



The Humbug Murders
An Ebenezer Scrooge Mystery
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $0.99
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol investigates a shocking murder—before he becomes the next victim—in this playful mystery in a new series from a New York Times bestselling author.
Scrooge considers himself a rational man with a keen sense of deductive reasoning developed from years of business dealings. But that changes one night when he’s visited by the ghost of his former boss and friend, Fezziwig, who mysteriously warns him that three more will die, and ultimately Ebenezer himself—if he doesn’t get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy.
When he wakes the next day, Scrooge discovers that not only is Fezziwig dead, but he’s under arrest as all evidence points toward himself: Scrooge’s calling card was found in the cold, dead hand of Fezziwig’s body, and someone scribbled “HUMBUG” in blood on the floor nearby.
Now, Scrooge must race against the pocket watch to clear his name, protect his interests, and find out who killed his last true friend—before the “Humbug Killer” strikes again. Joining Scrooge in his adventures is a spunky sidekick named Adelaide, who matches his wits at every turn, plus the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Belle, Pickwick, and even Charles Dickens himself as a reporter dealing in the lurid details of London’s alleyway crimes.
Full of action and wry humor, The Humbug Murders is a fun take on a classic character—Scrooge as you’ve never seen him before.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Houses of ill fame, naughty noblemen, mutilation and murder, opium dens, conspiracies, blackmail, dim-witted coppers, and a cast that includes, among others, Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Mr. Pickwick, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Charles Dickens himself it's all here in Oliver's tale set during the run-up to Christmas, 1833. The story opens with private investigator Scrooge and his soon-to-be partner, Adelaide Owen, witnessing the visitation of the spirit of the recently deceased Fezziwig, Scrooge's former employer. This premonitory ghost warns the duo that three more will die and that Scrooge himself will perish if he doesn't solve the murders. The police waste no time in showing up at Scrooge's door and declaring him to be their prime suspect. They drag him and the fetching young Adelaide down to Fezziwig's office, where the word humbug is scrawled on the wall in blood. Oliver the joint pen name of the late Scott Ciencin (Jurassic Park 3) and Elizabeth A.A. Wilson (Ascension Denied) includes enough action and sufficient twists and turns to provide some fun by the fireside, accompanied, perhaps, by a nice glass of Madeira.