Pignon Scorbion & the Barbershop Detectives

The Pignon Scorbion Series, Book 1

By: Rick Bleiweiss

Narrated by: Christopher Toyne

For fans of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, author Rick Bleiweiss’ quirky new detective and ensemble cast of characters set against the backdrop of small-town England in the 1910s will feel both comfortingly familiar and thrillingly new.

The year is 1910, and in the small and seemingly sleepy English municipality of Haxford, there’s a new chief police inspector. At first, the dapper and unflappable Pignon Scorbion strikes something of an odd figure among the locals, who don’t see a need for such an exacting investigator. But it isn’t long before Haxford finds itself very much in need of a detective.

Luckily, Scorbion and the local barber are old acquaintances, and the barbershop employs a cast of memorable characters who - together with an aspiring young ace reporter for the local Morning News - are nothing less than enthralled by the enigmatic new chief police inspector.

Investigating a trio of crimes whose origins span three continents and half a century, Pignon Scorbion and his “tonsorial sleuths” interview a parade of interested parties, but with every apparent clue, new surprises come to light. And just as it seems nothing can derail Scorbion’s cool head and almost unerring nose for deduction, in walks Thelma Smith - dazzling, whip-smart, and newly single.

Has Pignon Scorbion finally met his match?

©2022 Rick Bleiweiss (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

PNBA BuzzBooks

Publishers Weekly pick

Fun story

This was a fun book, several characters who were interesting. But some who were hard to understand. Will recommend to friends.

Good story, tedious storytelling

The premise & development of the story are good and entertaining. The audio performance is full of pauses that drive me nuts. The performer can do good voices, but the pace and pauses are excruciating.

I liked it

I purchased this book before there were any audible reviews. I am not disappointed, but do not understand the really negative reviews given to the narrator. I am on my way to two thousand aubible books in my library. I have heard some really bad readings, Christopher Toyne is not a bad narrator. I can understand different tastes, etc, but truly he suited this book just fine. The next book needs to improve as it is slow on the take. I felt there was too much redundancy in the story telling, and it was a great stretch of the imagination to believe it. But the premise is new and interesting, so there is hope, and often the first book is not the best.

Refreshing

As an aquaintance of this area I enjoyed seeing the not so rich and sophisticated enjoy prime beach front property and a community spirit. As an expert in small, excellent family run cafes and restaurants I gloried in their quirks and menus. It was refreshing for a time to exchange energy expended on labels and pronouns for care of the person and their troubles; for acknowledgement of their abilities. Rather than depicting the FBI agents as stupid. they were shown to simply be victims themselves of the "rules first; individuals way way second" world we inhabit. Hope there are sequels to this warm, funny book.

Great story, narration was unintelligible at times

Reminds me of Hercule Poirrot. Likeable characters, good narration but it's hard to understand sometimes.

Mixed Feelings About This One

I'm always a little skeptical when authors use characters from other authors' works, whether named or just similar. Anyone who has read Agatha Christie will immediately recognize the similarities between Hercule Poirot and Pignon Scorbion. Despite my reservations, the cases he unraveled were interesting enough to keep me listening until the end of the book. It was, however, a bit of an uphill struggle to get past the narration. Some people have commented that the narrator's accent prevented them from understanding what was being said or who was speaking. For me, it was the measured and rhythmical speech which rose and fell in a predictable pattern that completely obliterated any nuances in tone. Perhaps in book 2 we will learn enough about Scorbion to explain his Poirot-like eccentricities, and it will be read by someone who is able to bring it to life.

Good tale

The narrator was difficult to listen to-trails off. But a fun story for a person who likes mysteries!

Interesting but …

This narrator was a bit hard to listen to and some of his characters sounded alike. Many were hard to distinguish. The first teo stories were good but the third one about the tomahawk had to many characters and was somewhat confusing.

Un-listenable

I made two good-faith attempts to listen to this book, but the narrator's inexplicable pauses, both for narrator and most characters, drove me mad. "Dare I ask....what brings you...to this conclusion?" Not the rhythm of the language, not for suspense value, not for breathing, just needless pauses. Can't bear it.

Very Enjoyable. Many Mysteries in One.

I wish those who "couldn't finish the first chapter " had persevered. This was an extremely enjoyable book, with a unique mode of solving a mystery, making it stand out from all the rest. Within this book were multiple mysteries needing to be solved, and this group was amazing at making that happen. I was continuously presented with new conundrums to puzzle out, and never found a slow point. This is a superb book.
I will admit to struggling in the first two chapters with the narration for the main character, Pignon. It was much quieter than the other character voices, and I did strain a bit to hear it. That did not persist past the very beginning, and I found both his and the many other characters quite distinctive in voice and accent, and lovely to listen to.
This book deserves much higher ratings than it has gotten in the past. Our society has become quite impatient, and having not even listened to a full chapter, to me doesn't really give a fair opinion of an entire book. Take the time to really give a new type of sleuthing a chance. I did, and loved it. I will be listening to all of his further installments.