THE CASE: COLLATERAL DEATH

When two teenagers are found dead at Bellwick's abandoned docks, the police are quick to call it a tragic accident.
But Percival Hoover isn’t convinced.

Percival is a talking Pembroke Welsh Corgi—how and why he can speak remains one of life’s enduring mysteries, spawning countless theories but no answers. What matters is that he’s become the town’s most unlikely and most respected private detective. Impeccably dressed and sharp as a blade, he approaches his work with sardonic wit and a strange, singular talent: he perceives scents as colours, creating sensory maps that reveal what others overlook.

And what he senses in this case doesn’t add up.

As Percival digs deeper into the lives of the victims — a charismatic but troubled boy and a sharp, quietly confident girl, both from the local children’s home — he uncovers a web of secrets woven through Bellwick’s quietest institutions. Aided by friends and supposed allies who may not be what they seem, he navigates a trail of missing records, evasive staff, and digital footprints he's ill-equipped to follow on his own.
Yet even through the noise, one truth surfaces: in a town where reputation matters more than truth, someone is willing to let the innocent take the blame.
And Percival Hoover has never been good at letting things go.

But this case hits closer to home than any before.
Haunted by his failure to save a young friend years ago, Percival must confront the demons he’s spent a lifetime avoiding.
Because beneath the sarcasm and the fine tailoring, he remains exactly that:
A broken man in a Corgi’s body, trying to put things right.

---

This is not a cosy mystery.

Collateral Death is a sophisticated noir thriller that refuses to soften its edges. This is detective fiction for readers who want their mysteries intelligent, their protagonists deeply flawed, and their stories unafraid to examine the cruelty that thrives in silence.

Beneath the sardonic humour lies a meditation on trauma, grief, and the cost of doing the right thing when the world tells you to look away.

Collateral Death is the first case in the Percival Hoover series—a noir mystery combining the atmosphere of classic British detective fiction with literary character work, psychological depth, and a protagonist who will make you laugh, break your heart, and never let you look at a Corgi the same way again.

Commentary by Percival Hoover

Apparently this is how cases are introduced now — with adjectives.

I would’ve gone with: two dead children, unanswered questions, and a Council eager to close the file.
But I'm told that's not "engaging" enough.

As for the rest:
I wouldn’t have included this many personal details.
Nor phrased them quite so… dramatically.

Some things happened. Some mattered.
Not everything needs to be said.

I never intended this to be published. But here's what happened:

In October 2024, when my Species License came up for renewal, the Council attached a condition. They wanted “public transparency.”
Translation: someone writing a book about my closed cases.

I had no choice about the what. The license depends on it.
The how is… negotiable.

The Ghostwriter bloke writes the drafts. The Council approves them.
I get to read, comment, and suggest revisions.
They’re under no obligation to listen — but they’d be wise to.

The marketing copy above? Council-approved.
I can comment, not correct.

The book itself? That’s different.
That’s where the truth is — and where I plan to keep it.

— P.H.

Addendum:
To all Corgis now being stared at differently:
I tried to stop this. I regret the inconvenience — and the assumptions.