The books prominently feature several recurring characters: Detective Drone, his assistant investigator Assistant Investigator Pheasant, Lady Ordella Prune, and Drone's arch-enemy, Doctor Ludovic Kochanowsky.
Personal life:
John was born to two French parents (Marie et Louis) in the small provincial town of La Scrofulitic Cat. He had a near-death experience at the age of seven, when he mistook barbed wire for his favourite type of chocolate, but was nasally revived by a passing priest.
He was educated by a local schoolmaster from the age of five in Maths, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Zulu. He tried to enter university, but was refused on the grounds that his beard didn't match his eyes or coat. This is not surprising when one realises John's moustache was often three feet in width, and once arrested being "in charge of an offensive weapon". He was afterwards banned from growing facial hair in a Court of French Law (pronounced with a Southern drawl).
His first book, The Bibble, (a set of contemporary values) met with little success, so the young John turned to crime writing. His first venture in this genre (La Prostitute Gothique) was an immediate success, but it was only with the introduction of his best-known characters that he became a household name, with many people naming their houses after him.
After a long and productive life, he died in a boating accident, off the coast of Switzerland, where his wife capsized, and he drowned trying to rescue the boat. His body was never found. Here in chronological order is a list of his works.
The Bibble La Prostitute Gothique El Grillo El Rond Low Drone High Squeak Pip Squeak La Pheasant du Porpoise Eeny Oony Wanah Pheasant as Werewolf The Golden Glove Two is Pheasant Where is my Underwear? Pheasant gets Married Pheasant Cheats on his Wife Prone to Disease Carry On Pheasant Doctor Kochanowsky's Menagerie The Wayward Merengue The Devillish Desertion of the Dish Waiter! Croissant! Utah! The Haunted Nave The Haunted Navel I Say, Drone, your Navel's on fire