Dennis Bisskit and the Basset Hound from Beacon's Bottom

by Stephen Ainley

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Dennis Bisskit and the Basset Hound from Beacon's Bottom is a farcical spoof of those action PI pulp mysteries of the 60s-70s. Released 30th January 2020 by Austin Macauley, it's 196 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a silly book in a silly series full of slapstick and groanworthy puns. It's peppered with the setup catchphrase "What could possibly go wrong" and about 75% of the narrative is the subsequent enumeration of what went wrong and how. Despite the author's inability to pass up a cheap joke, there are a number of genuinely funny scenes which surprised a bark of laughter from me.

The humor is slapstick, lowbrow, and goofy - think Austin Powers meets Jerry Lewis with a couple of Three Stooges crossovers. There are nonstop non-sequiturs which are never resolved or further referenced. There are jokes about bodily functions that will thrill anyone who still thinks fart jokes are funny. Negatives aside, there is *something* innocently charming about the characters and I enjoyed reading it (despite myself). The author is a decent writer and there's nothing bad about the nuts-and-bolts technical storytelling craft.

Short version: this is one for people who think slapstick comedy is funny. Three stars for me, likely four for lovers of punny humorous PI sendups (Austin Powers, etc). I'm rounding up to four stars because I knew what it was like going in.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes