A dysfunctional vampire family is ensnared in a murder mystery.Campy, fun, for some reason the writing and characterization remind me of The Confederacy of the Dunces…This is a fun, imaginative book. It’s well written and well told. ” – review from Ingram Spark
“An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody” is an unconventional story with a slightly different take on the world beyond humanity, wonderfully narrated by Brad Wills with voices both British and American, male and female, southern and midwestern. And funny, with delightful absurdities and paradoxes as two of the characters try to find a cure for vampirism and a third tries to find out what happened to his father. The murder mystery is pretty unconventional, too, although I did figure out portions of it as the twists kept kinking things and different threads snaked through. Delightful! [Note: If you reread this review after listening to or reading the story you will find some Easter Eggs.]
Mr. Peadlebody is a vampire, but he isn’t your run-of-the-mill vampire. He only lusts after human blood when he’s hungry. His sister-in-law tries to wean him off with squirrel blood, which isn’t something he thirsts after. His goal in life is to find out who killed his father and his brother, and as we know, vampires don’t die easily.
The plot twists and turns, and is at one time an eerie tale and at another time a comedy. Mr. Peadlebody takes himself seriously, but his sister-in-law is too wrapped up in reversing the curse and in her son, who tries to hide is natural heritage while working as a vacuum cleaner repairman. The characters are great and do the most unexpected things. That is what keeps the story moving.
Charming story! Best read aloud with the audiobook! The narrator’s accent and the expressiveness in his voice really bring the characters to life. Dianne Gardner is one of the most creative thinkers of my generation…this was the fifth book of hers I had read. Each one completely fresh and different. This may be my favorite so far because it made me laugh, and laughter is utterly necessary in these dreary times. Normally I would avoid any books about vampires, but this was completely enjoyable and free of horror. If you like “Murder She Wrote,” you will probably love this book. I don’t know why I am so sure of that but I just am. And even if you don’t you will certainly enjoy it because it is THAT good. My next favorite book was Dylan. Another great one, a book that needed to be written. Bravo, Dianne!
Ever since Anne Rice wrote the Vampire Chronicles, it seems the Dracula bloodsuckers began coming out of every “book“ and cranny. The horror was romanticized further with “Interview with a Vampire” and the “Twilight” series, bringing about beauty instead of macabre pale bloody-eyed monsters delivering the neck nibbles. Personally, I was about sick to death with the overdone scenario until I read “Unconventional Mr. Peabody”. It had to be one of the most entertaining and comical books I have read. Though I rarely “LOL” with a book, this one got me giggling. Along with a mystery, we have delightful endearing characters that simply need to read “Human Beings for Dummies”. Raymond is a young hybrid who is fed “squirrel brew” by his mum, Ginger to keep him in the pink, so to speak. He’s wanting desperately to be a real human and win over his human lady love at the vacuum repair shop where he works. It has been a while since I’ve read it and now with everyone hunkered down, I think it deserves another read. Extremely entertaining as well as comically original! Gives hope for future vampires, zombies and monsters that can take a twist from the norm.