Books like 'The Exploding Detective'
Readers who enjoyed The Exploding Detective by John Swartzwelder also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi comedy mystery humor law-enforcement satire
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Dying Wishes by Colleen Helme
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShelby Nichols needs some time off, but for a mind-reader with ties to the police and the mob, is that even possible?Her kids want the dog she's promised them, the police need her to talk to a counselor, and Uncle Joey has unexpected news that could change her life. Is Shelby up to the task? Let's hope so, because solving a murder might be easier than granting a dying wish... -
![Space Team: The Time Titan of Tomorrow by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Space Team: The Time Titan of Tomorrow by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCal Carver's time is about to run out. He and his Space Team are broke. Forced to take low-paying gun-for-hire jobs just to keep the food replicator working, their prospects are not looking good. When they pick up a distress signal from a luxury space cruiser, they think their luck might be about to change. And it does. Sadly, not in the way they'd hoped... -
![Space Living by E.M. Foner]()
Space Living by E.M. Foner
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn space, the smartest sentient in the room is alien artificial intelligence.A visit to Union Station brings Flower the welcome addition of a honeymoon couple as the Dollnick AI prepares to host Rendezvous and promote her ship as THE place for humanity to do business... -
![The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh]()
The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsA writer in a totalitarian state is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child-murders that are happening in his town.'Sometimes you don't even know what you've been craving until the real thing comes along.' New York Times'McDonagh is more than just a very clever theatrical stylist. His tricks and turns have a purpose... -
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![Doctor Who: Shada by Gareth Roberts]()
Doctor Who: Shada by Gareth Roberts
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the unique mind of Douglas Adams, the legendary "lost" Doctor Who story has been completed at last by Gareth Roberts and narrated by Lalla Ward.The Doctor’s old friend and fellow Time Lord Professor Chronotis has retired to Cambridge University—where nobody will notice if he lives for centuries. But now he needs help from the Doctor, Romana and K-9... -
![The Rings of Grissom by Julia Huni]()
The Rings of Grissom by Julia Huni
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe thought being a space janitor was chaotic. Now she’s really in for a cleanup.Triana Moore lost her job as a maintenance technician when her boss discovered her true identity. But decluttering the galaxy isn’t just for janitors. When she visits the ringed planet Grissom with security agent Ty O’Neill for his sister’s wedding, Triana discovers just how messy life can get... -
![Bedside Manor by Jack Townsend]()
Bedside Manor by Jack Townsend
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“We were a thousand miles away from home when the car gave up the ghost…” When Jack’s car breaks down in the middle of a cross-country road trip, the mysterious house at the top of the hill is a beacon of hope. If he can borrow a phone to call for help, he’ll be on his way in no time. But someone - or something - has other plans... -
![Empire Night on Union Station by E.M. Foner]()
Empire Night on Union Station by E.M. Foner
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBook Eighteen of EarthCent Ambassador. Start series with Book One, Date Night on Union Station.The population of the Conference of Sovereign Human Communities hits a billion, triggering a previously unnoticed clause in the Tunnel Network Treaty... -
![Dead in the Water by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Dead in the Water by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDan Deadman's afterlife just hit an all new low. When a suspect explodes mid-interrogation and his office is taken over by an intergalactic despot, undead detective, Dan Deadman, reckons he's finally hit rock bottom. Banished to a dangerous underground hostel network, Dan becomes embroiled in a mass-murder investigation that will take him from the bowels of Down Here to the depths of the ocean... -
![ঘনাদা সমগ্র ১ by Premendra Mitra]()
ঘনাদা সমগ্র ১ by Premendra Mitra
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsঘনাদা বাংলা সাহিত্যের একটি জনপ্রিয় কাল্পনিক চরিত্র। ১৯৪৫ সালে প্রেমেন্দ্র মিত্র এই চরিত্রটি সৃষ্টি করেন। ঘনাদার প্রকৃত নাম ঘনশ্যাম দাস। ঘনাদা তাঁর মেসের প্রতিবেশী চার যুবককে নিজের জীবনের নানা অভিযান সম্পর্কে অবিশ্বাস্য ও আজগুবি গল্প মুখে মুখে বানিয়ে শোনান। ঘনাদার গল্পগুলি বানানো হলেও, এর অধিকাংশ তথ্যই বাস্তব ভিত্তিতে গৃহীত।সূচী: ১. ঘনাদার গল্প২. অদ্বিতীয় ঘনাদা ৩. আবার ঘনাদা৪. ঘনাদাকে ভোট দিন৫... -
![The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger, Gail Carriger]()
The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger, Gail Carriger
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA species that has no word for murder, has a murderer aboard their spaceship. ALIEN Tristol lives in exile. But he’s built a life for himself aboard a human space station. He’s even begun to understand the complex nuances of human courting rituals... -
![The Golden Apple by Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson]()
The Golden Apple by Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNausea, then microamnesia, then the laughing jag, then sex. Be patient. The clear light comes next. Then we can discuss Truth. As if we haven't been discussing it all along. -Hagbard Celine, The Golden Apple Illuminatus! Part II, from the original and genuine trilogy of conspiracies, is performed in all its unabridged brilliance by a full ensemble cast... -
![Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Four by Jack Townsend]()
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Four by Jack Townsend
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs the new owner of the worst business in history, Jack has a lot on his plate. His self-appointed “biggest fan” wants to finally meet, and won’t take no for an answer. The annoying cultists are back and cultier than ever. Plus, there’s a creature living under the building's crawlspace that must be fed regularly (or else)... -
![Melt by J.J. Pike, Mike Kraus]()
Melt by J.J. Pike, Mike Kraus
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA new, frighteningly realistic series from #1 best-selling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus. A bold scientific breakthrough? Or an end to modern society as we know it It was supposed to be a ground-breaking demonstration: "Melt" a newly created compound, promised to revolutionize waste processing... -
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![Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Space Team Universe just got a whole lot darker. In an alien city torn apart by crooked cops and ruthless criminals, private detective, Dan Deadman, specializes in cases unusual and bizarre... -
![The Case of the Damaged Detective by Drew Hayes]()
The Case of the Damaged Detective by Drew Hayes
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA mystery/road trip/buddy comedy/action adventure from the author of Second Hand Curses. A dance club full of bodies. Cause of death - a mystery. The lone survivor - a man, raving like a lunatic, wearing only a deerstalker hat. Now, the man who calls himself Sherman Holmes is being studied like a lab rat by a top-secret government agency... -
![Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman]()
Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis humorous tale describes how aliens, rather than visiting Earth to take over the planet, really visit to steal your pants... -
![The Humans by Matt Haig]()
The Humans by Matt Haig
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsBody-snatching has never been so heartwarming . . .The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable novel about alien abduction, mathematics, and that most interesting subject of all: ourselves. Combine Douglas Adams’s irreverent take on life, the universe, and everything with a genuinely moving love story, and you have some idea of the humor, originality, and poignancy of Matt Haig’s latest novel... -
![Love in the Time of Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith]()
Love in the Time of Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe latest installment in the delightful 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents up to their usual hilarious hijinks. In the microcosm of 44 Scotland Street, all of life's richness is found in the glorious goings-on of its residents... -
![Operation Sherlock by Bruce Coville]()
Operation Sherlock by Bruce Coville
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen their scientist parents are assigned to a top secret project on a small, remote island, the five members of the A.I. Gang have to come along, and find themselves trying to stop a spy from destroying the project... -
![Dead Men Scare Me Stupid by John Swartzwelder]()
Dead Men Scare Me Stupid by John Swartzwelder
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of a series of comedy science fiction novels featuring slow-witted detective Frank Burly. By John Swartzwelder, the writer of 59 episodes of The Simpsons... -
![সায়েন্স ফিকশান সমগ্র ৪ by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal]()
সায়েন্স ফিকশান সমগ্র ৪ by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsবাংলাদেশ ও বাংলা ভাষার কিংবদন্তী বৈজ্ঞানিক কল্পকাহিনী লেখক মুহম্মদ জাফর ইকবাল- এর আরো ৮ টি বৈজ্ঞানিক কল্পকাহিনী গ্রন্থের সংকলন।*ত্রাতুলের জগৎ*বেজি*ফিনিক্স*সায়রা সায়েন্টিস্ট*সুহানের স্বপ্ন*অবনীল*নায়ীরা*বিজ্ঞানী অনিক... -
![House of Shards by Walter Jon Williams]()
House of Shards by Walter Jon Williams
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsDrake Maijstral, the most daring Allowed Burglar in the galaxy, is now setting his sights on the Eltdown Shard, a spectacular necklace embodying the flame of a dying star. Through the media vids, the audience watches him--in an intricate plot designed to both steal the necklace and foil his major rival... -
![The Blonde Hurricane by Jenő Rejtő]()
The Blonde Hurricane by Jenő Rejtő
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA combination of thriller and love story, The Blonde Hurricane centers around the race to find a priceless family jewel concealed in a statuette of Buddha that an international band of crooks are after -- and so is Miss Evelyn Weston, the Blonde Hurricane, and without her knowledge, Eddy Rancing, who is in love with her, plus a host of others... -
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![Edison's Alley by Neal Shusterman, Eric Elfman]()
Edison's Alley by Neal Shusterman, Eric Elfman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBoth Nick and the Accelerati have learned that the strange objects Nikola Tesla left in Nick’s attic are pieces of a Far Range Energy Emitter, capable of transmitting “free energy” to the globe. Some components of the contraption are still missing, but the objects themselves seem to be leading Nick to their current owners. Each piece is with the person who needs it the most...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure audiobook book children children-books comedy -
![High Energy by Dara Joy]()
High Energy by Dara Joy
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of "Tonight or Never" comes the tale of a reporter and the physicist she's sent to interview--and it's turn into the sizzling story of true love and passion.Physics. Zanita Masterson knew nothing about the subject, and cared little to learn--until a reporting job led her to one Tyberius Augustus Evans... -
![Leviathan by Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson]()
Leviathan by Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe ultimate weapon isn't this plague out in Vegas, or any new super H-bomb. The ultimate weapon has always existed. Every man, every woman, and every child owns it. It's the ability to say No and take the consequences. - Hagbard Celine, LeviathanIlluminatus! Part III cheerfully ushers in the apocalyptic high-camp conclusion of the Illuminatus! Trilogy... -
![Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint]()
Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA freak accident renders an ordinary stock analyst invisible, and though invisibility has its pitfalls, he is able to eavesdrop his way into amassing a fortune in this side-splitting, tear-jerking mixture of fantasy and nightmare... -
![Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling]()
Qualityland by Marc-Uwe Kling
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsIn the near future sci-fi world of Qualityland, algorithms help create an idyllic life for its citizens, but what if the perfect world wasn't built for you?Welcome to QualityLand, the best country on Earth. Here, a universal ranking system determines the social advantages and career opportunities of every member of society... -
![Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]()
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsBroad humor and bitter irony collide in this fictional autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, who, at age seventy-one, wants to be left alone on his Long Island estate with the secret he has locked inside his potato barn... -
![A Whole Nother Story by Cuthbert Soup, Dick Hill]()
A Whole Nother Story by Cuthbert Soup, Dick Hill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Cheesemans are a family on the run. Mr. Cheeseman and his late wife invented a device so powerful and amazing that all sorts of evildoers want to get their greedy hands on it. Mr. Cheeseman and his three children must keep their identities secret and stay one step ahead of the villains as they run from town to town, escape dangerous situations, even change their names...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure animals audiobook book children children-books -
![Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen]()
Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnother instant classic from Carl Hiaasen—laugh-out-loud funny, tackling the current chaotic and polarized American culture (following in the path of Squeeze Me), with two wonderful new Hiaasen heroes“The afternoon of September first, dishwater-gray and rainy, a man named Dale Figgo picked up a hitchhiker on Gus Grissom Boulevard in Tangelo Falls, Florida... -
![Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines]()
Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen the Krakau came to Earth, they planned to invite humanity into a growing alliance of sentient species. This would have worked out better for all involved if they hadn’t arrived after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse... -
![Starcross by Philip Reeve]()
Starcross by Philip Reeve
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsArt, Myrtle, and their mother accept the kind invitation of a holiday to an up-and-coming asteroid resort...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure aliens alternate-history audiobook book children -
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![How I Conquered Your Planet by John Swartzwelder]()
How I Conquered Your Planet by John Swartzwelder
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne of a series of comedy science fiction novels featuring slow-witted detective Frank Burly. By John Swartzwelder, the writer of The Time Machine Did It and 59 episodes of the Simpsons... -
![Welcome to Paradise by Laurence Shames]()
Welcome to Paradise by Laurence Shames
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBefore mild-mannered furniture salesman Al Tuschman left New Jersey for a week in Key West, he hadn't an enemy in the world. But a series of puzzling assaults on his privacy, his sanity, and his life has turned his stay at the tasteful Paradise Hotel into Tropical Hell. Maybe it's the humidity. Maybe the Sambuca. Or maybe it's the nickname emblazoned on his license plate: Big Al... -
![We Have Lost The Chihuahuas by Paul Mathews]()
We Have Lost The Chihuahuas by Paul Mathews
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLondon, 2046. The British Republic has a new First Lady. She’s Californian, ‘in-your-face, for sure’ and she’s got big plans for a Buckingham Palace refurb. When her three Chihuahuas go missing, one man is determined to avoid getting dragged into it all. His name is Pond. Howie Pond – presidential spokesperson, retired secret agent and cat lover... -
![The Radioactive Redhead by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem]()
The Radioactive Redhead by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn this final title in a hilarious trilogy--following "The Plutonium Blonde" and "The Doomsday Brunette"--the last freelance private detective has a new case to solve involving androids, future tech wizards, out-of-control artificial intelligence, and futuristic mayhem. Original... -
![The Scholar of Moab by Steven L. Peck]()
The Scholar of Moab by Steven L. Peck
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWinner of AML best literary novel of 2011 and a finalist for the national Montaigne Medal. What happens when a two-headed cowboy, a high school dropout, and a poet abducted by aliens come together in 1970’s Moab, Utah? The Scholar of Moab, a dark-comedy perambulating murder, affairs, and cowboy mysteries in the shadow of the hoary La Sal Mountains... -
![Simon Grave and the Curious Incident of the Cat in the Daytime by Len Boswell]()
Simon Grave and the Curious Incident of the Cat in the Daytime by Len Boswell
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Boswell continues his genre-defying series in this ambitious adventure…” –PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY Murder rocks the seaside town of Crab Cove, but to solve the crime, Detective Simon Grave must first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime... -
![I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin]()
I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.But there are rules:He cannot look inside the box.He cannot ask questions... -
![A Stainless Steel Rat is Born by Harry Harrison]()
A Stainless Steel Rat is Born by Harry Harrison
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn this prequel to the Stainless Steel Rat, Slippery Jim is a brash 17-year-old who has left his parents' porcuswine farm, planning to embark on a life of crime. The book opens with Jim bungling a bank job so that he can be arrested and sent to prison, where he plans to learn the art of being a master criminal... -
![Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy by Matt Ruff]()
Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy by Matt Ruff
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHigh above Manhattan android and human steelworkers are constructing a new Tower of Babel for billionaire Harry Gant, as a monument to humanity’s power to dream. In the festering sewers below a darker game is afoot: a Wall Street takeover artist has been murdered, and Gant’s crusading ex-wife, Joan Fine, has been hired to find out why... -
![The Authorities™ by Scott Meyer]()
The Authorities™ by Scott Meyer
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSinclair Rutherford is a young Seattle cop with a taste for the finer things. Doing menial tasks and getting hassled by superiors he doesn't respect are definitely not “finer things... -
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![And He Built a Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein]()
And He Built a Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA clever architect designs a house in the shape of the shadow of a tesseract, but it collapses (through the 4th dimension) when an earthquake shakes it into a more stable form (which takes up very little room in our 3-dimensional space... -
![Bellwether by Connie Willis]()
Bellwether by Connie Willis
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsConnie Willis has won more Hugo and Nebula awards than any other science fiction author. Now, with her trademark wit and inventiveness, she explores the intimate relationship between science, pop culture, and the arcane secrets of the heart.Sandra Foster studies fads - from Barbie dolls to the grunge look - how they start and what they mean... -
![Tigerman by Nick Harkaway]()
Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSergeant Lester Ferris is a good man in need of a rest. After a long career of being shot at, he’s about to be retired. The mildly larcenous, backwater island of Mancreu is the ideal place to serve out his time, a former British colony in legal limbo, belching toxic clouds of waste and facing imminent destruction by an international community concerned for their own safety... -
![Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair]()
Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMichael Duckett is fed up with his life. His job is a drag and his roommate and best friend of fifteen years, Stephanie Dyer, is only making him more anxious with her lazy irresponsibility. Things continue to escalate when they face the threat of imminent eviction from their palatial 5th floor walk-up and find that someone has been plastering ads all over the city for their Detective Agency... -
![The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour]()
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe world's last freelance detective, Zach Johnson, must find the assassin who murdered Sexy Sprocket and two other members of the World Council. His investigation leads him to the Moon-and to a tall, sensuous, blue-haired beauty named Lea who possesses psychic powers, and powerful ambitions.. -
![Gamedec. Granica rzeczywistości by Marcin Przybyłek]()
Gamedec. Granica rzeczywistości by Marcin Przybyłek
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLudzkość końca XXII wieku jest podzielona: jedni żyją w realium, inni wybierają sieć. Gry zaspokajają wszelkie ludzkie potrzeby. To kosmiczne loty i baśniowe przygody, areny e-sportowe, nawiedzone domy, nielegalne tereny łowieckie i miasta zboczeńców... Tam, gdzie są ludzie, pojawiają się problemy.Rozwiązuje je Torkil Aymore. Gierczany detektyw.GAMEDEC...
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