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Ghostly Shadows Shorts #4
Algernon Swafford: Private Investigator
Algernon Swafford belongs to no man!
Debonair, refined and proudly English, Swafford isn’t the usual private eye of 1940’s Los Angeles. Not only is he tougher than the others, he offers an extra service. For the right fee, he’ll not only track down the target, he’ll eliminate them.
Hired to do his worst to a disgraceful cad of an author, Swafford tracks him down to a Californian coastal town. He intends to kill him with a grin, but there’s something terrible about this new prey. A fantastical and weird secret that the likes of Swafford have never encountered.
The terrible forces of cosmic horror are about to be unleased, but is there anything Swafford can do to stop them?
A brand new British horror tale perfect for all fans of Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Mickey Spillane and hard-boiled crime.
Debonair, refined and proudly English, Swafford isn’t the usual private eye of 1940’s Los Angeles. Not only is he tougher than the others, he offers an extra service. For the right fee, he’ll not only track down the target, he’ll eliminate them.
Hired to do his worst to a disgraceful cad of an author, Swafford tracks him down to a Californian coastal town. He intends to kill him with a grin, but there’s something terrible about this new prey. A fantastical and weird secret that the likes of Swafford have never encountered.
The terrible forces of cosmic horror are about to be unleased, but is there anything Swafford can do to stop them?
A brand new British horror tale perfect for all fans of Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Mickey Spillane and hard-boiled crime.
- GenresHorror
61 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 18, 2019
4 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
F.R. Jameson
37 books221 followersF.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives in London with his wife and young daughter. He writes both historical thrillers and supernatural thrillers.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 3, 2019
Charles van Buren
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Detective noir meets Lovecraft
August 3, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: July 18, 2019
Language: English
ASIN: B07S9TJZVL
61 pages
A most politically incorrect short story of a hardboiled but polished private investigator with an inflated opinion of himself and his abilities. An Englishman working in Los Angeles, apparently in the 1970's but the setting seems older. Maybe it seems older because the politically incorrect attitude towards homosexuality which pervades the story was more prevalent, and in fact the accepted norm, in earlier decades. Well written and suspenseful but not by any means a happy story. As should be expected when an arrogant unbeliever meets Lovecraftian creatures.
I downloaded this story via Kindle Unlimited.
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Detective noir meets Lovecraft
August 3, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: July 18, 2019
Language: English
ASIN: B07S9TJZVL
61 pages
A most politically incorrect short story of a hardboiled but polished private investigator with an inflated opinion of himself and his abilities. An Englishman working in Los Angeles, apparently in the 1970's but the setting seems older. Maybe it seems older because the politically incorrect attitude towards homosexuality which pervades the story was more prevalent, and in fact the accepted norm, in earlier decades. Well written and suspenseful but not by any means a happy story. As should be expected when an arrogant unbeliever meets Lovecraftian creatures.
I downloaded this story via Kindle Unlimited.
July 28, 2019
Here's a great short story mixing noir & horror fiction in equal doses. Once again author FR Jameson shows that whether in a short story, a novella or a full length novel his characterisation is spot on.
February 22, 2021
Oh! .... I just gobbled down this delectable little noir-ish short story with a devilish twist.
I hope the author goes on to write more stories about Algernon, whether they be previous cases of his or new tales about what happened after the conclusion of this story.
I hope the author goes on to write more stories about Algernon, whether they be previous cases of his or new tales about what happened after the conclusion of this story.
July 19, 2019
A wonderful piece of writing!! I really enjoy a short story that packs a punch, and totally captures my interest. F.R. Jameson has certainly delivered that with this story. Great characters and an Interesting and entertaining plot made this a very enjoyable read.
Algernon Swafford thought he was far superior than any other private investigator that he had come into contact with. It wasn’t just the fact that he was British working in the USA, or his military background from the war, it was his intelligence and strength that set him apart. So, Algernon thought it was a fairly easy assignment to track down Jacob Ravens, who was meant to be a terrible human being, and fully deserved to die. Maybe Algernon should have just stayed home. Hands down, this is worth a read. 5/5 Star Rating.
Verified Purchase Amazon Australia
Algernon Swafford thought he was far superior than any other private investigator that he had come into contact with. It wasn’t just the fact that he was British working in the USA, or his military background from the war, it was his intelligence and strength that set him apart. So, Algernon thought it was a fairly easy assignment to track down Jacob Ravens, who was meant to be a terrible human being, and fully deserved to die. Maybe Algernon should have just stayed home. Hands down, this is worth a read. 5/5 Star Rating.
Verified Purchase Amazon Australia
July 19, 2019
One day I just had the voice of a character in my head. A smug, patrician Englishman with an over inflated sense of his own importance Once I had that voice, I wanted to write something in it immediately, I wanted – in a way – to take that character apart. Here's that story!
May 12, 2021
Algernon Swafford: Private Investigator (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 4)
By F.R. Jameson
Genre - Fiction/Horror/Noire/Short Story
Pages - 46
Format - Digital (Kindle)
Publication Information - Independently Published (July 18, 2019), ASIN: B07S9TJZVL
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewed by - William C. Bitner, Jr. https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...
I was looking for a few short reads and went to my Kindle Library to see what I had available. My search brought me to a few of F.R. Jameson’s short stories. This author is new to me. From his catalog of books it seems he’s been at his craft for some time. I love reading authors who are new to me. I seem to have made a good choice in picking the few shorts that I did because they were brilliant. This noir laced horror tale with an aristocratic, self indulgent, egotistic Englishman working as a Private Investigator in Los Angeles had me cringing and laughing all at the same time. I love dry humor, and this little gem is filled with enough tongue-in-cheek humor to satisfy your appetite for said humor for a long time. Combine humor with just the right amount of horror and you got something worth reading. I’m really enjoying getting to know this author. Highly recommend it if you like noir/mystery/horror/suspense. A wonderful little read. “Algernon Swafford may belong to no man, but I am not merely a man anymore, am I?”
From the back cover - “Algernon Swafford belongs to no man!
Debonair, refined and proudly English, Swafford isn’t the usual private eye of 1940’s Los Angeles. Not only is he tougher than the others, he offers an extra service. For the right fee, he’ll not only track down the target, he’ll eliminate them.
Hired to do his worst to a disgraceful cad of an author, Swafford tracks him down to a Californian coastal town. He intends to kill him with a grin, but there’s something terrible about this new prey. A fantastical and weird secret that the likes of Swafford have never encountered.
The terrible forces of cosmic horror are about to be unleashed, but is there anything Swafford can do to stop them?”
About the Author - F.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives with his wife and daughter in London. He writes thrillers; sometimes of the supernatural variety, and sometimes historical, set around the British film industry.
Other work by F.R. Jameson - “Diana Christmas: Blackmail, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 1)”, “Eden St. Michel: Scandal, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 2)”, “Alice Rickman: Obsession, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 3)”, “Foliage (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 1), “The Strange Fate of Lord Bruton: A Tale of the Gothic (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 2)”, “The Widow Ravens (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 3)”, “Sacrifice at St. Nicks (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 5)”, “The Caller”, “Death at the Seaside'', “Confined Spaces”, “Terror of Breakspear Hall”, “Call of the Mandrake”, “Certain Danger”, “Won’t You Come Save Me”, “The Hellbound Detective”, “The Wannabes” et al…
By F.R. Jameson
Genre - Fiction/Horror/Noire/Short Story
Pages - 46
Format - Digital (Kindle)
Publication Information - Independently Published (July 18, 2019), ASIN: B07S9TJZVL
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewed by - William C. Bitner, Jr. https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...
I was looking for a few short reads and went to my Kindle Library to see what I had available. My search brought me to a few of F.R. Jameson’s short stories. This author is new to me. From his catalog of books it seems he’s been at his craft for some time. I love reading authors who are new to me. I seem to have made a good choice in picking the few shorts that I did because they were brilliant. This noir laced horror tale with an aristocratic, self indulgent, egotistic Englishman working as a Private Investigator in Los Angeles had me cringing and laughing all at the same time. I love dry humor, and this little gem is filled with enough tongue-in-cheek humor to satisfy your appetite for said humor for a long time. Combine humor with just the right amount of horror and you got something worth reading. I’m really enjoying getting to know this author. Highly recommend it if you like noir/mystery/horror/suspense. A wonderful little read. “Algernon Swafford may belong to no man, but I am not merely a man anymore, am I?”
From the back cover - “Algernon Swafford belongs to no man!
Debonair, refined and proudly English, Swafford isn’t the usual private eye of 1940’s Los Angeles. Not only is he tougher than the others, he offers an extra service. For the right fee, he’ll not only track down the target, he’ll eliminate them.
Hired to do his worst to a disgraceful cad of an author, Swafford tracks him down to a Californian coastal town. He intends to kill him with a grin, but there’s something terrible about this new prey. A fantastical and weird secret that the likes of Swafford have never encountered.
The terrible forces of cosmic horror are about to be unleashed, but is there anything Swafford can do to stop them?”
About the Author - F.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives with his wife and daughter in London. He writes thrillers; sometimes of the supernatural variety, and sometimes historical, set around the British film industry.
Other work by F.R. Jameson - “Diana Christmas: Blackmail, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 1)”, “Eden St. Michel: Scandal, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 2)”, “Alice Rickman: Obsession, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 3)”, “Foliage (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 1), “The Strange Fate of Lord Bruton: A Tale of the Gothic (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 2)”, “The Widow Ravens (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 3)”, “Sacrifice at St. Nicks (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 5)”, “The Caller”, “Death at the Seaside'', “Confined Spaces”, “Terror of Breakspear Hall”, “Call of the Mandrake”, “Certain Danger”, “Won’t You Come Save Me”, “The Hellbound Detective”, “The Wannabes” et al…
July 21, 2019
Hired to deal with getting rid of a distasteful author, Algernon Swafford, has gotten himself into a strange and fantastical situation in F.R. Jameson's Algernon Swafford: Private Investigator.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
As an English private investigator in Los Angeles, Algernon is a bit out of place for what people are expecting of a PI in the 1940s. While Algernon is a good investigator, he's also for hire for elimination services, if you're in the know and can pay. When one such person hires him to get rid of Jacob Ravens, a cad of an author who has been leading a disgraced life, Algernon accepts and easily tracks his mark down. Confronting Ravens with his reason for finding him leads to Ravens revealing a shocking secret of fantastic proportions that if unleashed could wreak untold havoc at Ravens' behest.
Quickly-paced, this short story moves into the heart of the action rapidly while also providing plenty of description and context for the characters and their behaviors. This story connects a character discussed in The Widow Ravens to this narrative, adding to the interconnected, yet not-necessary-to-be-read-sequentially, world Jameson presents readers through various installments of his writing. Algernon is a humorous character whose witty remarks are tempered by the cosmically terrifying power that Ravens wields, transporting the story from a more lighthearted PI tale into one of a darker, more haunting nature.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
As an English private investigator in Los Angeles, Algernon is a bit out of place for what people are expecting of a PI in the 1940s. While Algernon is a good investigator, he's also for hire for elimination services, if you're in the know and can pay. When one such person hires him to get rid of Jacob Ravens, a cad of an author who has been leading a disgraced life, Algernon accepts and easily tracks his mark down. Confronting Ravens with his reason for finding him leads to Ravens revealing a shocking secret of fantastic proportions that if unleashed could wreak untold havoc at Ravens' behest.
Quickly-paced, this short story moves into the heart of the action rapidly while also providing plenty of description and context for the characters and their behaviors. This story connects a character discussed in The Widow Ravens to this narrative, adding to the interconnected, yet not-necessary-to-be-read-sequentially, world Jameson presents readers through various installments of his writing. Algernon is a humorous character whose witty remarks are tempered by the cosmically terrifying power that Ravens wields, transporting the story from a more lighthearted PI tale into one of a darker, more haunting nature.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
January 11, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC from the author.
I am not a fan of detective, PI, or cop anything. I find them boring. The MCs tend to be either over confident or clearly not smart enough to solve things, sometimes both at once. I find the mysteries predictable and often grow bored long before everything is finalized. I just couldn’t care less about if the bad guy gets caught, I often root for the bad guy just so the insufferable MC is taken out. Jameson seems to understand the tropes of the mystery genre and the cop drama genre to a T. He not only wrote a character that fit the bill of exactly why I hate the genres, but he did it in a way that gave me my wish.
I love happy endings, but what counts as happy depends on who you are. Sometimes happy is a reference to unspeakable supernatural horror, just saying. So I hated the MC. The rampant homophobia fit the character in a way that made me hate him more, but did not make me doubt the author. It is really rare that I read homophobia and go “this actually fits in this story and is not being used as a crutch”. Instead the homophobia showed just how deep the MC thought of himself and hated all that was different than him. He was very much that big man on campus that thought he could do no wrong and bashed anyone who wasn’t him. It was a big flaw and one I was more than happy to see exploited. I won’t go into any more detail, because I don’t want to reveal the happy (for me) ending.
I think my favorite part of this novella was the bad guy. Though if I am being honest, what I really enjoyed was he was potentially the husband of my favorite character that Jameson has written. So it was nice to see who he really was in the flesh, instead of just hearing about him. I could totally be off base with this theory, but I just love that character so much that it is worth forcing it to fit. Trust me, Jameson can write a killer female bad guy (pun intended. You should know that by now. All puns are intended).
While I am still not a fan of the genre, I would gladly read more in it if it was written by Jameson. His stories always have something that I can’t predict and the way he writes is wonderful. The way he is able to really get distinct voices for his MCs is impressive and I usually love and loath how far into their heads Jameson can get me.
I got an ARC from the author.
I am not a fan of detective, PI, or cop anything. I find them boring. The MCs tend to be either over confident or clearly not smart enough to solve things, sometimes both at once. I find the mysteries predictable and often grow bored long before everything is finalized. I just couldn’t care less about if the bad guy gets caught, I often root for the bad guy just so the insufferable MC is taken out. Jameson seems to understand the tropes of the mystery genre and the cop drama genre to a T. He not only wrote a character that fit the bill of exactly why I hate the genres, but he did it in a way that gave me my wish.
I love happy endings, but what counts as happy depends on who you are. Sometimes happy is a reference to unspeakable supernatural horror, just saying. So I hated the MC. The rampant homophobia fit the character in a way that made me hate him more, but did not make me doubt the author. It is really rare that I read homophobia and go “this actually fits in this story and is not being used as a crutch”. Instead the homophobia showed just how deep the MC thought of himself and hated all that was different than him. He was very much that big man on campus that thought he could do no wrong and bashed anyone who wasn’t him. It was a big flaw and one I was more than happy to see exploited. I won’t go into any more detail, because I don’t want to reveal the happy (for me) ending.
I think my favorite part of this novella was the bad guy. Though if I am being honest, what I really enjoyed was he was potentially the husband of my favorite character that Jameson has written. So it was nice to see who he really was in the flesh, instead of just hearing about him. I could totally be off base with this theory, but I just love that character so much that it is worth forcing it to fit. Trust me, Jameson can write a killer female bad guy (pun intended. You should know that by now. All puns are intended).
While I am still not a fan of the genre, I would gladly read more in it if it was written by Jameson. His stories always have something that I can’t predict and the way he writes is wonderful. The way he is able to really get distinct voices for his MCs is impressive and I usually love and loath how far into their heads Jameson can get me.
February 13, 2020
Though the story is well written, as I have come to expect from this author, it's unsettling to read a story that is the antithesis of the detective tale. Even if the detective is not a modern knight errant, walking mean streets without being infected by that meanness himself, we still feel a need for a moral compass that redeems him in some way, that puts a barrier of some kind between pursuer and pursued. In a Raffles or a Quarry story, even in one of the Dexter books, there is some aspect of the protagonist's nature that allows us to set aside our aversion for the sake of justice served. That aspect is missing from Swafford's nature, so it's difficult to kindle any sympathy for his quest, no matter how black he paints the soul of the object of his hunt. That said, though, the story is emotionally engrossing, grabbing the reader from the beginning and dragging him through to the end.
September 5, 2021
Algernon Swafford is a PI in 1940s Los Angeles. A new client hires him to track down the despicable person who ruined their family - that man is the contemptible Jacob Ravens. Algernon has an inflated sense of self - he's better than other PIs. He'll even go that bit further if the price is just right. He's also a bit of a backward character for today's times. He's not politically correct by any means - although sadly, for the 1940s, he's most likely the norm. I liked the return of Jacob Ravens, who I last read about in The Widow Ravens. This is a well written and fast paced horror noir that made me want to know more about the featured characters.
3.5
3.5
September 14, 2021
Algernon is a skilled P.I. who tracks down and sometimes even kills people if the money's right. But he's in for a surprise when he meets Mr. Ravens.
I really liked that this one was connected to The Widow Ravens story. It was interesting to learn a bit more about Mr. Ravens himself and his strange abilities.
I really liked that this one was connected to The Widow Ravens story. It was interesting to learn a bit more about Mr. Ravens himself and his strange abilities.
October 9, 2021
I loved the way this one tied in to the short story before it. I knew what was coming but that didn't stop me from enjoying the spooks and tension along the way. F.R. has a way of writing that I sometimes have no idea the time period it's coming from. It's not necessarily bothersome but in this story, it kept coming to mind.
December 16, 2019
An enjoyable read from a new author to me. I'll be seeking more of F.R. Jameson's work in the future..
November 5, 2019
Great story!
Another excellent horror short story from the ever reliable F R Jameson. The tension is gripping throughout, and the author has an amazing ability to bring the reader into the main character's head.
Another excellent horror short story from the ever reliable F R Jameson. The tension is gripping throughout, and the author has an amazing ability to bring the reader into the main character's head.
October 19, 2019
I thought the story was good. The story has a good twist into the plot. Very well written. Nice steady pace. Characters, wanting to know more about them. I never expected the ending, I thought it would have gone a different way, but it didn't. I hope to read more from the author's bookshelf.
Got for an honest review.
Thank you for sharing your book with us.
Got for an honest review.
Thank you for sharing your book with us.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews