. This ended the band forever, increasing the value of their last and recalled album tenfold. This is the album Tinker’s got his eye on.

Nevada and The Vinyl Detective accept this challenge of hunting down a copy of the record for Tinkler. However, they quickly realize that the hunt for this record is going to be the most dangerous yet.

Negotiating some deranged Black Dog fans, narrowly avoiding one killing spree, and getting pursued by Stinky Stamner (a hack journalist), they find that maybe not all was as it appeared on Holy Island. That in the embers of that fire are some clues of somebody’s motive for murder.

Cartmel, with a sure hand, takes the reader on a fantastically enjoyable ride once again.

“Low Action” is the fifth novel in the “Vinyl Detective” series and was released in the year 2020. Local poseur and semi-retired god of rock guitar, Erik Make Loud, has himself a new girlfriend. Helene Hilditich, who was once known as Howlin’ Hellbitch, of the all-female punk band Blue Tits is quite the mean guitar picker. Somebody is attempting to kill her.

Nevada and the Vinyl Detective have a rare pressing of their first album to locate, and soon get called to help out however this time the question who isn’t a suspect. With a long trail of grudges in her past, the list of people that might want Helene dead includes their former producer turned record label mogul, her own ex-band members, and the television presenter that Helene got fired. Even their roadie could be in on this. The only person that isn’t a suspect is Delia Lispector, the bassist for the Blue Tits that has already been murdered.

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