THE rather quirky book ‘How to Look After Bert Reynolds’ by Laurence Cramer, has recently been released by Penguin Books.
Including an Australian bearded dragon as a character and naming him Bert Reynolds (with an ‘e’ not a ‘u’), reveals the author’s wacky sense of humour.
Bert Reynolds, who likes to be referred to by his full name, is oblivious to the horror and drama of gruesome murders occurring around him, including that of his original owner, and is intent on finding the right home where he will be sheltered and cared for.
Meanwhile a young woman, Anja, who appears to have a dark past and, therefore, not a likely candidate for her work at a crisis hotline centre, is under suspicion when a man is found murdered.
This is followed by some suicides and a common thread appears, the victims all made calls to the crisis hotline.
But the murder investigation becomes a comedy of errors under Lieutenant Simon Kretsmar, another eccentric character, and partner, Roger Calides, who cannot stand the smell of death.
This book offers maudlin humour, offbeat characters and life in a small town where the main characters need to make peace with their pasts.
The author, Laurence Hamilton Cramer, was born Kimberley and died in a car accident on 15 November 2013.
He wrote short stories, essays and screenplays, and his first novel was ‘Psychocandy’.
