This is a collection of the four novelettes, novellas, and short novels that precede the full length novel The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall. I find the entire series to be hilarious. Reginald Worcester and his much more intelligent automaton valet Reeves are obviously based on P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. Chris Dolley really has Wodehouse's style down, and I laugh out loud. Obviously there is a bit of steam punk in the series as well. Another source for the stories is Sherlock Holmes. Worcester fancies himself a gentleman detective, chock full of the knowledge and wisdom he has gained from reading mystery stories. Having read "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," he is alert for felonious orang-utans. Readers may be shocked to find that Reginald Worcester, while having the same tendency to get accidentally engaged as Bertie Wooster, actually finds someone he wants to marry: the fiery suffragist Emmeline Dreadnought. Not surprisingly, her family isn't pleased.

Dolley throws in other references, sometimes very subtle, from Frankenstein, Cold Comfort Farm, The Time Machine, bits of British history, and various mysteries. Hint: one of his favorite writers is named Agatha. Of the four pieces in this collection, I think my favorite is the "Aunt Paradox," in which H. G. Wells' aunt Charlotte gets hold of his time machine. I recommend reading these before reading Baskerville Hall, and I strongly recommend the entire series, especially to Wodehouse fans.

Just to be clear, the omnibus What Ho, Automata is not to be confused with What Ho, Automaton!, even if they sometimes have the same cover. Maybe Dolley just wanted us to be know what it's like to be as confused as Reginald Worcester.

The four pieces can also be purchased separately as Kindle eBooks.

Contents:
What Ho, Automaton! which includes the novelette "What Ho, Automaton! and the short novel Something Rummy This Way Comes.
Reggiecide, a novella
The Aunt Paradox, an even shorter novel. ( )