Digital List Price:	$0.99
Kindle Price:	$0.00 Save $0.99 (100%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $7.49

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Doug Lamoreux

+ Follow

More books from this author

Corpses Say The Darndest Things (Nod Blake Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Doug Lamoreux (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 717 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Nod Blake Mysteries

See all formats and editions

It was a simple job: keep an eye on the minister's wife until she goes safely to bed. Then all hell broke loose.

The death of a beloved Chicago televangelist’s wife is only the beginning; someone is homiciding their way through the Temple of Majesty Church. Private eye Nod Blake - an aging throwback to an era of detecting on the mean streets - has been dumped in the middle of it all, on his head.

The resulting injuries seem to have opened a door to the hereafter: Blake believes dead people are talking to him. But are the victims really begging the gumshoe for help from the other side of the grave? When his nemesis, Detective Lieutenant Wenders, finds evidence that Blake is the murderer, the private dick's life becomes a great big soup sandwich.

Doug Lamoreux's 'Corpses Say the Darndest Things' is a riveting murder mystery with a sly sense of humor, set in 1979 Chicago where a maniacal killer on the loose in The Windy City... is the good news.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tremendous imagery... a solid who-done-it with a good twist in its tale. ... a terrific read - had me flicking pages, chuckling all the while, and powering on to find out what was going to happen next." - Aussie Book Reviewer

"I was quite taken with the book... Lamoreux is a clever writer and quite funny. He manages to combine humor with a very grisly murder mystery in an engaging manner. Considering the nature of the crimes, the combination shouldn't have worked but it did. I'd be happy to read more Nod Blake mysteries. I believe the author has found his genre." - J M McDole, Impact On-line

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GNJ3GEY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Next Chapter (November 12, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 12, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2925 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 ‏ : ‎ 431 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B08X7RKXG6

Best Sellers Rank: #3,589 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #15 in Psychic Suspense
- #35 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #81 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 717 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Doug Lamoreux

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

The last, quite possibly the least, Renaissance man, Doug Lamoreux (a father of three strong men and a grandfather), a lifelong horror film fan and child of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, recognized his incompatibility with the rest of the world - and gave it all up to act and write. He appeared in Mark Anthony Vadik's The Thirsting (aka Lilith) and Hag. He starred in Peter O'Keefe's Infidel and Boris Wexler's The Arab. All interspersed with forty years in theater (during which he fell off the stage twice). Now he writes swell horror novels. The first-ever Igor Award recipient from The Horror Society, Doug is a former Pushcart Prize nominee, Rondo Award nominee, and his novel, Dracula's Demeter, was a 2012 Lord Ruthven Award nominee for fiction.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

717 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Denna Holm

Intriguing mix of horror and mystery!

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014

Verified Purchase

Doug Lamoreux is fast becoming one of my favorite horror authors. He already had me well hooked with his three previous novels: The Devil’s Bed, The Melting Dead and Dracula’s Demeter. I read each of these three in less than two days. If life hadn’t stepped in the way I probably would have raced through in less than one.  As soon as I learned there was something new out by Lamoreux, I raced over to Amazon, intrigued by the title ‘Corpses Say the Darndest Things’. This story definitely has elements of horror, but it’s different from the other three in that it has a lighter, almost comedic, side that I found refreshing.

Katherine Delp is the wife of Chicago’s biggest, most popular, televangelist. Nod Blake is a private investigator who is hired—against his wishes through his over-eager secretary—to keep an eye on the soon-to-be-dead Mrs Delp. But her death is only the beginning, and the person who stands at the top of the police suspect list is Blake himself. This is only the beginning of Blake’s problems however. A nasty bump on the head seems to have opened a door for murdered victims to communicate with him, and they do so by forcing Blake to live through their murders as if he is the one being killed, feeling every second of their pain as they died.

I chuckled through some parts, enjoying the sharp wit of this old style detective story, while flinching through others. The plot remained complex, the characters 3D and fun to follow, as we watch Blake try to get to the truth of what’s taking place. The scenes where he experienced the murders personally were well-written, realistic and definitely able to make me cringe. Every time I thought I knew who the killer was, another bump was placed in the road, tossing everything back up into the air again. I enjoy trying to play the ‘who did it’ game with mystery detective stories, but I admit the twists and turns in this one kept me guessing right up until the end. A fast and fun read that I think fans of horror and mystery will both enjoy.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mb4pax

A nod to 40's and 50's detective stories but set in 1979. Nice twist.

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

A former cop now private detective, Nod Blake, is "forced" into taking a simple job of making sure the wife of a famous TV evangelist is safe in bed one night. But, it "all goes to H*** in a hand basket." With a sense of film noir in book form, Mr. Lamoreux sets this in 1979 with many references to Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Chandler, etc., and adds in 70's generational song titles. Tongue-in-cheek descriptors add depth and a strong sense of time and place to this twisted whodunit (and who keeps doing it) plot. Adding to what could be a "same-old-same-old" story is Blake's sudden painful and scary views into the dead persons' deaths. Cheeky dialogue and humorous internal dialogue keeps this moving along.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

bob strating

Noir with a twist

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is a throwback to the old noir movies like Maltese Falcon or The Big Sleep. In this book the hard-boiled private detective is hired to check into threats against a celebrity preacher and his wife. All of a sudden, bodies start stacking up and guess who is the lead suspect? Yep, our hero. There's a sassy secretary, a gorgeous damsel in distress, a few smarmy suspects, and pretty much everything this kind of story requires. One criticism, and it probably won't bother most people, but it did bother me. The private eye all of a sudden develops the ability to see what really happened just by touching people. Probably got hit in the head one time too many. Anyway, instead of actually solving the crime like all good gumshoes should, by sneaking around and interviewing unsavory characters, this one just gets the solutions flashed into his head. Kinda cheating in my view.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Barbara Rosenbalm

This is MORE than a Murder Mystery

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

I seldom get to sit down and read a book. Took a chance on this one, and I am so glad I did. Doug Lamoreux has outdone himself with this story. Sure, it's touted as a murder mystery and Lamoreux has written other creepy horror stories. But in this one you follow all the clues and try to figure out who is the murderer, but you also chuckle and maybe even laugh out loud as Blake stumbles through the caper, spewing his dry wit. I love Nod Blake and hope Lamoreux follows up with more adventures. He certainly has built a foundation for endless encounters of the Blake kind. Thanks Doug Lamoreux for the smart writing and fun story! I recommend this to ANYONE, especially if you like intelligent writing and humor. It's not just for mystery or horror story fans.

20 people found this helpful

Helpful

Maryann Miller

A Fun Read

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed Nod Blake, his pratfalls and his snappy dialogue. The mystery was well plotted, too, and suspects abound as Blake tries to find out who killed the preacher's wife. Blake is in the cross hairs from the cops and he needs to solve this before he gets arrested. The wacky cast of characters adds another layer of fun to the book.

Helpful

PATTI C. LAMOREUX

Surveillance (aka babysitting) is not just play!

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

Not only did the cover of the book intrigue my interest, but the line stating, "It was a simple job..." reached out and grabbed me. (I know about babysitting and it's not always simple)! And who would climb a tree while hired as a babysitter?

Detective Blake didn't want to do it, but his right-hand gal had already committed him to the job and how could he refuse? What could be so difficult about that anyway? What starts as a simple job turns into a roller coaster murder event.

Throughout the book Detective Blake has to justify his actions and decipher the clues. Some of which come from scripture. What? Rightly so, since his victim is the well-respected minister's wife. How ironic is that? At one point, Detective Blake climbs a tree to protect himself. But while he's straddling a branch, uses the opportunity to peer through dear Katherine Delp's bedroom window. Could this be the answer to the mystery?

Lamoreux's writing brings the story all together, while at the same time giving the reader the intuitiveness to make accusations and conclusions in every chapter. I had several 'A-ha' moments as he includes the title of the book and brings other pertinent details into fruition. Corpses say the Darndest Things is a laughable and thought-provoking story. I want more of Lamoreux's visions of Detective Blake's experiences!

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Paulina

Great story your going to love it

Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book turn out better then I thought and poor Blake had a hard go of it .this book is great to who buy it great story

JJ

A very entertaining read. Nod is a delight.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

I don't often give 5* and to be honest when I read the first few pages I didn't think I would like the book but once you get into the rhythm of the main character's wisecracking it really just zips along. Now if you don't like asides then you probably won't like this book but they are very pithy and made me smile throughout the story. Nod Blake is a great character, as are most of the people that I assume will appear in other books. Lots of shenanigans and action take place and yes I knew the 'baddie' before the end but I enjoyed getting to the end just as much as if I hadn't have done.

Have a look at a sample first before you buy and then you will see what I mean about the asides. If they don't drive you barmy then I fully recommend this book.

I'm looking forward to book #2.

2 people found this helpful

G. Timmer

stable

Reviewed in Canada on April 11, 2024

Verified Purchase

Liked the story but most of all, liked the author's sense of humour!

Kindle Customer Brian Stoddart

Definitely a book to buy.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

An exciting book with a storyline that kept me wondering what was going to happen next, this being the first book in a series I can't wait to read the rest of the books. This is a book I can truly recommend.

One person found this helpful

MC&SM

Non-stop wit

Reviewed in Australia on November 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

Tremendous imagery… in this book you are along for the ride inside the head of an irreverent, wise-cracking private eye on the trail of a murderer or two. It’s a solid who-done-it with a good twist in its tale. There’s a dash of the supernatural, which our down-to-earth, straight shooting (although gun-less) hero is completely unsuited to dealing with. There’s a whole lot of great stuff here: The depiction of his mother is brilliant. The clashes with an adversarial detective. Nod Blake’s assistant, our heroine, makes this book in the end… This is a terrific read – had me flicking pages, chuckling all the while, and powering on to find out what was going to happen next.