Showing results by author "COLIN HESTON" in All Categories

With an obvious nod to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Colin Heston takes us inside the most mysterious of institutions The University, inhabited by many weird academics and administrators, not to mention students. William Hobson, Thomas Colmes’s trusted assistant, recounts the strange and challenging cases that arose among the inhabitants of the Ivory Tower in which they both reside, their offices deep in its basement. Hobson is not quite a doctor (ABD – All But Dissertation) and Colmes’s past is itself a mystery. But never before have the shenanigans and conundrums of academic life in a ...

In this moving coming of age story set in 1950s Australia, a teen navigates his way through the rough and tumble of an old Aussie pub. Riotous pub yarns abound as he talks and talks to his dad who lies in an alcoholic coma. Caught in the past and struggling with the present, what will become of him?

Bordering on the cynical, toying with the absurd, this collection of original stories probes the depths and edges of human existence. The Tommie Felon Show is a story that's so post modern, it's very funny. Death at the Y is a salute to Thomas Mann, or is it a parody? And then, Rounding Error is anything but statistics. All of the twelve stories are engaging, entertaining, and perhaps best (or worst) of all, Colin Heston will have you wondering, "is civilized society really so screwed up?"

Holy Water is a work of humorous fiction, suitable for all readers due to its tasteful use of innuendo over crude language. A satirical tale of religion, business and family ties, we meet Alphonso when he is at the peak of his career as a drug lord in his home country of Mexico. After infiltrating the Vatican and gaining a monopoly on the titular Holy Water, the novel turns surreal as a new Pope, courtesy of Alphonso, colludes in many crazy ventures not the least is the production and distribution of Holy Water and the purchase of a university through which drug money is laundered. But ...

In this collection of short stories, follow the exploits of supreme psychiatrist and criminologist Franco Ferrapotti as he weaves a web of intrigue in the labyrinths of the United Nations and the surreal world of Italian politics, big money, and of course, the Vatican. Other stories of high achievement explore the ancient origin of the animal species and gendered humans, the exciting zoo of enlightenment installed on the island that once housed Alcatraz, making it into the dream University of the Chosen, or if you prefer, getting elected the new Secretary General of the United Nations. But ...

A series of 29 short stories inspired by the vicissitudes of punishment in all its forms, its deliverers and recipients. Its universality across cultures and at every level of social life from the kitchen to the battlefield never ceases to amaze. The stories unveil the diverse motives and excuses for punishment that paradoxically form the foundation of that great shibboleth of humanity: justice. The stories range through childhood spats to military encounters, , family discourse and dysfunction, to the puzzle of how criminal justice manages to match a punishment to its respective crime (it ...

In this comic mystery with a subcultural flavor, Lizzie Malley entertains her powerful and kinky clients on the old Melbourne-Williamstown Ferry. Her father Sandy is the union boss on the wharf. And her Mom, Babs, well, she's an Aussie mom who rules the roost from her kitchen, and who has her own secret, that of St. Robert's toe shared only with local priest Father Zappia. When disfigured bodies start popping up in the Yarra beside the ferry, tightly bound Paul Striker of CID, is confronted with the web of illegalities that pervades Williamstown, and the Malley family with its ties to ...

It's politics as usual in New York City when Larry MacIver, world renowned criminologist, is tapped by NYC Mayor Ruth Newberg to save NYC from a second 9/11 attack. Will it be nuclear? Will it be bio? MacIver and his geeky assistant Manish Das must overcome FBI ineptitude, CIA intrigue and, most of all, the evil and ruthless Iranian terrorist Shalah Muhammud, to save the city. Written under the pen name of Colin Heston by a criminologist of international repute, this gripping and sometimes comical story offers a glimpse into the real world of counter terrorism. It would be funny, if it ...

Set against the bawdy life of a 1950s Aussie pub, young Chooka searches for his identity, and that of his underage girlfriend, Iris. Chooka’s alcoholic father dies and Eddie, the bar owner, takes him in. When Iris’s best friend Millie is murdered, Iris disappears, and Chooka’s nemesis, The Preacher, accuses him of the murder. Challenged by tragedy and tempered by humor, the search for identities intensifies until this raw young couple finally discovers what it truly means to love each other.