As the re-emergence of Brian Flynn as a crime writer is imminent, I’m well aware that I’ve shot myself in the foot by orchestrating a large part of this revival. I’m getting some provisional positive word of mouth from fellow bloggers at least, and if that translates to others enjoying his work, there’s going to be a lot of new collectors (i.e competition) out there. And I haven’t got a complete set of his ultra-rare work, far from it…

But there is a hurdle with collecting Brian Flynn titles – namely that there’s quite a few Brian Flynn’s out there. So here’s my guide on how NOT to collect the works of Brian Flynn.

Brian Flynn the Computer Programmer

In the mid-eighties, a number of books detailing how to programme various computers, mostly Apples and Amigas, were written by Brian Flynn, along with someone called John Flynn. It’s not the same Brian Flynn. Obviously.

Brian Flynn the Psychologist

Technically, Rear-Admiral Dr Brian Flynn, his Amazon profile is rather impressive with his work as a trauma psychologist, and he has written three books that all sound a bit like mysteries – The Wisdom Of The Stones, The Voices Of Stones and The Voices Of Fishermen. But they’re not mysteries. He might also be the writer of the books Born Again and Running Against The Wind. But it’s not the right Brian Flynn. Obviously.

Brian Flynn Who Grew Up On Cherokee Lane

He wrote a book called Growing Up On Cherokee Lane. I don’t know anything else about him – he might even be one of the aforementioned pretenders, but he’s not the right Brian Flynn. Obviously.

Brian Flynn The Japanese Toy Expert

Three books, at least, called Tokyo Underground, Tokyo Underground 2 and Super 7 – International Toy Pirates! Apparently essential if you want to buy toys in Japan. But if you want Golden Age mysteries, not so much…

Brian Flynn The Footballer

OK, he hasn’t written a book, but his biography came out recently, so make sure you click “Author” on the search bar to avoid multiple copies of Little Wonder filling up the search results. As for eBay, it’s full of football cards and autographs of him, and he’s currently mentioned on Twitter a lot as he’s taken over as interim manager at Wrexham. So, not the wrong author, but he does get in the way a bit…

So, do avoid these rogue Brian Flynns, in part as some of their books are more expensive than the “real” Brian. If you need a checklist, then my bibliography is here – it’s correct, btw, in terms of order and completeness.

So remember, check the list, buy the book, check it again to see if I’ve got it and if I haven’t, then send it to me…