How To Look After Bert Reynolds

by Laurence Cramer

Anja DesMoine lives a quiet life and works at a crisis hotline in a small town in northeastern Kentucky. But when a man is found gruesomely murdered, a boy commits suicide under strange circumstances and an Australian bearded dragon called Bert Reynolds goes missing from the scene of a crime, things start to get uncomfortable for Anja, who has a few secrets of her own. Anja goes on the lam, and the murder investigation, under the dubious leadership of Lieutenant Simon Kretzmar, takes on the quality of a comedy of errors. As the bodies pile up, Anja and Kretzmar must confront the things they most fear in family, failure and being alone. How to Look After Bert Reynolds is a rollercoaster of a novel, a gripping but oddball whodunit with a cast of offbeat characters, a dazzling array of pop culture references and a very unlikely hero. It's a story about a series of murders, about life in a small town, but also about making peace with one's past and finding friendship in unexpected places.

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Laurence Cramer was raised in Johannesburg and now lives in a small town. He is interested in organic farming, beer-making and cooking. He rides a classic Royal Enfield Bullet 350 and his favourite colour is orange.

Reviews

[Lesley Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Gothic humour married to cloned pulp-fiction characters along with a bearded dragon. Murders galore, all leading back to the (spoiler alert) crisis call-centre in a small town...great ride right up till the ending. A very clever romp, just not for the slightly squeamish!

[Clarice De Lange · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no clue what this book is about but whatever it is, I feel like I want to vommit