Crocodile Tears

Over the years, I’ve gotten a few questions about the reading order for the Basil Stark Investigations series. Eagle-eyed readers have noticed that while the series has two novels, Shadow Stitcher and Pawns and Phantoms, there is also an unnumbered novella by the name of Crocodile Tears that is not published by EDGE, and which appears to both have been published and take place before the novels. I’ve been asked whether Crocodile Tears needs to be read first, and whether anything from it is referenced in the later novels.

The short answers are ‘no’ and ‘sort of’. The longer answer gets… complicated.

Shadow Stitcher was very much the first book that I wrote in this series, introducing Basil, Holly, and most of my supporting cast. However, in between writing the book and securing a publisher, I participated in a contest to write a novella for publication online. At the time, Basil was on my brain, so I put together a shorter case, set it before the main book, and submitted it, in the hopes that it would be published and this would help me find a home for Shadow Stitcher. When this didn’t happen, I made the decision to go ahead and self-publish the story as Crocodile Tears. 

This was probably a mistake. I enjoy Crocodile Tears, but if I’m being honest, it’s a bit rough! It didn’t have a quality editor, and I handled the layout of the work myself. Some day, I would like to get it professionally revised, and possibly turned into the main entry in a book of Everland short stories. Until then, consider it a fascinating glimpse into why editors matter, and if you do happen to read it, let me know what you think! 

Everything that happens in Crocodile Tears is canon to the story of Everland, but since the novella was actually written after Shadow Stitcher, nothing that happens in it is necessary to understand that story. The same is true of Pawns and Phantoms; while it draws heavily on the events of Shadow Stitcher, there are only a few oblique references to anything that I introduced in Crocodile Tears. In future books, if elements from Crocodile Tears show up, the case will be treated as one that the readers don’t know anything about.

If you are interested in reading this novella, you can find a purchase link below:

Crocodile Tears

A Basil Stark Investigation, 2017. Follow Basil Stark, ex-pirate and current detective on a tale of stolen stars, corporate espionage, and giant murderous crocodiles.

Available for sale on Amazon in Kindle or paperback.