Robert A.V. Jacobs....Author
Adult Murder/Mystery
The books listed below, all feature the Private Detective Larry Dexxman, with the exception of 'Bodies in the Clearing' which features Margaret Dexxman, his adopted daughter.
Click on a cover image to read an excerpt.
Dexxman
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When the body of the British Home Secretary’s son is found in an alleyway where he had been battered to death, Larry Dexxman, a seventy-five year old private detective is thrown into the middle of a political minefield that could easily cost him his life.
His only protection is Sally, a tiny Shih-tsu/Yorkshire terrier cross, Penny his twenty-four-year-old assistant and his own combat experience gained in the armed forces fifty years ago.
Narrowly surviving several attempts on his life, Larry must try to protect those around him while, at the same time, keeping his promise to the murdered boy’s girlfriend that he would find out who was responsible and see that they are brought to justice.
When the Director General of MI6 is murdered, his daughter Hayley fears for her own safety, and turns to Larry and Penny as the only people that she can trust.
Worried that the situation might be terrorist related, the Home Secretary orders his own daughter, Denise, placed under protection as a precaution, but Larry soon realises that it is not enough, and if he can’t remove her from danger she could easily be next.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
The Disappearance of Natalie Firth
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Harry, the eight year old son of Malcolm and Natalie Firth, engages Larry Dexxman to find his mother, but he has no idea of the can of worms that he is about to open. Larry is astounded to realise that he knew that Harry would be coming.
His wife Penny, Neil and Denise his two new assistants, and Sally, a tiny shih-tsu/Yorkshire terrier cross, embark on a mission to find her. With the help of MI6 they delve into the murky depths of Malcolm’s life and are astounded and horrified to find that he has links with Vincente Vasquez, a known villain, suspected of drug smuggling and murder.
When Special Branch shows an interest in his case, Larry finds that he has unwittingly become embroiled in an ongoing espionage investigation, which seems to be inexorable linked with Natalie’s disappearance.
Whether Natalie is alive or dead is a moot point, when keeping himself, his friends, and Harry alive, becomes the order of the day.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
Time to Die
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It all started when Larry Dexxman received a letter more than twenty years late. It cast doubt upon the official verdict of accidental death on two employees of a legal company, one of which was Larry’s former wife. Several attempts on Larry’s life, when there is no discernible reason for them, drag him ever further into a web of lies and deceit.
It seems to involve espionage, and is believed to be centred on the law firm of Parkes and Parkes, until links back to a former adversary are found. All of the main suspects are already dead, so his attention is inexorably drawn back to the law firm.
The action moves into one of the many deserted tunnels in London, where a shocking scenario unfolds, leaving Larry and his friends embittered, stunned and confused.
Finally things come to a head, leaving Larry and his friends trapped by two people consumed with the desire to see them dead in the slowest and most painful way possible. Now, the only question that he has left to answer is whether or not now will actually be his ‘time to die’ after all.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
A Promise to Doreen
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Recovering from a heart attack, Larry is being overprotected by his colleagues, which in itself is providing more stress than he needs, so he decides to take some time out with a visit to Gregory’s café.
A conversation overheard in the café attracts Larry’s attention, and becomes more intriguing when a day later he witnesses the murder of the principle speaker. On the spur of the moment as he kneels beside the dying girl he makes a promise. He promises to find the murderer, whatever it costs. It is a promise that he will find has a much higher price than he would willingly pay.
An imposter in MI6, murder, embezzlement, and terrorism, are just four of the hazards that he has to face, as he struggles with the bizarre, in the form of an almost identical twin to himself.
Several attempts on Larry’s life, when his ‘twin’ is in the vicinity raises the question of whether those attempts are really meant for him, or are they actually meant for the ‘twin’?
When Margaret, Larry’s adopted daughter, fails to return from assignment, Larry fears the worst, and thus begins a race against time to ensure that those fears are not realised.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
Almost Enough
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A phone call in the middle of the night alerted Larry Dexxman to the death of his wife Penny’s friend Stella. It seemed to be a simple mugging, but what should have been a straight forward investigation turns major when the bodies start to pile up.
Initial enquiries reveal that Stella’s past, and her present, were shrouded in mystery, and when the frequent trips that she took before her death lead to the Department of Work and Pensions whose office in London is unaccountably destroyed in an explosion, the puzzle deepens.
The investigation moves to Stella’s last employer, Bytesize Systems Ltd, who were contracted to develop an AI solution for the DWP, but before any progress can be made, the owner is brutally murdered in a hit and run.
Larry, despairing that he will ever get a handle on the puzzle is not as surprised as he should have been when the whole thing is brought to a head by his home being invaded by armed intruders.
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Print Versions also available from Lulu
The Eighteenth Panda
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With virtually nothing happening except divorce cases, Larry is getting bored. So much so that when he is approached by a five year old to find her stolen Panda, he jumps at the chance.
But when the one escalates into seventeen, and then a murder in front of him, followed by an attempt on his own life, and the death of his friend, he realises that there is more to this affair than was at first realised.
It seems that an eighteenth Panda may be the key to the puzzle, so all of his efforts are channelled into an intensive search for it.
When the truth is revealed, and the extent of the criminal activity becomes known, Larry risks all to protect those around him, and bring the perpetrators to Justice.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
The Seventh Tower
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Despite his reluctance to be a pushover for every waif and stray, Larry agrees to find the sister of a fifteen year old boy who turns up at his office. Having run away from parents that he claims are abusive, he and his sister had been living rough until she disappeared.
Larry visits the boy’s parents, in Cromwell’s Seat, a village some ten miles outside of London, only to hear that MI6 are investigating suspected espionage centred on the local police station.
Dragged reluctantly into that investigation, while trying to solve the disappearance, he is suddenly arrested when the boy’s mother is found hanged from the seventh tower of a series of fifteen carrying new power lines.
The situation is becoming difficult until Clare Haines, a constable working for his friend Superintendent Blake Reece, comes to his aid, and he is released.
The murder of a constable in an unusual manner, a face seen, and vaguely remembered, an MI6 agent who is not quite as he appears to be, a reluctant traitor, the almost fatal shooting of Penny and the death of someone who had come to be his friend, finally brings everything to a head at the foot of the tower.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
The Ordeal
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A Massive explosion that destroyed the underground station, when Larry Dexman was walking past…
A strange drone that flew overhead and dropped a bomb, when Larry was taking Sally to the Vets…
A missile fired from an adjacent building into his bedroom almost completely destroying the building…
Two armed assailants driven out of Gregory’s café, by Larry and an MI6 sniper…
An encounter with a machine gunner in a London street…
Two of his friends both murdered in their beds for no apparent reason…
Despite having no idea why, Larry has to finally face the fact that someone is really, really, determined to see him dead.
But when, the who and the why are finally revealed, despite not believing that it could be possible, he must be ready, or face the consequences.
Print Versions also available from Lulu
Bodies in the Clearing
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The mysterious death of a seemingly innocent man, in a hit and run;
Two people that Margaret Dexxman feels are not who they say they are;
The unexpected failure of the brakes and steering on her own car;
The attempt on her life, with her hire car;
The attempted mugging of her friend, by a knife wielding thug;
The poisoning of their client, and the discovery of bleached bones in a clearing.
These, and the looming crisis of Covid-19, are the hazards that Margaret Dexxman and her team have to face as they investigate two separate but converging cases.
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Currently only available as an ebook, Kindle and Print versions Pending