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The Commissions of Augustus Mandrell #1-3
The Augustus Mandrell Thrillers Books 1–3
Meet Augustus Mandrell — but be careful when you do . . .
No one is sure who Augustus Mandrell is, where he came from, or where he will turn up next. He is a master of disguise, a connoisseur of beautiful women, and an expert assassin. He can speak several languages – and lie fluently in all of them. He will kill anyone for a price — and he doesn’t leave witnesses.
From England in 1939 to America in 1950, via France, Iran and Ireland during and just after World War II, the services of Mandrell Limited are available to all — or all who can pay. Each commission comes with a contract which has two main clauses:
1. You will be charged a fee in keeping with the excellence of the service;
2. You will pay that fee.
3. Woe betide anyone who ignores Clause 2.
In this three-book box set:
Book 1: Of All the Bloody Cheek!
The fun-loving, fast-talking assassin-for-hire takes on his most daring mission yet. Mandrell forms a troupe of dancing girls to gain access to an American prisoner-of-war camp and take down a turncoat French officer. But all does not go smoothly.
Book 2: Rather a Vicious Gentleman
Augustus Mandrell aims to commit the ultimate ‘locked room’ murder. He succeeds in penetrating a subterranean military facility in order to assassinate a Nazi war criminal. His plan is perfect, but even the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry. The chameleon-like contract killer must use all his skills in disguise, deception and psychology to survive.
Book 3: For Murder I Charge More
For a while Scotland Yard can relax. The notorious assassin-for-hire Augustus Mandrell is crossing the Atlantic to ply his unholy trade in America. His latest commission sees Mandrell smuggling Hitler’s double out of Europe while being pursued by agents of the OSS, the IRA and the Israeli Irgun. What could possibly go wrong . . .
____________________________
Winner of the Edgar Allen Poe Best Paperback Original Award.
With a new introduction by award-winning crime writer Mike Ripley.
No one is sure who Augustus Mandrell is, where he came from, or where he will turn up next. He is a master of disguise, a connoisseur of beautiful women, and an expert assassin. He can speak several languages – and lie fluently in all of them. He will kill anyone for a price — and he doesn’t leave witnesses.
From England in 1939 to America in 1950, via France, Iran and Ireland during and just after World War II, the services of Mandrell Limited are available to all — or all who can pay. Each commission comes with a contract which has two main clauses:
1. You will be charged a fee in keeping with the excellence of the service;
2. You will pay that fee.
3. Woe betide anyone who ignores Clause 2.
In this three-book box set:
Book 1: Of All the Bloody Cheek!
The fun-loving, fast-talking assassin-for-hire takes on his most daring mission yet. Mandrell forms a troupe of dancing girls to gain access to an American prisoner-of-war camp and take down a turncoat French officer. But all does not go smoothly.
Book 2: Rather a Vicious Gentleman
Augustus Mandrell aims to commit the ultimate ‘locked room’ murder. He succeeds in penetrating a subterranean military facility in order to assassinate a Nazi war criminal. His plan is perfect, but even the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry. The chameleon-like contract killer must use all his skills in disguise, deception and psychology to survive.
Book 3: For Murder I Charge More
For a while Scotland Yard can relax. The notorious assassin-for-hire Augustus Mandrell is crossing the Atlantic to ply his unholy trade in America. His latest commission sees Mandrell smuggling Hitler’s double out of Europe while being pursued by agents of the OSS, the IRA and the Israeli Irgun. What could possibly go wrong . . .
____________________________
Winner of the Edgar Allen Poe Best Paperback Original Award.
With a new introduction by award-winning crime writer Mike Ripley.
- GenresFiction
870 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2023
About the author
Frank McAuliffe
11 books2 followers Frank Malachi McAuliffe aka Frank Malachy
Frank McAuliffe was born the eldest of eight children to Irish immigrants, Con and Margaret McAuliffe in New York City, New York. He married Rita Gibbons and they had seven children together. After moving to Ventura, California, McAuliffe worked as a technical writer for the Navy, but spent most of his spare time writing fiction. In 1972 Frank McAuliffe was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for his novel, For Murder I Charge More. Upon accepting the award for The Best Paperback Mystery of the Year, McAuliffe responded, "Ladies and Gentlemen, you have impeccably good taste."
Frank McAuliffe was born the eldest of eight children to Irish immigrants, Con and Margaret McAuliffe in New York City, New York. He married Rita Gibbons and they had seven children together. After moving to Ventura, California, McAuliffe worked as a technical writer for the Navy, but spent most of his spare time writing fiction. In 1972 Frank McAuliffe was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award for his novel, For Murder I Charge More. Upon accepting the award for The Best Paperback Mystery of the Year, McAuliffe responded, "Ladies and Gentlemen, you have impeccably good taste."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 23, 2024
This series has potential, but it needs a lot of editing. The main character, Augustus Mandrell, is a complex and interesting person, but the author loses the impact due to his overly flowery complex sentences. The reader has to sort through the chaff to get to the point. It took a lot of patience to get through three books.
July 10, 2024
Rating is an average across the three books and 12 "commisions:' They start out strong, slowly decline to tedious, and end in the ludicrous.
July 27, 2026
Tedious and over-complex sentences got in the way of an actual plot
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews