‘Hardboiled P.I. Alexander Southerland just wants to enjoy a quiet drink when a 500-pound troll walks into the bar.’

If this opening line from the blurb doesn’t give you an indication of the madness to come, then I don’t know what will!

A Troll Walks into a Bar is at once a tribute to the crime noir genre, and a cocktail of fantasy and mythological tropes. As with many detective stories, there is a build-up here that requires the reader to remain engaged and attentive, with the promise of serious pay-off in later chapters. Where this could prove a stumbling block for some, Douglas’s clever mixing of genres adds a whole other layer of intrigue and entertainment which helps add to a truly compelling tale.

Is this our world filled with crazy stuff, or a crazy world filled with our stuff? Essentially, both. Think of the world Douglas has created as a riff on the mundanities of life – a captivating element of the crime noir genre, when done right – as well as an ode to the gnomes, dwarves, and (of course) trolls of mythology. As with so many of the finest literary creations, this is both a weaving of styles and an entirely original beast in its own right. Get lost in the magical, mad, crime-riddled world of Douglas Lumsden today!