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Underscore

The Vinyl Detective Mysteries, Book 8

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Underscore

By: Andrew Cartmel
Narrated by: Finlay Robertson
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The Vinyl Detective plunges into the world of Italian movie soundtrack music in his eighth adventure that is sure to delight those who love whimsical British cosy crime. Expect laughs, LPs, cats and the return of fan favourites, Nevada, Tinkler, Stinky Stanmer and more.

Some of the greatest (and grooviest) music ever committed to vinyl has come out of Italy.

And some of the greatest music to come out of Italy is the rich diversity of soundtracks composed for the indigenous film industry – particularly for gruesome thrillers known as ‘gialli’. The maestros who composed for these include Ennio Morricone, Piero Piccioni, Armand Trovajoli…

And Valerius Passeri.

He was one of the finest composers of this genre and his original LPs from his 1960s heyday fetch a fortune from collectors.

No one disputes that Passeri was a genius…

The argument is whether or not he was a murderer.

Passeri’s mistress was killed in London in the 1960s while he was here on location for a film shoot. There was never enough hard evidence to lead to a prosecution but the stink of scandal has never gone away.

Passeri’s granddaughter Chloe has come to England to hire the Vinyl Detective. She wants him to negotiate for a collection of her father’s LPs. The mastertapes of the albums have been destroyed and she needs immaculate vinyl copies to provide the source for a series of reissues – Chloe’s mission is to preserve her grandfather’s heritage.

And also, it transpires, to clear his name.

So it turns out that the Vinyl Detective’s real job will be to find out who actually committed a murder – over half a century ago, in Swinging London.

But the real killer is not enchanted with the notion of being exposed. And, having killed once before, they see no problem in doing so again.©2025 Andrew Cartmel (P)2025 W. F. Howes Ltd Amateur Sleuths Animals Cosy Crime Family Life Genre Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Murder England Italy Detective
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Book 8 is just as good as all the rest and I do hope there is a Book 9. It is not that many authors that can write a consistent book series but this is one.


Narration as always is such a delight to listen to to .

Love these stories

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This one was great and well worth waiting for, I have read them all but for some reason the previous one was not as enjoyable, however this one more than made up for it. Read superbly as always. Finlay has nailed Tinkler as one of the best character’s in the books, so irreverent he’s hilarious. More please.

Loved it

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the continuation of the series is an easy listen that builds on the characters we have learned so much about. The extension of the relationships helps to mold the mystery throughout the story and keeps you engaged to the last sentence

another success in the series

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Another wild story that begins innocently, all our favourite characters and a few lovely new ones (Burlap being the loveliest of them all), and wonderfully read by one of the best narrators I know. Great stuff, highly recommend.

More of the same - Thank goodness!

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I love this series, this was a great addition. Lots of fun, jeopardy and a little Stinky Stanmer. As ever the narration is spot on.
The only minor quibbles were two poor edits left in, and I’m sure he said Nirvana once when it should have been Nevada - it was Stinky speaking!

Exactly what I needed

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