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Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery
Alternate cover edition for ISBN 9781500669829
This fantasy whodunnit 'Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery,' is filled with mystery and humour, a tantalising sense of suspense and absurd darkness, which will capture your imagination in a way no other murder mystery ever has.
Synopsis:
"A lightning storm sparks a fire deep in Phooka Wood.
The following morning, Mortal End's self righteous rector Ænus P. Wordsworth, his sidekick Savant Poe and a motley crew of villagers venture into the wood to see what damage has been done.
To their amazed befuddlement, right in the centre of the seared earth is a giant mound of molten toffee and within it, a selection of human remains.
Ænus P. Wordsworth takes it upon himself to find out who these bones belong to and how they came to be there. In doing so, he uncovers a horrific tale of murder, incest and cannibalism that spreads throughout the neighbouring villages that surround Phooka Wood.
Their investigation takes them to all corners of their roundabout world; from Mortal End to the oozing Hamlet of Stifle and Little Napoo. Along their colourful journey, we are introduced to a larger than life cast from Doc Sheare the barber surgeon, Verrye Brutall the handsome woodsman, Beliala Bigswoln the publican's daughter, Baron Rubigo Bluebeard and Umbra the Bogyman.
Everyone seems to have a secret that they are trying to hide that could give clues to the horror of Phooka Wood. Even Ænus P. Wordsworth has something to hide!"
Why does guilt hang heavy in this village like offal in a stew? What secret has the God-fearing Ænus P. Wordsworth kept so carefully? Where have all the children gone? These and many other questions will be answered when you read Mortal End.
This fantasy whodunnit 'Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery,' is filled with mystery and humour, a tantalising sense of suspense and absurd darkness, which will capture your imagination in a way no other murder mystery ever has.
Synopsis:
"A lightning storm sparks a fire deep in Phooka Wood.
The following morning, Mortal End's self righteous rector Ænus P. Wordsworth, his sidekick Savant Poe and a motley crew of villagers venture into the wood to see what damage has been done.
To their amazed befuddlement, right in the centre of the seared earth is a giant mound of molten toffee and within it, a selection of human remains.
Ænus P. Wordsworth takes it upon himself to find out who these bones belong to and how they came to be there. In doing so, he uncovers a horrific tale of murder, incest and cannibalism that spreads throughout the neighbouring villages that surround Phooka Wood.
Their investigation takes them to all corners of their roundabout world; from Mortal End to the oozing Hamlet of Stifle and Little Napoo. Along their colourful journey, we are introduced to a larger than life cast from Doc Sheare the barber surgeon, Verrye Brutall the handsome woodsman, Beliala Bigswoln the publican's daughter, Baron Rubigo Bluebeard and Umbra the Bogyman.
Everyone seems to have a secret that they are trying to hide that could give clues to the horror of Phooka Wood. Even Ænus P. Wordsworth has something to hide!"
Why does guilt hang heavy in this village like offal in a stew? What secret has the God-fearing Ænus P. Wordsworth kept so carefully? Where have all the children gone? These and many other questions will be answered when you read Mortal End.
178 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2014
6 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Toula Mavridou-Messer
21 books7 followersToula Mavridou-Messer has written all of her life. She started typing her first novel at the age of two and just never looked back.
At the age of 12 she won a coveted Blue Peter badge for writing a script for Grange Hill.
At 15, Toula was a regular gossip columnist for Gay News, alongside her lifelong friend Jane Goldman.
Then at the ripe old age of 22 came 2nd in a Write A Blockbuster competition for a national women's magazine with something she cobbled together in an hour.
Apart from being a talented author, Toula Mavridou-Messer is also an extremely talented photographer.
She and her graphic designer husband James are the brains behind the series of 100% Photography books.
Before dedicating her life to creating books, Toula Mavridou-Messer was one of the world's most successful Celebrity Producers, working on shows on both sides of the Atlantic.
James Messer is an all round artist in every sense of the word. He became a published illustrator in his early 20's and currently earns a living from his graphic/ digital design and illustration work.
From a very young age, James could be found drawing and illustrating using his first love of ballpoint pen until the graphics tablet was invented. He now uses a combination of pen and digital to create his own original and 'quirky' designs and artworks.
Inspired by artists such as Edward Gorey and with a love of sci-fi and the surreal, James spends much of his spare time writing and illustrating his own unique children's books, designing book covers and creating “monsters”.
At the age of 12 she won a coveted Blue Peter badge for writing a script for Grange Hill.
At 15, Toula was a regular gossip columnist for Gay News, alongside her lifelong friend Jane Goldman.
Then at the ripe old age of 22 came 2nd in a Write A Blockbuster competition for a national women's magazine with something she cobbled together in an hour.
Apart from being a talented author, Toula Mavridou-Messer is also an extremely talented photographer.
She and her graphic designer husband James are the brains behind the series of 100% Photography books.
Before dedicating her life to creating books, Toula Mavridou-Messer was one of the world's most successful Celebrity Producers, working on shows on both sides of the Atlantic.
James Messer is an all round artist in every sense of the word. He became a published illustrator in his early 20's and currently earns a living from his graphic/ digital design and illustration work.
From a very young age, James could be found drawing and illustrating using his first love of ballpoint pen until the graphics tablet was invented. He now uses a combination of pen and digital to create his own original and 'quirky' designs and artworks.
Inspired by artists such as Edward Gorey and with a love of sci-fi and the surreal, James spends much of his spare time writing and illustrating his own unique children's books, designing book covers and creating “monsters”.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 16, 2014
I'm rarely able to read more than the first chapter of a book but Mortal End seems to have been written for people like me. It is delivered in bite size chapters which end almost as soon as they've begun; enticing me to 'just read one more chapter'. Easy to read and yet containing the largest collection of formerly unknown 'big words' I've ever encountered it's also suitable for the more book savvy. Despite it's subject matter it is light-hearted in it's delivery and the clever way the writer expresses herself is a joy to behold.
September 14, 2014
What a fun, deliciously dark tale. A quick read cleverly filled with mystery and humour that takes you into the underground world of Mortal End and it's bleak, devilish goings on. Toula has created some extraordinarily bizarre characters that keep you hooked in this intriguing whodunit. A good read.
October 22, 2014
Great read, the writer transports you on a fantasy journey of murder and mystery. Each scene was set with eloquent perfection if i shut my eyes i could feel myself in the moment. The character's with their extraordinary names and colourful appearance coming to life before my eyes. Well worth a read and an ideal gift for Halloween
August 17, 2014
Toula Mavridou-Messer has one of the most creative minds I have ever come across, in fact, her imagination knows no bounds!
September 25, 2014
Not only is Mortal End an engrossing story, it’s a book that makes you think. I’m not ashamed to say that I had to grab the dictionary a few times to find out definitions for the words she uses and I have a fairly good vocabulary. Had a wonderful time reading this story and couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out who did it. If you enjoy dark, but easy to read mysteries, I definitely recommend Mortal End: A Simmering Pit Of Jiggery Pokery by Toula Mavridou-Messer. This will be a great Halloween read!
June 3, 2024
You might realize by the title that this book contains a fair amount of wordplay of various sorts. Among the many characters are Verrye Brutall, Terrey Firma the gardener, along with his wife Urma Firma, and Dock Sheare the surgeon/barber in the town of Mortal End. You will regularly run across words that are not in your dictionary (especially the lame one included in the Kindle app) but you will understand all the same. Often they are variations of two or three combined words to create something new.
The story is one of those I refer to as "inside out". A lot of the ending is revealed in the prologue and then the story progresses with flashbacks thrown in to try to explain everything. It is a type of murder mystery. Everyone in there seems to be awful people. There is murder, incest, cannibalism, spouse abuse, and general depravity. Plus, this is seemingly meant to be a comedy.
I cannot recommend this to everybody since it is sure to offend. But, even with numerous typos, this is a well written story that keeps the mystery going to the end.
The story is one of those I refer to as "inside out". A lot of the ending is revealed in the prologue and then the story progresses with flashbacks thrown in to try to explain everything. It is a type of murder mystery. Everyone in there seems to be awful people. There is murder, incest, cannibalism, spouse abuse, and general depravity. Plus, this is seemingly meant to be a comedy.
I cannot recommend this to everybody since it is sure to offend. But, even with numerous typos, this is a well written story that keeps the mystery going to the end.
May 30, 2020
What a super book!
I absolutely loved that the chapters were nice and short so you could dip in for a ten minute read when I only had that amount of time to spare. Great writing style too. The story came to life with fabulous descriptions and rather shockingly dark twists which I really enjoyed. Definitely going to read more from this author.
I absolutely loved that the chapters were nice and short so you could dip in for a ten minute read when I only had that amount of time to spare. Great writing style too. The story came to life with fabulous descriptions and rather shockingly dark twists which I really enjoyed. Definitely going to read more from this author.
April 18, 2015
This book was a really interesting blend. It had a sort of Gaiman take on Terry Pratchett humor, which I found to be very interesting. It also managed to build an interesting and grotesque world.
It isn't often when I find a book that builds up a world quiet so well as this one. It really felt like the town had history to it, demented as that history may have been. History is a funny thing. It can easily be over-looked when creating a story and a lot of times it isn't a huge deal when such things happen. Walking the line between a vivid world and a vague world is an art in and of itself.
That is not to say, of course, that creating a world is not important. Far from. Environment is key as without it there is no way to influence the characters and their actions. That being said, there have been many great novels where the setting is secondary, such as Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan."
This novel, however, constructs an interesting and plausible world with ease. Further, it produces a history to that world and its characters. It does this without arduous details and lists of family histories, which is far from easy, even for the most seasoned of writers.
I also enjoyed how each character had their own motivations and plans. Each character had his own personality and way of doing things, yet they were also uniquely damaged and deranged.
There were, however, times when I felt that these characters fell a little flat, yet those times were few and far between.
No, if there were any real issues I had it would be that, at times, it felt as if the multiple threads of story were a little too spread out. It did not feel as though they connected and, during those times, I felt myself removed from the setting.
Aside from that, however, this book was quick, strange, and easy to read. If you are looking for a dark fantasy mystery that you can breeze through then this is a great place to come.
thesmokingpenandpad.blogspot.com
It isn't often when I find a book that builds up a world quiet so well as this one. It really felt like the town had history to it, demented as that history may have been. History is a funny thing. It can easily be over-looked when creating a story and a lot of times it isn't a huge deal when such things happen. Walking the line between a vivid world and a vague world is an art in and of itself.
That is not to say, of course, that creating a world is not important. Far from. Environment is key as without it there is no way to influence the characters and their actions. That being said, there have been many great novels where the setting is secondary, such as Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan."
This novel, however, constructs an interesting and plausible world with ease. Further, it produces a history to that world and its characters. It does this without arduous details and lists of family histories, which is far from easy, even for the most seasoned of writers.
I also enjoyed how each character had their own motivations and plans. Each character had his own personality and way of doing things, yet they were also uniquely damaged and deranged.
There were, however, times when I felt that these characters fell a little flat, yet those times were few and far between.
No, if there were any real issues I had it would be that, at times, it felt as if the multiple threads of story were a little too spread out. It did not feel as though they connected and, during those times, I felt myself removed from the setting.
Aside from that, however, this book was quick, strange, and easy to read. If you are looking for a dark fantasy mystery that you can breeze through then this is a great place to come.
thesmokingpenandpad.blogspot.com
February 21, 2015
In all seriousness, this is one of the worst books I have ever read. I only forced myself to finish it because it was so pitifully short and I feel more justified in leaving a scathing review if I do my part in suffering through it.
The author has apparently tried to write the book as though it were from the early 1900s, with flowery words and antiquated ideas. As such, it seems to be set in this time period. However, the author apparently was incapable of not throwing in multiple references to DNA.
The content is meant to be somewhat unsettling and twisted, but is, in fact, horrifying and nausea-inducing. Without being spoiler-y, cannibalism is part and parcel to the story. However, I did not sign up to hear about multiple cases of incest and raping a six year old.
Absolutely none of the characters are likeable; they all incite disgust for one reason or another.
And finally, the grammar errors are so ridiculous and obvious that Word would have caught them in spell check. It's a new level of not even trying. This isn't just snobbery, either--sometimes I had to stop my reading flow and restart a sentence because the author does not seem to know how to use a comma.
The author has apparently tried to write the book as though it were from the early 1900s, with flowery words and antiquated ideas. As such, it seems to be set in this time period. However, the author apparently was incapable of not throwing in multiple references to DNA.
The content is meant to be somewhat unsettling and twisted, but is, in fact, horrifying and nausea-inducing. Without being spoiler-y, cannibalism is part and parcel to the story. However, I did not sign up to hear about multiple cases of incest and raping a six year old.
Absolutely none of the characters are likeable; they all incite disgust for one reason or another.
And finally, the grammar errors are so ridiculous and obvious that Word would have caught them in spell check. It's a new level of not even trying. This isn't just snobbery, either--sometimes I had to stop my reading flow and restart a sentence because the author does not seem to know how to use a comma.
November 2, 2014
I received Mortal End through First Reads competition, and I’m so pleased I did as I probably would not have found this gem otherwise.
I really did enjoy Mortal End, the back cover describes it as an ‘Adult Fairytale’ which it is. I made the mistake of assuming it was more of a YA book before I read it and was pleasantly surprised almost as much as I was shocked by some of the content.
I would say Mortal End brings together some of the best aspects of Grimm’s Fairy Tales mixed with larger than life characters in a Tim Burton-esq way and adds a dash of sexual content and some great humour all wrapped up in a fantastic writing style.
I really did love the way the book is set out, short chapters, all less than 4 pages, the shorts being about 9 lines long, this gives the book a very snappy and to the point feel, usually flicking from scene to scene which helps hold your attention and makes it especially great for reading on my breaks at work. I also think this is one of those books that is even better then 2nd time you read it.
I will definitely be picking up any future releases by Toula Mavridou-Messer.
I really did enjoy Mortal End, the back cover describes it as an ‘Adult Fairytale’ which it is. I made the mistake of assuming it was more of a YA book before I read it and was pleasantly surprised almost as much as I was shocked by some of the content.
I would say Mortal End brings together some of the best aspects of Grimm’s Fairy Tales mixed with larger than life characters in a Tim Burton-esq way and adds a dash of sexual content and some great humour all wrapped up in a fantastic writing style.
I really did love the way the book is set out, short chapters, all less than 4 pages, the shorts being about 9 lines long, this gives the book a very snappy and to the point feel, usually flicking from scene to scene which helps hold your attention and makes it especially great for reading on my breaks at work. I also think this is one of those books that is even better then 2nd time you read it.
I will definitely be picking up any future releases by Toula Mavridou-Messer.
January 9, 2015
Just. WOW.
What a unique book! I loved this! This was a horror book with a mystery and a twist!
There were a few story lines bouncing around in this book. Each could have had their own books because they were so good.
I wish I had counted how many OMGs! and WHATs?! Came out of my mouth as I was reading this. The setting is explained in such unique details that right from the start; I could feel the desolation and oddness of the town this story takes place in. That feeling stayed with me throughout the book, which added to the eeriness I felt while reading it.
If you are looking for something different and unexpected, you need to read this!
What a unique book! I loved this! This was a horror book with a mystery and a twist!
There were a few story lines bouncing around in this book. Each could have had their own books because they were so good.
I wish I had counted how many OMGs! and WHATs?! Came out of my mouth as I was reading this. The setting is explained in such unique details that right from the start; I could feel the desolation and oddness of the town this story takes place in. That feeling stayed with me throughout the book, which added to the eeriness I felt while reading it.
If you are looking for something different and unexpected, you need to read this!
October 28, 2014
Great tale from beginning to end. Really gets you intrigued from the off and i found it a real page turner desperately wanting to find out what happens in the next page, let alone in the whole story.
Its nice to see an author try to do something different and she has really crafted her own style with a great imagination, powerful imagery and a gift for telling a great story.
Highly reccomended.
Its nice to see an author try to do something different and she has really crafted her own style with a great imagination, powerful imagery and a gift for telling a great story.
Highly reccomended.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews