Category Archives: Project X

Tomorrow on the Bookshelf Battle Blog…

BQB’s undercover mystery project begins.

Don't miss Hatcher's mysterious adventures on the Bookshelf Battle Blog

Don’t miss Hatcher’s mysterious adventures on the Bookshelf Battle Blog

Jake Hatcher.  Failed boxer.  World War II hero.  Honest cop later turned hardboiled private investigator.  He carries the baggage of three ex-wives and a lifetime of regret.

In 1955, Hatcher fell asleep in his LA office only to wake up in 2014.  He’s spent the last year trying to figure out what happened to no avail.  Even worse, he’s surrounded by a world he doesn’t recognize and technology he doesn’t understand.

A mysterious blond dame offers him the chance to find his way back home but of course, there’s a catch.  He’ll need to dust off his sleuthing skills and get to work.

Is his new acquaintance on the level or is she working him over?  Time will tell.

But one thing’s for sure:

Hatcher will need your help.

One critic had this to say:

It’s writing.  Words are arranged in an order that can be read.

– Alien Jones, Intergalactic Correspondent

Best review this blogger has ever received.

Catch up on the promos.

Meanwhile, BQB and the Meaning of Life is taking a hiatus.  It’ll be back in a week or so.  Catch up on what you’ve missed here.

One thing’s for sure, on a blog that features a goofy nerd, a conceited alien, a smelly yeti, and a mad scientist, we’ll finally get a character around here who can class up the joint:

Suck in your guts, nerds!  There's a lady present!

Suck in your guts, nerds! There’s a lady present!

Copyright Bookshelf Q. Battler 2015.  All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Three Days Till Hatcher

Mark your calendars, 3.5 readers.

Jake Hatcher, Official Bookshelf Battle Blog Private Eye

Jake Hatcher, Official Bookshelf Battle Blog Private Eye

Project X gets a name and begins Monday, June 1.  Hardboiled 1950’s era detective Jake Hatcher will become a guest contributor for the Bookshelf Battle Blog, which should be interesting seeing as how computers aren’t exactly his strong suit.

He is 95 years old, after all.  Looks good for his age, doesn’t he?

Past meets present and our illustrious gumshoe will need your assistance.

BQB will explain what this new feature is all about on June 1 and then Jake will take it away June 2.

BQB and the Meaning of Life will be on hiatus for awhile, but will return later in June after Jake’s first adventure.

In the meantime, you can catch up on your BQB and the Meaning of Life reading or check out some of the Project X promos.

Detective image courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Project X – June 1

Guns.  Dames.  Mysteries.

She's making a withdrawal.  Ha!  I'm hilarious.

She’s making a withdrawal. Ha! I’m hilarious.

Bank robbing babes.

The special (yet to be named) project Bookshelf Q. Battler is working on has it all.

Have you missed the promos?

Time to catch up:

Project X – Sneak Peak

Mickey Finn 

Hatcher’s Ex-Wives

Mr. Devil Man 

Capt. Thaddeus Talbot

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Capt. Thaddeus Talbot

Capt. Talbot

Capt. Talbot

LA Police Homicide Division.  Jake Hatcher’s Boss 1947-1950.  

Often caught between his boss, the Mayor, who feels campaign donations allow LA’s criminal element free reign and his detective’s one man crusade to clean up the City of Angels, no matter how many body bags are filled.

Below, our trusty World War One veteran gets balled out by His Honor:

TALBOT:

Hello Mr. Mayor.  How are you?  What can I do you for, sir?

Uh huh…uh huh.

Hatcher did what now?

Uh huh…uh huh.

Yes, you have a point.  I’d prefer to see a lower body count before this whole hullabaloo blows over as well.

You don’t say?  Uh huh.  Shot up a night club in the middle of the day?  Why, I’d call that ingenious, sir.  If you have to shoot up a joint, the less people around the better.

Uh huh.

Well, listen Mr. Mayor…let’s be honest here, “Mugsy McGillicuddy” and “fine upstanding citizen” aren’t exactly two phrases I’d use in the same sentence….huh?

Right.  Yes.  Of course.  Campaign contributor?  All right but does mean he just gets to…I see.

Difference of opinion I suppose, your honor.  Yes.  Yes.

Uh huh.  All right don’t worry, sir.  I’ll grab a switch and tan Hatcher’s hide until it’s a size regular leather coat.

OK then.  You as well, sir.  You as well.  My best to Mrs. Mayor.

:::HANGS UP:::

:::DIALS SECRETARY:::

TALBOT:

Gretchen.

GRETCHEN:

Yes Captain?

TALBOT:

Will you tell Hatcher to get his skinny Irish ass in here so I can hand it to him?

GRETCHEN:

Yes sir.

TALBOT:

And get me some seltzer will you?

GRETCHEN:

Stomach acting up again sir?

TALBOT:

Every day since I put that shit heel on the payroll.

Hatcher starts giving Talbot pains in the old labonza in June.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hatcher’s Ex-Wives

Dames.  Can’t live with ’em….and that’s it.  You can’t live with ’em.

Jake Hatcher, a 1950’s era hardboiled film noir detective operating in 2015, has had his share of heartache, courtesy of these bodacious babes.  Below and in his own voice, our noble detective gives us the straight skinny on the ones who got away:

Trixie Bordeaux

Trixie Bordeaux

EX-WIFE #1 – Trixie Bordeaux – Don’t get me wrong.  Trixie was a sweet gal and all, but it’s just that I’ve seen cacti with a better shot at passing a Standard Aptitude Test.  When she took me up on my marriage proposal, the first thought to clunk around inside my roomy skull was, “Good for you, Hatch.  You landed the skirt that every Tom, Dick and Harry is chasing.”

Lunkhead that I was, it wasn’t till a few weeks after the nuptials that I realized I was going to have to fight off every Tom, Dick and Harry.

Then again, I have no one to blame but yours truly.  All you unwed fellas out there, here’s some free advice from your old Uncle Jake:

Marrying a woman is like buying a car.  It’s a long commitment so you should walk right past the sporty number that will suck up all your gas and stall out when the first raindrop falls and plunk your cash down for the reliable one that’s going to get you where you need to be even when it snows.

Muffy Sinclair

Muffy Sinclair

EX-WIFE #2 – Muffy Sinclair – She was a crack shot who could pick a flea off a blood hound’s backside at fifty paces, yet after blasting yours truly six times with the business end of a Saturday Night Special, she managed to miss every vital organ.  Keep your cards and candy, folks.  That’s real love.

Last I heard, she’d hightailed it to the Caribbean faster than a jackrabbit with an extra set of legs.  And with all that ill-gotten loot, who can blame her?

Want some more words of wisdom?

Never trust a broad named “Muffy.”

Connie Connors

Connie Connors

EX-WIFE #3 – Constance “Connie” Connors – The best and most loyal of all my ex-wives, the “car that will get you where you need to be even when it’s snowing” if you will.  (Don’t tell her I called her a car.)

Naturally, this gumshoe fouled things up with this sweetheart worse than a bathroom stall after the ninth inning of an LA Dodgers game on free chili dog night.

I hit the hooch harder than Max Baer’s fist against the face of an unsuspecting pugilist.

I didn’t want to but I needed to dull the pain caused me by Ex-Wives 1 and 2.  Alas, I didn’t realize I was driving away the best wife I ever had until it was too late.  After one too many nights of seeing her man passed out on giggle juice, she hopped the first train to Albuquerque and never looked back.  Can’t say as I blamed her.  I kick myself harder than a karate sensei wearing a steel tipped boot whenever I think about it though.

One final kernel of truth for you palookas:

When you find the dame who makes you a better man, chuck that bottle faster than a Whitey Ford curveball.

What?  You don’t know who Whitey Ford was?  Damnation, I’ve been alive for too long.

Hatcher gets down to business on the Bookshelf Battle Blog in June.

Copyright (C) Bookshelf Q. Battler 2015.  All Rights Reserved.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Betsy

NAME:  Betsy

Betsy

Betsy

PURPOSE:  Hatcher’s WWII Service Revolver

MAKE/MODEL:  Schotzenhauer P58

NAZIS TERMINATED: 1,000 + (Hatcher stopped counting after 1,000)

MOBSTERS DISPATCHED: 751 (Hatcher took it easy after returning stateside)

SHOTS MISSED: 0

Betsy – she has few lines in the upcoming unnamed blog serial, but when she talks, it counts.

Coming soon to a blog with 3.5 readers near you.

Image courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mr. Devil Man

The Los Angeles Courant

Yesterday’s News Today!

August 7, 1949

MR. DEVIL MAN STRIKES AGAIN!

By:  Stan Clarence, Staff Reporter

Mr. Devil Man claims his sixth victim in six days.

A serial killer on the loose!

LOS ANGELES – Women across the City of Angels are locking their doors and sleeping with one eye open as police sources confirm the notorious murderer dubbed “Mr. Devil Man” has claimed his sixth victim in as many days.

Mrs. Cloris Daniels, 24, was found stabbed to death in the living room of her Sunland home late last evening.  Authorities state her husband, Martin, returned home after a night of billiards only to faint upon viewing the gruesome sight.

“At this time we are able to confirm that Mrs. Daniels matches the description of the previous five victims – brunette, blue eyes, slight build and attractive facial features,” said Capt. Thaddeus Talbot, Los Angeles Police Department, Homicide Division.  “My detectives are working diligently to bring the perpetrator of this heinous crime to justice.”

Meanwhile, brunettes across the county are investing in hair dye.

“LA’s getting a new bevy of blondes,” said Sandra Sawyer, owner and proprietor of the Spotlight Beauty Salon, “As if we didn’t have enough of them around here all ready.”

Ms. Laurent went on to note that hair dye appointments are booked solid through September and the line of ladies hoping for a walk-in is out the door and around the corner.

Peaches Durand

Peaches LeMay

The local press have dubbed the killer “Mr. Devil Man” due to the fact that police reports indicate that at each crime scene, the record of the song of the same name sung by legendary Jazz songstress Peaches LeMay was found playing.

Ms. LeMay’s manager, “Step-Aside” Clyde Russell, said his client is heartbroken that her signature song has become associated with such evil deeds.

“That song was never meant to be anything more than playful,” Russell said.  “It’s about a cat that does his woman wrong so she shows him the door.  Nothing more. Ms. LeMay is sick with grief that her signature hit has been twisted around to be associated with violence.”

Rumors abound that Jake Hatcher, the lead detective on the case, and Ms. LeMay, were once an item in the late 1930’s before the critically acclaimed songbird found fame and fortune.

Asked if said speculation requires Detective Hatcher to recuse himself from the case, Capt. Talbot replied, “Don’t you dregs of humanity have anything better to do?  Get the expletive deleted out of my face and don’t print that I said that!”

 Hatcher has his work cut out for him.  No pun intended.  Coming soon to a blog with 3.5 readers near you.

Killer and singer images courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Mickey Finn

Mickey Finn, Hatcher's Ex-Partner

Mickey Finn, Hatcher’s Ex-Partner

Hatcher?

Yeah I know him.  Hell, me and that sonuvabitch go way back.  He’s my old partner, for Chrissakes.

Why?  Who’s askin’?  What’re you, writing a book or somethin’?

Hatch.    “The Boy Scout” we used to call him.  Always did quote unquote “the right thing.”  Refused to take a taste.  Never looked the other way.  Broke down doors like it was his mission in life to right all society’s wrongs.

I use to tell him, “Hatch.  It’s great you want to save the world and all but the world called and it don’t give a shit, so sit back, relax, and have a drink with me, will ya?'”

Ahh, there was nothing I could say to get that guy to take it easy.  Never saw a bigger teetotaler in all my life.  Irony is I hear the bastard drinks like a fish at happy hour now.

Oh…what?  He tell you about that thing with me and his wife?  Jesus H. Christ, is he still harpin’ on that?  For the love of God, that’s ancient history.

Hell, if you ask me, I did Hatch a favor.  If his broad hadn’t been such a shameless hussy, she never would have succumbed to my rapier wit and grandiose charms.  True, few women can resist tearin’ a hunk off this slab of beef but still.  It’s the principle of the thing.

So what? I did what any good friend would do. I gave the gal a floozy test.  She failed with a capital F.  And hey, between you and me she mighta done somethin’ else that starts with “F” too.

Get it?  Huh?  Ahh, you people got no sense of humor.  I’m Mickey Finn, damn it.  I’m the life of the party over here.

Anyhow, if you see Hatcher, tell that lousy old sack of horse manure he needs to forgive and forget.  Now that I have selflessly exposed his old lady as a trollop, he can get to work on finding himself a decent Christian woman, you know what I’m sayin’?

Let’s face it.  That’s what Old Hatch really wants.  A nice pure dame who parks her behind in the first church pew every Sunday and would slap a guy like me in the face before I could say “boo” to her.

You’re welcome, Hatch.

Not like a bum like you would ever thank me.

Mickey Finn – the guy you’ll want to slap in the face.  Coming to the as of yet untitled “Project X” on June 1, right here on the Bookshelf Battle Blog.

Guy at card table image courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hatcher’s Problems

shutterstock_254517373Dames.  Can’t live with ’em.  Can’t ship em off to Cucamonga.

There’s a lot of females in Hatcher’s life.  Who’s on the level?  Who’s waiting to stab him in the back?  How can a fella who’s been burnt more times than an empty matchbook ever find love again?

Not that he has much time to worry about it.  Gangsters.  Goons.  Thugs.  A stab happy killer on the loose.  They all want to crack open our resident gumshoe like a piñata and fight over the insides.

On top of all that, he’s a 1955 man living in 2015.

Cell phones?  More baffling to him than Chinese Algebra.

Is the mysterious blonde dame’s offer his dream come true or a nightmare to come?

Life’s got questions.  Hatcher needs the answers.

You’ll even get to ask him some.

Project X – the special mystery project being worked on by Bookshelf Q. Battler – due out Jun 1 as another blog serial on the Bookshelf Battle Blog.

Detective image courtesy of a shutterstock.com license.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,