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Brian D. Meeks

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Henry Wood Detective Agency (Henry Wood Detective series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Brian Meeks (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 2,443 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Henry Wood Detective series

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Henry knew one thing…

Dames were trouble.

Would this client be the exception?

She walked in, sat down, crossed her legs, and asked for a light. Boy could she cross a leg. Before the woman had told him why she needed a detective, Henry wondered if she was playing him.

It was something about her. The red lips and smoldering eyes were just a little too perfect. She knew how to get her way. And the dress…

She wore a Dior dress that would make an hourglass self-conscious.

Was it the “damsel in distress” act?

This was the second one he’d seen this week.

Something wasn’t adding up.

1955 was going to be an interesting year.

You’ll love this noir mystery with a twist, because everyone loves a broken detective trying to do what’s right.

Get it now.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005ED65AM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (January 13, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 13, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 331 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 173 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,661 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,654 in Noir Crime
- #6,199 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- #56,047 in Crime Thrillers (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 2,443 ratings

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About the author

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Brian D. Meeks

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Brian D. Meeks is an author who writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne.

He discovered a knack for weaving tales quite by accident on Jan 2, 2010, and has been writing every day since. Becoming a novelist has changed his life.

As of September, 2015, Brian has written and published eleven novels and one non-fiction title.

His first novels were the books in the Henry Wood Detective series. After that, he wrote a thriller called A Touch to Die For and a YA titled Secret Doors: The Challenge. During this time he also maintained the blog that started it all, ExtremelyAverage.com.

One reader of the blog asked why he hadn't written anything more snarky, since there were often piles of snark in his blagh posts. Brian didn't have a good answer and so Arthur Byrne was born.

Arthur Byrne started out as the protagonist in Brian's first satire, Underwood, Scotch, and Wry. He became a pen name with the release of Killing Hemingway and later wrote the first trilogy in a new science fiction series, The Magellan Apocalypse. Arthur also writes a lot of the snarky newsletters because Brian just can't be bothered with such things.

Brian lives in a small town in Iowa, plays tennis and golf, and loves gathering data about his books. He's a data junkie. He is also a huge fan of guinea pigs.

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4 out of 5

2,443 global ratings

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Broke_Daddy

Henry Wood Detective Agency

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2014

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After reading the third book in the series I had a few questions. This second effort answered them, sort of the how and who is stuff. I think this is really a tightly written book, with a good plot, good twists and Henry of course is a great character. Usually, when I find a great read, I start to slow down as I near the end because I don't want to reach the end. Knowing that I have the fourth book next in my reading stack (which is fairly large) I read this very quickly.
The book and so far the series has been engaging and entertaining. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone, but would suggest starting at the beginning of the series.

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Mike Reeves-McMillan

More depth of characterization than average

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2013

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I picked this up when it was on free promotion. I thought it was a straight detective story, but in fact there's a mysterious closet that dispenses woodworking equipment and advice from the future. It was a rewarding read, and I'm now reading the sequel, which I bought.

One of the best things about noir for me is the language, and this book has some lovely turns of phrase. "She wore a Dior dress that would make an hourglass self-conscious", "Henry's flash of genius was looking more like a flash of imbecile" and "The falling snow painted a layer of clean on the city" were three that I highlighted. I wish there had been a lot more of these. On the downside, there are a number of small language errors, few very major, and the dialogue is stiff (mostly without contractions) and doesn't always fit the speaker very well. The Frenchman doesn't sound French, and the Italian gangsters don't sound like Italian gangsters. The author doesn't always put his commas where they belong, either, especially around names. It's pretty much a wash between that and the wonderful phrases for me, so three stars for language.

The characters, apart from their dialogue, are good. The main character, Henry, has more depth than the average private dick, with his woodworking hobby and his love of books, and he also, apparently, makes good money at it, since he has an office, an apartment and a house. The secondary characters also seem like real people with emotions and motivations and concerns, and aren't just cliches out of Cental Casting. Four stars for characters.

The plot is adequately mysterious and suspenseful, and the detective makes steady progress on solving the puzzle, which is important got me in a detective story. Four stars.

The setting is 1950s New York. It somehow doesn't give me that strong a 50s vibe, though it's certainly New Yorkish. The science-fictional element is neither explained in the book nor, really, essential to the resolution, but I assume it becomes more important later in the series. Three stars for setting.

The cover doesn't do the book justice, and needs improvement. Almost anything would improve it.

Overall, I liked this book and will be following the series, so it gets an overall four stars from me.

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Grouch

Knocking on Wood

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2015

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This is book 1 in the Henry Wood Detective series and I found it to be a typical dime store mystery novel: easy to read and fairly short. I have also read Book 3 in the series and I do not think there was much different in the author’s presentation. There are fifty six short-short segments, not unlike a daily entry in a journal, in this book. This arrangement gives the impression of can be a distraction to the reader.
Lots of interesting characters and a simple mystery with a predictable ending is a good epitaph for this book. Would make a good TV mystery series; maybe.
Like his other book there is one line that stands out as the highlight and only remembered line, “She sat down and crossed her legs. Boy could she cross a leg.”
I gave the book a three star review and recommend it for a read while waiting for your plan, bus, or train. I probably will not read any more from this series

4 people found this helpful

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Tsays

Character and writer both have stories to share!

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2011

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I truly enjoyed this book, the writing is wicked as a whip and the main character, Henry Wood, is the sword bachelor you hate to love. The character is rich with quirks and the story itself is simply engrossing.

But, it isn't just the story within the book that's so fascinating to me, its the story of the book's birth and the cleverness of the writer in making a dream, that most say is impossible, come true. What really sets Brian apart from the rest of the publishing world is that he gets social media and he's challenging the publishing world to play by HIS rules by creating demand for his writing and stories before he officially "published" but what does that mean to a guy like Brian anyway who goes beyond the blog to publish in a self-made socially empowered way everyday.

As a social media addict, I first became aware of the author on Twitter, but it was the development of Henry in blog format that really caught my attention. The character and the story were first fleshed out a blog, the author, Brian Meeks continued to push his development of a character, a brand and his own social media prowess, by creating a Facebook profile for the business of the main character (Henry Wood). The Facebook page currently includes updates from the author on various processes, but it has the potential to be the brand portal for the Detective Agency. I have a feeling that the only think stopping this Facebook from being completely fleshed out are time limitations for an author whose breaking new ground by publishing his blog serial to Kindle, Ipad and an actual book.

I'll be looking forward to seeing more of Henry's character and more from Brian as he blogs, tweets and status updates his way to serial book success.

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A. Ghefner

Yes, worth reading - mystery and more...

Reviewed in Canada on July 26, 2019

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A mystery novel, nicely written; interesting characters and a surprise: time traveling objects. I just loved it!

Sourabh Annasaheb Marathe

Three Stars

Reviewed in India on January 19, 2017

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nice

Andrea

troppo sbrigativo e un po banale

Reviewed in Italy on February 27, 2016

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anche se ho apprezzato molto com'è strutturato, con capitoli brevi che leggi velocemente, e senza perdersi in troppe descrizioni inutili, la storia l'ho trovata abbastanza banale e molto poco realistica, nonostante sia un romanzo ambientato in tempi e luoghi reali. complessivamente non ha soddisfatto le mie aspettative, sullo stesso genere ci sono libri secondo me migliori

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Eleanor Sandra Morris

Edge of understanding

Reviewed in Spain on October 26, 2015

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I really enjoyed reading this book, his style of writing kept me from putting the book down.. Have purchased nos 2&3

Aletheuon

I'm not sure why I liked this book so much

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2015

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I'm not sure why I liked this book so much. It is a bit weird, really. The story is quite meaty and complex, set in the 1950s and involving organised crime and a tough but nicely human private eye. The oddity comes from the fact that the private eye has a closet in which he finds items from the future which provide clues in solving the mystery. There's no attempt to explain this. It just happens. The clues are pretty cryptic and Henry still has to work hard and use his not inconsiderable intelligence to work it all out. The central characters are off-beat and interesting, even if some of them come from the author's having watched a lot of American movies from the era. The whole inexplicable concoction was engrossing and satisfying, tough yet strangely innocent. One could identify with Henry's dilemmas and sympathise with his struggles, which were considerable. I definitely want to read the rest of the Henry Wood stories.

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Henry Wood Detective Agency (Henry Wood Detective series Book 1) Kindle Edition

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