It's just another winter's morning when the dear Ms Jewel seeks out Greg Aries, Public Dick. Her brother is dead and despite a verdict of accidental death, she’s not convinced. As it happens, hapless Greg will do anything to 'heart her broken mend', regardless of the danger. In a world of shady trading and black market deals, it’s a tricky trick to find out where the truth lies. Poor Greg just can't be sure of anything. An unlikely but likeable detective, our hero struggles with his words as he juggles with the clues. What starts out quietly on the streets of Plymouth soon explodes into a fiery overseas underworld, where he’ll need every inch of his dodgy logic if he's to live to tell the tale.

Greg Aries is like no one else you'll ever meet, either fictional or otherwise. In his first novel, John Michaelson demonstrates a storytelling skill that intrigues, amuses and entertains on every page.
Deborah Sutton - www.writingoutloud.co.uk

Perfectly paced and deceptively simple. Greg Aries is daft as a brush and very funny!
Tim Lay - www.sewersidechronicles.com

This comedy of contemporary life is also a tragedy of mental hardship. It reads as if a youthful Philip Marlowe had been let out on the streets and turned out not to be as streetwise as he thought. Witty, knowing, knowledgeable, and a true mystery story, this skilfully-written debut novel takes detective fiction into new country.
Dr Alan Munton - Special Acquisitions, University of Exeter