A Corpse Called Bob

Izzy Palmer Mystery #1

by Benedict Brown

Izzy’s childhood dream is about to come true. Oh, and someone’s going to murder her boss.

Nobody at work liked Bob Thomas, but who hated him enough to finally do him in?

When Izzy Palmer finds her much loathed boss stabbed to death in his office, she’s convinced she’s the only one who can solve the case. Izzy is a crime fiction devotee, a life-long fan of whodunits and she’s determined to find the killer. Okay, the police have zero interest in her help, her best friend is acting super suspicious and she might sort of, possibly be falling for one of the suspects, but she won’t let any of that get in her way. She's almost certainly the detective that South London has been crying out for.

Will a detailed knowledge of every golden-age mystery plot be enough to work out who killed Bob or could Izzy end up as the next victim? A Corpse Called Bob combines all the intrigue of a classic Agatha Christie novel with the wit and warmth of Sophie Kinsella.

Early readers have described the book as, “a hilarious mix of classic detective story and modern murder mystery which keeps you gripped to the very end.”

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Crime, Humor, Mystery Thriller

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2019

About the author

Writing has always been my passion. It was my favourite hour a week at primary school, and I started on my first, truly abysmal book as a teenager. So it wasn’t a difficult decision to study literature at university which led to an MA in Creative Writing. I spent a long time writing kids’ books, including funny fairy tales, dystopic adventures and serious issue-based YA, before switching to murder mysteries last year.

I grew up in a crime fiction family and spent a long time dreaming up the idea for my detective Izzy Palmer’s debut novel. A Corpse Called Bob is my first full-length book for adults in what is already becoming a long series.

I’m a Welsh-Irish-Englishman originally from South London but now living with my French/Spanish wife and slightly muddled daughter in Burgos, a beautiful city in the north of Spain. I write overlooking the Castilian countryside, trying not to be distracted by the vultures and red kites that fly past my window each day.

Reviews

[Ted Tayler · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Quirky"

There are very few writers who can match Agatha Christie in the murder mystery genre. It's almost impossible to add humour of this style into the mix. As a result, after a promising start I found myself increasingly irritated by Izzy and her failed attempts to make me laugh. One book in this series will be enough for me.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

First person narrative can be tricky if you do not have a well developed character or better yet a multilayered character. Izzy is borderline adolescent in her approach to life, telling the story from her point of view hurts the narrative. If one takes Agatha Christie’s example (she was quoted many times) Hastings narrates the story and show us Poirot at his best. Can you imagine Poirot as the central character narrating his adventures?

It does not help that the characters are almost cartoonish, from Izzy to their parents to Ramesh and Wendy. I thought Izzy was an eccentric 29 year old but almost everyone in her life including her is either eccentric or stuck in an eternal juvenile approach to life.

For some reason Izzy does not react to situations like a woman, from friendships to love, she is like a 13 year old boy or girl.

The story also lacked depth and it repeats itself but the worst part was the revealing, not at all Agatha Christie.

I received a novella that I will read but if the main character and the plot continues to be childlike then I will stop and give up on the series.

[Nancy Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2

I loved Izzy right away, then quickly came to love her best friend and her family. This is a fun, funny cozy with a complex plot that moves along at a good pace. This is the second series I've read by this author. I wasn't sure I'd like it as much, but was won over quickly. Now I have more Benedict Brown books to catch up on!

[John Presler · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Izzy Palmer arrives at the office one morning, she goes to her manager, Bob's office, to deliver an assignment only to find her boss dead. Almost immediately after entering the office, Wendy, one of the office busy-bodies, screams that she has killed Bob. Even though she had just arrived at the offices of Porter & Porter, Wendy does not care and insists that Izzy is the killer. The only problem is she has absolutely no proof - only her apparent hatred for Izzy. While Wendy is busy spreading unfounded accusations, Izzy calls the police to report the murder.

Bob was not popular around the office and just about everybody was a target of his insults and harassment. Having read every Agatha Christie mystery, Izzy is determined to solve Bob's murder.

Who hated Bob enough to murder him? Why was he killed? Can Izzy and Rahmed untangle the lies and expose the murderer?

Benedict Brown has created a wonderful mystery series with fantastic characters, who are witty and weird. There are plenty of twists, turns, and red herrings to keep the reader engaged clear to the end.

[BonusMom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite there

This book started out as a light and fun read, with a murder scene right at the beginning, followed by loads of humor. However there was lots of repetition and drawn out narrative with an ending, in my opinion, that was ridiculous and frustrating, rather than edge of your seat riveting. I will give he next one a go, just because I liked the humor in the beginning of this one.

[Ferne Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that ruined this book for me was the comparisons to Agatha Christie. Other than having multiple suspects and Izzy's attempt to gather them together at the end to identify the murderer, it's nothing like Agatha Christie. It is more comical then mystery. It is a good story but don't expect great mystery. There is more content about Izzy's love life then there is about the mystery.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

Another will written British 🏰 romantic family and friends relationships murder mystery adventure thriller novel by Benedict Brown (The Lizzy Palmer Mysteries book one). Lizzy is at work delivering paper work to Bob. She finds him dead. Who killed him? Why? Someone attempts to kill Lizzy. It turns out that he is hired by Bob. Why? Lizzy keeps looking and solves the case. I would recommend this novel and author to 👍 readers of British 🏰 mysteries novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa read books 📚. 2023 👒😤😇

I find British 🏰 and European novels to be much different than US authors novels. Happy reading

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evil Murder

Set in East Croydon, England, this humorous murder mystery promises to be a great series. Izzy Palmer is 6'3", an avid Christie buff, works as an assistant data analyst's assistant, and her BF is head of I.T. When the cruel Deputy Director is murdered, and Izzy finds the body, she feels compelled to solve the case. Her family makes it a team sport.

[Nancy Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood but this book went on and on. The murderer wasn't a surprise,
sadly. I don't know if I have the patience to try another one.

[Anita Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I usually figure out modern mysteries before the middle of the book. Not this one! Read it! You will be glad you did.

[Alice Kanaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me with the title. I don't know why, exactly, except I am always saying 'Bob's your uncle' and when I saw 'A Corpse Called Bob' I had to read it. It made me laugh.
Anyway, I loved Izzy Palmer, her friends, and her family. The plot was entertaining and tricky. I'm not great at guessing endings, but I was surprised at the end. I intend to read the next book in the series and would recommend it for anyone who likes a good whodoneit.

[Krystyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bucket list

A terrific read. Okay i must admit that i live in the area and it does make it more real. But I have also worked with and for people like Bob. Who had no excuse for their behaviour, at least he knew his fate. The characters are real, so real in fact that you can see them in your minds eye and your emotions are tugged along with their suffering. Plus you probably have come across the bully's "pet" and had to suffer there too. The plot is the murder of an obnoxious bully who has made life hell not only for his staff, senior management but also the customers that he's supposed to be dealing with. Our heroine who lives in her own mind more than she will admit is accused of the murder by some of her colleagues. Secrets, sins and vengeance all come to light as she and her BFF look into the murder. Can they work out who and why?
This was poignant, amusing and a jolly good read. Loved it.

[Vicki Giansante · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked Benedict Brown's "Murder at the Spring Ball" - a 1920s English mystery, so I got this one next. It is a modern day British mystery, but was not quite my cup of tea. It is good, but I guess the 'hilarity' of it isn't my style. I did want to know what happens next, however, so I got a free sample of the next book in the series to see where it is headed, but don't think I'll read the rest of it. Others who better appreciate modern day British humor might like it more than I did.

[Jeff D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, quirky and easy read. There are some laughs to be found and well worth the afternoon or so it will take to read. I did take off 1/2 star due to the over use of the phrase " tossed a carrot baton into my mouth" - has to be a dozen ways to say "ate a carrot" but nope - author went with carrot baton each time ( I stopped counting at 4x - who eats that many carrots? I assume calling carrot sticks batons is an english thing.)

[Billie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very light prose

Great concept. Writing style aimed for Young Adult audience. Heroine lacked maturity. She had too much adolescent angst. The mystery itself was actually good but main character lacked the depth of reflection . She was over self involved and needed a little less strained effort to be clever. Again, too adolescent for a grown person.

[Debra B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts out kind of slow and I wasn't sure I would finish the book, but then the story really takes off as Izzy and her co-worker Ramesh set out to solve the mystery of who killed Bob. Izzy channels her inner Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to tickle out a most unexpected ending!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and funny.

This would be a great beach read, if only I could get to the beach during the pandemic. I'll probably forget much of it before too long, which is what I consider to be a prime asset of beach reads.

[Magiccats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my kind of humor. A bit quirky as another reviewer has indicated. I found myself losing patience with the problem-solving that seemed to go on forever..... This led to skipping pages just to find out who did it. And sure enough, it was exactly who I suspected.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Character was somewhat interesting, story line was a bit drawn out.

[Larry R Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard kind of book to write

I think this is a very hard kind of book to write. What's hard I think is to sustain the level of humor without stumbling into cliche and stereotype and 50-year-old jokes from the Catskills. Very nice to see Mr Brown pull it off. And I enjoyed it. Fresh humor and really not too much for even the most sensitive people to find something to be offended by. I try to say funny things sometimes, but way too high a percentage of the time I see an opportunity for what I call a lazy joke, you know some kind of spouse joke or an old people joke, that's what I mean by 50-year-old jokes from the Catskills. And too often I take that easy joke and it's never funny. Young people look at me like I am some kind of bug. And I think to them I must be so. I've done away with all that and I'm pleased that Mr Brown seems not to resort to it. I've got another thing I'm worried about now. I read a lot of new Amazon authors and I found that a good high percentage of them write a great first novel, and if not great then definitely readable. What seems difficult is to write the second and third ones and sustain the level of the first one. Now personally I think part of that is market driven because they're told to write sequels because there is a pre-existing audience. How many of the greatest writers you could name wrote series of seven or nine or 19 books with the same characters? Asimov and Herbert and McCaffrey, yes, but those are genre writers, even if great ones. I think the problem in addition to sustaining the level of creative wit, is what the sitcoms face and even the weekly drama TV shows like Star Trek for instance. There could be no major changes. Characters had to come back next week more or less like they were this week. These shows even had a Bible to specify what couldn't change. Yes that's loosened up with the story arcs. And yes TNG killed Tasha, but that's such a rarity that I would call it the exception that proves the rule. Writing a detective series just looks like that would be tough to me. I see there's eight more so I'll have a chance to find out. I'm truly hopeful.

[Angie Boyter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable tale with a REALLY clever denouement!
When Izzy Palmer enters Bob Thomas’ office and finds him dead with a knife sticking out of his back, she is shocked, but not as shocked as you might expect, because EVERYONE in the office hates the guy. She is also excited, because this is her chance to play Hercule Poirot, a role she take on with real alacrity, down to the grand denouement at the end involving a gathering of all the suspects. And it is a GRAND denouement worthy of Poirot or Miss Marple. I did NOT see it coming, but it all fit after Master Detective Izzy sussed out all the clues.
Izzy narrates the book as well. She is a likable heroine, and the story flows really well. It was a perfect choice for high-quality entertainment, and I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in the series, as well as the free novellas the author offers if you sign up for his mailing list.
In all honesty, though, I have to mention the one flaw that disappointed me and was the reason I did not give the book five stars. As likable as she is, Izzy’s attitude towards possible romantic partners reminded me of a fourteen-year-old, and it becomes annoying. The author is male, and I might recommend he get some advice on writing that aspect of his stories from a female friend. But that will not stop me from reading or recommending this book.

[Richard Brulotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zany Detective Beware!

Izzy Palmer, who describes herself as plain faced and tall is definitely NOT what you expect when you think - detective. An Agatha Christie devotee who would love to be a detective like one of the detectives in her novels turns out to be a hodgepodge Hercule Marple Pink Panther one instead. A character and a half with a family crazier than a barrel of monkeys, Izzy goes about solving crimes in hilarious ways with assistance of a budding BFF - Ramesh. Regardless, she does correctly identify the culprit. Bob, is a despicable bully who terrorizes everyone at work as the “boss” is found dead in his office by Izzy. Falsely accused by others she works with, Izzy sets to work hunting down the real murderer. And true to most murder mysteries, she gets her man — or is it woman? Guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out!

[Glenn Younger · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s the ending…

As a lover of the 1920’s Lord Edgington and Christopher series as well as the stories with Marius and Bella, I thought I’d give Izzy in today’s time a try. So many people complained about the ending in the reviews, though, it took some long and hard thought before I pulled the trigger on my decision. Sigh. I agree about the ending. I was glad to see that someone like Bob was the one who had to go. I do not want to see his killer go to jail.

Here’s the bottom line. The book is fun. The cast of characters are unique. The writing is tight. If I’d gotten a sense of satisfaction at the ending, I’d’ve rated this book with an additional star or two. But I didn’t, and so I didn’t.

I will give book two a read. The jury is still out, though, on how big a fan I’ll be for modern day Izzy. I’m still carrying some residual frustration of dissatisfaction.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would actually rate this 3.5. Izzy is a pretty interesting character. Her family is amusing. If my library carried the series, or I could pick it up at the nearby used bookstore, I’d probably keep reading, However, I’m not intrigued enough to pay $14 per book to keep reading.
Izzy does minimal work at an office with a fairly vicious boss whose evil acts no one seems to curtail. Her mom is on her third husband; at least one ex stops by every day. Izzy happens to be notedly tall; her co-workers tend to call her Freak. She happens to adore reading mysteries, and fancies herself as a detective. One day she arrived at work to find the nasty boss murdered. One of her co-workers immediately starts yelling that Izzy did it. Izzy decides to investigate.
There are several amusing scenes.

[Lana Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and heartbreaking with a twist ending. Benedict Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Normally, I read his Lord Edgington mysteries but while waiting on his next book decided to try his first series with Izzy Palmer. It was hard for me to get into but but I carried on through the somewhat sophomoric story line I was suddenly presented with a mature heroine I came to respect and enjoy. It is a bittersweet read but I'm moving on the next with antication. Read the stand-alone Christmas book too with a mature Izzy dealing confidently with her interesting situation and again unexpected ending.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

convoluted mystery

First, let me say it did not end the way I wanted. Second, our protagonist spent too much time daydreaming possible scenarios. Ultimately, it was fairly good but never as good as the Lord Edgington books! These characters still carry a lot of “newness” about them, making the interactions somewhat stiff. Plus I cannot imagine any office run as poorly as this one or the employees allowed to be involved with such evil against others or the employees goofing off so much. Overall, not bad, but not great either. Here’s hoping the next book has smoother and more realistic interactions.

[Saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, gripping but lighthearted. I initially picked up this book as a light read on my lunch break, intending to read 10 mins a day. The first day I read 5 minutes. The second I read 15 minutes, had to tear myself away and spent the day looking forward to the next day's reading session. The third day I turned off my "get back to work" alarm, took the rest of the day off and finished the book. Good stuff. Some scenes read just like a sitcom scene. The characters were likeable and there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested. The final scene raised the tension particularly.

[Gemmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

I was initially attracted to this book by the cover design. It looked bright, fun, and mysterious. It reminded me of Jennifer Crusie`s funniest books like ' Getting Rid of Bradley ' (not her romance books ). The main character and her entourage are so much fun! I spent the whole time trying to figure out Who Done It. I didn`t figure it out but the big reveal showed me the clues were all there. I sincerely hope the next in the series is as good. I hardly ever write reviews, but this is a hidden gem and I wanted other mystery readers to find it.

[JudyAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob, you rascal you!

I had read the Mistletoe Hall book and needed a break from high tension and suspense in other books I'm reading. So, I came back by Benedict.
This book is different from Mistletoe. It took me a while to get into it. I even sneaked to the end early on to get the culprit. But I'm glad I went back through and read the details because they are full of vitality and wit. I came to like Izzy.
Highly recommend this book. I'm going to take a break before the next one. I don't want to get used to the style and disrespect it. But I shall return.

[Laura Crognalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What got me interested in reading the book was that she based her skills on reading agatha Christie books. The trying to throw red herrings everywhere with everyone having a reason to knock off the boss was a bit much considering one clue at the beginning that gave me the killer. I didn't want at first but you figure it out as it goes on.
I enjoyed it and will read the next in the series. I think it would have been more interesting book if the case reminded Izzy of a particular Agatha Christie book and named the title near the end.