Colin Bateman was born in 1962 in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. He has written books, screenplays and has worked as a journalist. "Divorcing Jack", his first novel, was published in 1994 and has somehow lost his first name since then. "Mystery Man" was first published in 2009, and is the first book in the imaginatively-titled Mystery Man series.

The story is told by the owner of No Alibis, a bookshop in Belfast specialising in crime fiction. Mystery Man - he never reveals his name - is anything but a fine, upstanding pillar of society, though. He'll happily rip his customers off, insult their taste and scam whoever crosses his path. He claims he still lives with his mother - he certainly seems to believe it, though I'm not convinced she's really there. (One thing's for sure, his father was responsible for a very strange childhood). He still has certain, ahem, issues - he's a paranoid hypochondriac who's petrified of Dutch Elm Disease, hates personalised number plates and suffers from occasional bouts of agoraphobia). He's in love with Alison, who works in the jewellery shop across the road; well, he's never actually spoken to her and frequently uses his binoculars to spy on her at work, but love is a many splendoured thing.

Things change when No Alibis' next-door neighbour, Malcolm Carlyle, goes out of business. Carlyle had been a PI and, when people find his office locked up, they start calling on Mystery Man. Sales haven't been great recently and, keen for a little extra cash, he decides to take on some of the easier cases. Unfortunately, a missing person case isn't as easy as it sounds - and it quickly lands him in a whole heap of Nazi-related trouble. (It's a pity for Mystery Man that he didn't wonder WHY why Malcolm Carlyle had disappeared so abruptly). Luckily, he acquires a brave and resourceful sidekick during his investigations - Alison, the jeweller he has been so lovingly stalking.

An easy, lighthearted read; good fun, very much recommended. On a related note, No Alibis is a real bookshop - and you will actually find it on Botanic Avenue in Belfast. (Sadly, though, there is no jewellry shop across the road). If you're ever in town, it's well worth a visit - Dave, the owner, and Mystery Man have nothing in common, so you'll be perfectly safe.

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Upstairs, on the shelf with the sugar and stirrers.