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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Third in the Ishmael Jones dark urban fantasy sci-fi series and revolving around an alien-transformed-to-human super-secret operative with his human partner, Penny Belcourt.
My Take
Aha! The series arc is Ishmael Jones. Okay, too obvious, you say? The wrinkle is that Ishmael lost his memory seventy-some years ago and has been operating in the dark. Now his memory is starting to come back. And it’s scaring Penny.
It's literally a narrative hook with that first line — "Call me Ishmael" and incorporates a dark-and-stormy-night plot beat. The story itself is a bit Jack Reacher and a bit James Bond with a healthy dose of Green’s Nightside and Secret Histories series — and this is the first time that Green mentions the Droods, specifically.
Ishmael thinks of his strategy much as Reacher does, and our knowledge of it comes through from that first-person protagonist point-of-view, since we get are able to get inside his head. Of course, it’s not just Reacher-type thinking, but also Reacher-type winning, and I do so enjoy Ishmael letting loose on the “bad" guys, lol.
Green makes use of past narrative flashbacks to provide us with background on Ishmael, Penny, Chris, and the Organisation, and they're a good example of providing info without dumping it on the reader.
It always blows my mind that people are so intent on keeping secrets that could help clear the mystery up, although since it is a locked-room(s) mystery, it’s inevitable that there are facts unknown.
The Story
Their last agent murdered, the Organisation is sending Ishmael Jones to Scotland to be in charge of all the security for the conference with the remit to root out the imposter within the Group and discover who murdered a fellow agent.
It may appear to be an unnatural creature, but Ishmael doesn't believe in ghosts. He does believe in creative humans, and he intends to expose whoever it is. IF he can act fast enough before everyone is murdered.
The Characters
In 1963, Ishmael Jones’ spaceship crashed, but the transformer was also damaged, not enough that it couldn’t transform Jones into a human-like being, but enough that Ishmael’s memories were lost. He’s been a dark secret agent since then in return for their protection. Penny Belcourt has been his human partner since the end of The Dark Side of the Road, 1.
The Baphomet Group is…
…made up of twelve economic movers and shakers who make the decisions that affect the world. They answer to no one, not even their own names. Instead they have adopted the months of the year. December is their chairman. October, a financial genius, is always running late. January and March are pretending to have an affair. August is having his own affair. All the families have had dealings with the hidden world.
Irwin is one of the private security people. John Smith is one of the chauffeurs. The professional escorts include Scarlett who is a former field agent, the Lovely Lola, Georgina who is a professional tomboy, Maurice as the muscle man, Lady Paine is la Belle Dame sans Merci, Range Rider, and Wanda Whiplash.
Coronach House is…
…located on the shores of Loch Ness and is rented out to interested parties. The Major Domo, a.k.a., Helen McGregor, is in charge. Emily, Ruby, and Laura are maids. Holroyd is another of the staff.
Christopher Baron is what he calls himself these days, and he’s the current Head of House Security. He’s known Ishmael from way back in the day, 1964 to be exact, and he isn’t aging, either.
The Organisation is…
…a super-secret group whose mission is to protect Humanity from things that don’t officially exist. This new Colonel (who has a stick up his backside and is incredibly frustrated that he doesn’t know all he wants about Ishmael) is the middle man. Jennifer Rifkin was the first agent assigned to the Baphomet conference.
Black Heir is a similar organisation that cleaned up after alien contacts, salvaging any tech they left behind. Other organisations that either Ishamel or Baron worked with included the Science Pirates, the Beachcombers, and the Demon Runners. Crow Lee had been the Most Evil Man in the World. The Case of the Positive/Negative Double Agent screwed up both their careers. The Immortals were a group of shapeshifters who wanted to rule the world. The Droods are a family who have watched over the world, ensuring its survival, and terrifying world governments and bad guys. Frank Parker was a traitor in Dead Man Walking, 2.
The Cover and Title
The cover is so very dark with its blacks and deep, deep blues. Ishmael, his shoulders hunched in jacket and jeans, stands before Coronach House in a stark landscape under dark and stormy skies, just a hint of moon allowing us to see the house. All the text is in white with the series information at the very top, the author’s name burnt and distressed immediately below it, the title in its thin font is below that, and informational blurbs are at the very bottom.
The title is for the Baphomet Group, for they make Very Important Corpses.
My Take
Aha! The series arc is Ishmael Jones. Okay, too obvious, you say? The wrinkle is that Ishmael lost his memory seventy-some years ago and has been operating in the dark. Now his memory is starting to come back. And it’s scaring Penny.
It's literally a narrative hook with that first line — "Call me Ishmael" and incorporates a dark-and-stormy-night plot beat. The story itself is a bit Jack Reacher and a bit James Bond with a healthy dose of Green’s Nightside and Secret Histories series — and this is the first time that Green mentions the Droods, specifically.
Ishmael thinks of his strategy much as Reacher does, and our knowledge of it comes through from that first-person protagonist point-of-view, since we get are able to get inside his head. Of course, it’s not just Reacher-type thinking, but also Reacher-type winning, and I do so enjoy Ishmael letting loose on the “bad" guys, lol.
Green makes use of past narrative flashbacks to provide us with background on Ishmael, Penny, Chris, and the Organisation, and they're a good example of providing info without dumping it on the reader.
It always blows my mind that people are so intent on keeping secrets that could help clear the mystery up, although since it is a locked-room(s) mystery, it’s inevitable that there are facts unknown.
The Story
Their last agent murdered, the Organisation is sending Ishmael Jones to Scotland to be in charge of all the security for the conference with the remit to root out the imposter within the Group and discover who murdered a fellow agent.
It may appear to be an unnatural creature, but Ishmael doesn't believe in ghosts. He does believe in creative humans, and he intends to expose whoever it is. IF he can act fast enough before everyone is murdered.
The Characters
In 1963, Ishmael Jones’ spaceship crashed, but the transformer was also damaged, not enough that it couldn’t transform Jones into a human-like being, but enough that Ishmael’s memories were lost. He’s been a dark secret agent since then in return for their protection. Penny Belcourt has been his human partner since the end of The Dark Side of the Road, 1.
The Baphomet Group is…
…made up of twelve economic movers and shakers who make the decisions that affect the world. They answer to no one, not even their own names. Instead they have adopted the months of the year. December is their chairman. October, a financial genius, is always running late. January and March are pretending to have an affair. August is having his own affair. All the families have had dealings with the hidden world.
Irwin is one of the private security people. John Smith is one of the chauffeurs. The professional escorts include Scarlett who is a former field agent, the Lovely Lola, Georgina who is a professional tomboy, Maurice as the muscle man, Lady Paine is la Belle Dame sans Merci, Range Rider, and Wanda Whiplash.
Coronach House is…
…located on the shores of Loch Ness and is rented out to interested parties. The Major Domo, a.k.a., Helen McGregor, is in charge. Emily, Ruby, and Laura are maids. Holroyd is another of the staff.
Christopher Baron is what he calls himself these days, and he’s the current Head of House Security. He’s known Ishmael from way back in the day, 1964 to be exact, and he isn’t aging, either.
The Organisation is…
…a super-secret group whose mission is to protect Humanity from things that don’t officially exist. This new Colonel (who has a stick up his backside and is incredibly frustrated that he doesn’t know all he wants about Ishmael) is the middle man. Jennifer Rifkin was the first agent assigned to the Baphomet conference.
Black Heir is a similar organisation that cleaned up after alien contacts, salvaging any tech they left behind. Other organisations that either Ishamel or Baron worked with included the Science Pirates, the Beachcombers, and the Demon Runners. Crow Lee had been the Most Evil Man in the World. The Case of the Positive/Negative Double Agent screwed up both their careers. The Immortals were a group of shapeshifters who wanted to rule the world. The Droods are a family who have watched over the world, ensuring its survival, and terrifying world governments and bad guys. Frank Parker was a traitor in Dead Man Walking, 2.
The Cover and Title
The cover is so very dark with its blacks and deep, deep blues. Ishmael, his shoulders hunched in jacket and jeans, stands before Coronach House in a stark landscape under dark and stormy skies, just a hint of moon allowing us to see the house. All the text is in white with the series information at the very top, the author’s name burnt and distressed immediately below it, the title in its thin font is below that, and informational blurbs are at the very bottom.
The title is for the Baphomet Group, for they make Very Important Corpses.
meganh123's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
whiskydj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Very Important Corpses, by Simon R. Green
Ishmael Jones, 03
★★★★☆
201 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, forced proximity, shape-shifters
Triggers: mentions of gore, violence and supernatural beings, mentions of escorts
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
As the third book in the Ishmael Jones series, Very Important Corpses takes a new slant on the outlandish crimes Ishmael is tasked with investigating. A clandestine financial body are gathering on the bank of Loch Ness for their annual meeting and an Organisation agent has already been killed in the household. It's up to Ishmael to find out how and why, as well as root out one of the members – called principals – who may be an imposter. Worse, when he arrives, he's also told that there's a journalist posing as a member of staff but no one is sure who they are.
With mysteries abound, it's no wonder it takes a long time for Ishmael and Penny to piece the solution together. That's also helped by the fact there are easily three times as many suspects as any of the previous books.
Our cast includes the usual: the Colonel, Ishmael and Penny. It also introduces the Major Domo of the house, twelve principals who all have one guard each, as well as their own staff, chauffeur and the household staff. That makes a little over forty residents in the house, who are all stuck with each other as murder rampages throughout the house.
(NOTE: I wrote Major Domo on purpose, because that's how she's written in the book, however the only reference I can find for her title online is the majordomo.)
Another interesting note about the cast is that one of the security members is an old Organisation member, Baron, who Ishmael has worked with and against multiple times in the past. His presence is enough of a distraction for Ishmael, but also poses some interesting questions about Ishmael's past when we discover Baron has had access to Ishmael's file and knows secrets about his past that he really shouldn't know.
The story is full of twists and turns, a lot of second guessing and misdirection. Again, it's a little hard to come up with a plausible theory of what and who because so many of the connections are in Ishmael's head and not always shown on page until the last minute. However, they all seem perfectly plausible within the world that's written, and I always suspect the right person very early on, but for entirely my own reasons – usually just the Agatha Christie logic of who has the most access and who is most conveniently placed to make events unfold.
As usual, I find Ishmael highly interesting as a main character and we finally get to see a little of that deeply rooted alien-ness coming out in this book. It made for a good continuation of the worry he's had that the deeply buried part of himself is fighting to be set loose. Then there's Penny, who I adore. She's so smart, strong and funny, strong and playful. She's not afraid of being vulnerable or ashamed of being afraid, but she's also not afraid to take care of Ishmael when he needs reassurance.
Overall, it was a solid book and I'll enjoy continuing the series into the next book and beyond.
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Very Important Corpses, by Simon R. Green
Ishmael Jones, 03
★★★★☆
201 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, forced proximity, shape-shifters
Triggers: mentions of gore, violence and supernatural beings, mentions of escorts
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
As the third book in the Ishmael Jones series, Very Important Corpses takes a new slant on the outlandish crimes Ishmael is tasked with investigating. A clandestine financial body are gathering on the bank of Loch Ness for their annual meeting and an Organisation agent has already been killed in the household. It's up to Ishmael to find out how and why, as well as root out one of the members – called principals – who may be an imposter. Worse, when he arrives, he's also told that there's a journalist posing as a member of staff but no one is sure who they are.
With mysteries abound, it's no wonder it takes a long time for Ishmael and Penny to piece the solution together. That's also helped by the fact there are easily three times as many suspects as any of the previous books.
Our cast includes the usual: the Colonel, Ishmael and Penny. It also introduces the Major Domo of the house, twelve principals who all have one guard each, as well as their own staff, chauffeur and the household staff. That makes a little over forty residents in the house, who are all stuck with each other as murder rampages throughout the house.
(NOTE: I wrote Major Domo on purpose, because that's how she's written in the book, however the only reference I can find for her title online is the majordomo.)
Another interesting note about the cast is that one of the security members is an old Organisation member, Baron, who Ishmael has worked with and against multiple times in the past. His presence is enough of a distraction for Ishmael, but also poses some interesting questions about Ishmael's past when we discover Baron has had access to Ishmael's file and knows secrets about his past that he really shouldn't know.
The story is full of twists and turns, a lot of second guessing and misdirection. Again, it's a little hard to come up with a plausible theory of what and who because so many of the connections are in Ishmael's head and not always shown on page until the last minute. However, they all seem perfectly plausible within the world that's written, and I always suspect the right person very early on, but for entirely my own reasons – usually just the Agatha Christie logic of who has the most access and who is most conveniently placed to make events unfold.
As usual, I find Ishmael highly interesting as a main character and we finally get to see a little of that deeply rooted alien-ness coming out in this book. It made for a good continuation of the worry he's had that the deeply buried part of himself is fighting to be set loose. Then there's Penny, who I adore. She's so smart, strong and funny, strong and playful. She's not afraid of being vulnerable or ashamed of being afraid, but she's also not afraid to take care of Ishmael when he needs reassurance.
Overall, it was a solid book and I'll enjoy continuing the series into the next book and beyond.
jennilathrop's review against another edition
2.0
UGH! Seriously. This is EXACTLY the same story as the previous two books. If it were a stand alone book, it would be great. But it's not. This is the THIRD book in the series and it is EXACTLY the same as the previous two. Not similar. Not kind close. EXACTLY THE SAME.
Two agents are sent to a house with some kind of supernatural killer. The house is on lock down while Jones has to figure out who did it and stop it before everyone dies. But, unfortunately, almost everyone dies before he can figure anything out. But not to worry. His alien super powers save the day at the last minute, he gets the killer and they wander off. Which book did I describe? Surprise! All three.
This one was actually WORSE because the person who did the killing is exactly who you think it is. Because you find out how he did it before it's even done. In chapter two. And despite every sign to the complete opposite, Jones continues to trust this person with out question. While I as a reader shouted at every plot development that the monster is killing someone right now and this is how he did it.
At this point, I think I will have to abandon this series. How disappointing. I miss the Nightside books.
Two agents are sent to a house with some kind of supernatural killer. The house is on lock down while Jones has to figure out who did it and stop it before everyone dies. But, unfortunately, almost everyone dies before he can figure anything out. But not to worry. His alien super powers save the day at the last minute, he gets the killer and they wander off. Which book did I describe? Surprise! All three.
This one was actually WORSE because the person who did the killing is exactly who you think it is. Because you find out how he did it before it's even done. In chapter two. And despite every sign to the complete opposite, Jones continues to trust this person with out question. While I as a reader shouted at every plot development that the monster is killing someone right now and this is how he did it.
At this point, I think I will have to abandon this series. How disappointing. I miss the Nightside books.
prideguy's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Straight up murder mystery with a bit of mythology thrown in. Well done.
chaosqueen's review
5.0
This series is so consistently good, I'm in utter awe. I love the characters, the mystery, even the horror, and I'm not really a horror fan. Ishmael and Penny are phenomenal together and apart.
Gonna go listen to book 4 now. Bless Graphic Audio for releasing both so close together.
Gonna go listen to book 4 now. Bless Graphic Audio for releasing both so close together.
nick_borrelli's review against another edition
4.0
There are times when I just want to read something that is not too complicated or involved. I found myself in that situation after reading and reviewing a few heavy books recently. With that in mind, I took to NetGalley to find a title that had the potential to be fun, light, and just pure escapism without my having to remember 50 characters’ names and houses. I stumbled across Very Important Corpses by Simon R. Green because of the cover mostly. Yes, they say never judge a book by its cover, but this one drew me in for some reason and made me want to read the synopsis. Simon R. Green is traditionally a fantasy/sci-fi author and I had heard of his work before but had never read anything by him. Quickly skimming the synopsis of the book, I saw that it was a supernatural mystery of sorts that took place in Scotland and also involved Loch Ness. I’m a sucker for anything to do with the Loch Ness monster so Mr. Green, you had me at Nessie! I guess you could say there is a degree of ridiculousness to that but there’s a part of me that really enjoys ridiculousness and I won’t apologize for it. In short, if I was looking for something that was solely pure escapism, this passed the test for me as far as the premise went anyway.
As soon as I received the advance reading copy from the publisher, I eagerly immersed myself in the story. Essentially the story is a mystery, but there are so many supernatural aspects to it that it can also be considered a dark fantasy or even horror to a certain degree. Ishmael Jones is an agent who works for a shadowy black ops organization known strangely enough as “The Organization”. Oh, and that’s not all. Did I tell you that Ishmael is an alien? Yes you heard me correctly; he’s an alien and the only survivor of his alien starship crash-landing in southwest England in the year 1963. Did I mention something about being attracted to ridiculousness earlier? But as I said, this is exactly what I was in the mood for and so I kept on reading. As I turned the pages, the story began to take shape and I settled in for what quickly become a very entertaining yarn. Ishmael is charged by his boss, known only as The Colonel, with investigating the murder of one of the Organization’s operatives. The operative was found dead in her room at the historic Coronach House on the shores of Loch Ness while performing security duties protecting the Baphamet Group. The Baphamet Group is a collection of the 12 most influential people in the world who meet annually in such secrecy that their names are only known by the months of the year. The most senior member being December, next senior being November, and so on. What is discussed at these meetings is unknown, but it has been surmised that the Baphamet Group controls and influences the world economy as well as the governments of many countries. Not only has an operative of The Organization been murdered, but it is also revealed that one of the members of the Baphamet Group may have also been taken out and replaced with an imposter for some devious reason. Ishmael embarks on his mission to Coronach House with his partner Penny to attempt to hopefully uncover the dual dead-body mystery. As soon as he arrives; however, it is obvious that not only do the staff at Coronach House not want him there, but the Baphamet Group as well. Good thing that Ishmael doesn’t take no for an answer. Think of Ishmael as Harry Dresden with more cockiness and you’ve pretty much encapsulated his personality. It becomes clear very early on in the book that someone is hiding an extremely important secret from Ishmael and that the murdered operative may have stumbled across a revelation that necessitated her being eliminated before she could speak to anyone about it. The question is, was it a member of the Baphamet Group or one of the many staff members at Coronach House? Couple all of this with a side-story about the Loch Ness Monster and a few other local monster legends, and you’ve got a multidimensional supernatural mystery that delivers on a number of levels.
I really liked Very Important Corpses. It kept me thoroughly entertained for a few nights before bed and I would classify this book as a perfect night time read. It was exactly the kind of book that I wanted to read to scratch my particular itch, so to speak. At just over 200 pages, it was also a relatively quick read. That’s not to say I liked everything about it. I did have some minor quibbles. For one, I thought the main character Ishmael Jones tended to be a bit over-the-top at times. I got a little weary of him constantly getting what he wanted too easily and bullying everybody into submission. I understand that this was probably by design, but it still grated on me after a while. Also, the characters weren’t fleshed out that much which I thought made them a bit two dimensional at times. That being said, neither of these things made me want to put the book down and I was able to set it aside as I approached the final reveal. And what a reveal it was! In the end, I was left very satisfied and this will definitely not be the last Simon R. Green book that I read. I am interested to check out some of his other works because I really do enjoy the way he delivers a story. Bottom line: I recommend Very Important Corpses if you are looking for a fun, scary, and entertaining read before bedtime.
As soon as I received the advance reading copy from the publisher, I eagerly immersed myself in the story. Essentially the story is a mystery, but there are so many supernatural aspects to it that it can also be considered a dark fantasy or even horror to a certain degree. Ishmael Jones is an agent who works for a shadowy black ops organization known strangely enough as “The Organization”. Oh, and that’s not all. Did I tell you that Ishmael is an alien? Yes you heard me correctly; he’s an alien and the only survivor of his alien starship crash-landing in southwest England in the year 1963. Did I mention something about being attracted to ridiculousness earlier? But as I said, this is exactly what I was in the mood for and so I kept on reading. As I turned the pages, the story began to take shape and I settled in for what quickly become a very entertaining yarn. Ishmael is charged by his boss, known only as The Colonel, with investigating the murder of one of the Organization’s operatives. The operative was found dead in her room at the historic Coronach House on the shores of Loch Ness while performing security duties protecting the Baphamet Group. The Baphamet Group is a collection of the 12 most influential people in the world who meet annually in such secrecy that their names are only known by the months of the year. The most senior member being December, next senior being November, and so on. What is discussed at these meetings is unknown, but it has been surmised that the Baphamet Group controls and influences the world economy as well as the governments of many countries. Not only has an operative of The Organization been murdered, but it is also revealed that one of the members of the Baphamet Group may have also been taken out and replaced with an imposter for some devious reason. Ishmael embarks on his mission to Coronach House with his partner Penny to attempt to hopefully uncover the dual dead-body mystery. As soon as he arrives; however, it is obvious that not only do the staff at Coronach House not want him there, but the Baphamet Group as well. Good thing that Ishmael doesn’t take no for an answer. Think of Ishmael as Harry Dresden with more cockiness and you’ve pretty much encapsulated his personality. It becomes clear very early on in the book that someone is hiding an extremely important secret from Ishmael and that the murdered operative may have stumbled across a revelation that necessitated her being eliminated before she could speak to anyone about it. The question is, was it a member of the Baphamet Group or one of the many staff members at Coronach House? Couple all of this with a side-story about the Loch Ness Monster and a few other local monster legends, and you’ve got a multidimensional supernatural mystery that delivers on a number of levels.
I really liked Very Important Corpses. It kept me thoroughly entertained for a few nights before bed and I would classify this book as a perfect night time read. It was exactly the kind of book that I wanted to read to scratch my particular itch, so to speak. At just over 200 pages, it was also a relatively quick read. That’s not to say I liked everything about it. I did have some minor quibbles. For one, I thought the main character Ishmael Jones tended to be a bit over-the-top at times. I got a little weary of him constantly getting what he wanted too easily and bullying everybody into submission. I understand that this was probably by design, but it still grated on me after a while. Also, the characters weren’t fleshed out that much which I thought made them a bit two dimensional at times. That being said, neither of these things made me want to put the book down and I was able to set it aside as I approached the final reveal. And what a reveal it was! In the end, I was left very satisfied and this will definitely not be the last Simon R. Green book that I read. I am interested to check out some of his other works because I really do enjoy the way he delivers a story. Bottom line: I recommend Very Important Corpses if you are looking for a fun, scary, and entertaining read before bedtime.
geohiker's review against another edition
4.0
I have loved this entire series, and read it all in paper. Very happy now that they are slowly coming out in audio, so I can enjoy them all over again! Green's books are great in audio format - I own nearly every book he's written in this "universe" of characters (Droods, Nightside, etc.) I love his use of repetitive language across all the books - it helps you feel like part of the world-building!
This one is a good addition to the series - they are all some version of a locked room mystery, with a little paranormal and a touch of sci-fi added it to make it interesting.
This one is a good addition to the series - they are all some version of a locked room mystery, with a little paranormal and a touch of sci-fi added it to make it interesting.