The Carrollian Tales of Inspector Spectre

In the first of these two crime fiction tales, R.I.P. (Restless in Pieces), modern grave-robbers steal the bones of Charles Dodgson (also known as Lewis Carroll), expecting to hold them for ransom. But they also discover a rare first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as well as one of Dodgson’s missing Diaries in the casket. This sets off a series of events, both deadly and comical, across England, Wales, and North Korea. Inspector Ian Spectre of Scotland Yard is brought in to solve the case, assisted by none other than Dodgson’s ghost.

The second tale, The Oxfordic Oracle, is set in Victorian Oxford. Inspector Spectre goes undercover to investigate numerous reported strange events during the meetings of the Oxford Phantasmalogical Society, where an actress prophesies under the influence of ethene gas escaping into the basement of the building. Charles Dodgson also makes a first time appearance at the Society meeting, which gets out of hand as too much ethene escapes and every one begins to prophesy nonsense which becomes the inspiration for some of the famous poems in Carroll’s Sylvie and Bruno books.