Slipshod

Peter McAdam Mysteries #1

by David M. Cameron

Life is not going well for Peter McAdam. Nicknamed Slipshod at school for his lackadaisical manner, the name has stuck. His life is drifting along investigating lost dogs, missing persons, unfaithful wives, and husbands until, out of the blue, he is employed to attend a weekend social gathering at Temple Heath House, the country home of Sir Reginald Potter. He is tasked with acting as the boyfriend of Sir Reginald’s stunning daughter Rosemary, and discovering whether her father is being led astray by the clairvoyant, Mistress Kusoge. Out of place in a world he has no experience of, Peter finds himself at the centre of murder and intrigue, in the classic whodunnit style, but with a delicious twist.

251 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2023

About the author

David M Cameron was born in Leeds, Yorkshire. He is married with four sons and three grandchildren. David has lived in England, Papua New Guinea, and Perth Western Australia, where he has been for the last thirty years. He has written two novels for children, Wickergate and Soulmare, and For All Time is his fifth and final book in the Moondial Series for adults. David also has a weekly blog of his ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ that tell some of his life’s stories on growing up in Leeds during the 1950s. He has published two thrillers Dead Men Don't Snore and A Trembling of Finches in the Gordon Bennet series. More recently he released Just After Midnight and They Are Back, science fiction YA thrillers. His latest book is Slipshod which is a thriller/whodunnit with a twist.
More information on both David's music and books can be found on his website/blog:

http://davidmcameronauthormusician.com

Reviews

[Lavender Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook review.

Unique book with a dual storyline. Both mysteries are equally awesome, with a lot of twists, suspense, and humour. The book is wonderfully narrated by the author himself.

A review copy of this book was sent to me by AudioFreebies.com. All of the above opinions are my own.

[A.D. Bollen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! I loved how the story jumped between two alternative story lines, both of which kept me guessing until the climax. I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

[MWBoothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique and challenging storyline. Great read

I have not read of a similar type of fictional character which combines a writer and his first book storyline. At first (I at least) needed to concentrate to avoid mixing the two, but then you are drawn into the two different yet interwoven stories. Unusual and unique, with plenty of twists.

[Alicia Marsland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery with a big twist

I really didn’t enjoy this book at first because it was too much the ‘weekend house party with multiple murders’ story but I began to suspect with the double plot line that something else was going on, so I read it to the end to see if I was right. And I was!

I also knew whodunit, but I often do, so that’s no indication that the author wasn’t sufficiently misleading.

[Marti Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Double Trouble

The titular character is slipshod fictional detective Mr Peter McAdam, but not of this novel, rather he’s the protagonist of a novel within a novel whose author has the tongue-in-cheek surname Romance. Romance has of course his own parallel murder mystery and romance, and Slipshod’s virtual romantic life gets some challenges and temptations, from client and murder suspect alike.

While the protagonist likens the story style to Agatha Christie, and there is that ‘then there were none sense’ to the story as deaths multiply, and due to drawing room and seance themes, I would liken it also to Raymond Chandler due to the dark drab slipshod PI. The setting is in any case sometime in the classical era characterized by a lack of mobile phones and the ease of cutting telephone wires.

In terms of audience and levels, there is the occasional foul language, occasional sexual/suggestive nudity and off screen sexual activity, including reference to a couple of same sex couples, and of course there’s the seance theme of trying to contact the dead. So generally the readership should be a ‘mature’ audience.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this by searching my library's recent mystery audiobook catalog additions. Impulse read that I felt paid off, though with conflicted feelings.

Really 3.5 stars as I found the story-within-a-story here didn't work well. I loved the fictional "interior" novel that we read along as the "exterior" protagonist made his way to finishing his first book - quite suspenseful with a twist near the end I didn't see coming. A bit of work keeping those characters straight, and I wasn't thinking of Our Hero as quite the intended hunk, but no matter.

Unfortunately, the (external) writer's own life contained a mystery that didn't work for me. Ended up suspending disbelief for the whole drama there, writing off that part of the book. Understood the intention, but the execution showed an idea that wasn't going to work (in my opinion).

So, would I read the forthcoming sequel? Probably, as it's billed as more of the "interior" fictional detective. Wasn't sure about the author's reading his own work, but in the end I was fine with that.

[James Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Slipshod’ by David M. Cameron is a page-turner of a whodunit with a twist. The twist is that there are two narratives in one, with the story of one main character being written within the tale of another. The primary story is a murder mystery, with multiple characters being killed off at a rich tycoon’s mansion during a weekend get-together. The main character, Peter McAdam, is a private detective hired to investigate whether the medium hosting a séance for the mogul is legitimate or not. But Peter’s investigation, on behalf of the baron’s daughter, gets more complex as the murders tally up. I found the two-story variation as perhaps the most interesting part of the novel, although it is confusing at first, since both narratives are written in the first person, with no indication that the main character has switched. There are also a few brief scenes where the POV switches to another character, which seems out of place. Nonetheless, this is an engaging and highly descriptive piece of writing that will thrill lovers of murder mysteries.

[Greg Vigdor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative, entertaining and well written book! Especially good for would be authors.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story within a story. Murder mystery thriller. An author is writing a story and we are reading it as it is being written. You are also getting his story as he is writing. Interesting.