I Beat Up Charles Dickens — Adam Selzer

Jake is trying to scrape up enough money delivering pizza to make a trip to Chicago when Violet Annie Moss appears in the back seat of his car. She's dressed like she just ran away from a production of My Fair Lady and smoking a pipe tobacco cigarette, and claims that she needs help: She works in 1867, where she just beat up Charles Dickens before his scheduled performance in New York, excatly 150 years ago. Now she's on the run. And she has money.Jake's girlfriend just dumped him for somebody's roleplaying game character, and he assumes Violet is just another gamer. But every man has his price, and Jake's is $300. He and Violet embark on an adventure through the dark underbelly of the Des Moines metropolitan area. Taking place on December 30, 1867, I Beat Up Charles Dickens is a hilarious, period-accurate novel full of mystery, romance, whip-smart dialogue, deep fried food on sticks, and debates about The Last Jedi.