TV comedy writer Colin Edmonds, from Chalfont St Peter, is set to launch his new steampunk thriller novel, The Lazarus Curiosity, at Gerrards Cross Library.

Fellow Caffeine Nights author and beloved comedian Joe Pasquale will host the event, which will see him interviewing Mr Edmonds, who will also read extracts from his new book.

Organisers promise a “transformation from chuckles to chills and back to chuckles” for the audience, with free Lazarus Curiosity fruit cocktails and the two men appearing in full steampunk regalia to celebrate the launch.

This is the second book in the Steam, Smoke and Mirrors series by Mr Edmonds, featuring music hall magicians turned private detectives, Michael Magister and Phoebe le Breton.

Each book is a standalone comedy thriller set in Victorian times with a Victorian steampunk Sci-Fi edge.

Charismatic and devastatingly handsome Michael is sharply observant and misses nothing, a talent shared by most detectives.

Unfortunately, he always manages to come to entirely the wrong conclusion. Luckily, his stage partner, the altogether much brighter Phoebe is always on hand to make the correct deduction.

Mr Edmonds blends fictional characters of the time with factual to add a layer of mystery to the tales.

“Michael and Phoebe's relationship might be described as a kind of Victorian-era ‘take' on the pairing of Mulder and Scully from The X-Files, or even John Steed and Emma Peel from The Avengers,” said Mr Edmonds, who is a fan of both TV series.

He added: “I love the dynamic of Michael and Phoebe as they sleuth their way to find the perpetrators behind the nefarious deeds in The Lazarus Curiosity.”

The book launch will take place on Saturday, October 14 at 11am.