| Title | Publisher & Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Tobin For Hire (Paperback) | Mayflower (17-Apr-1975) | 978-05831 24393 |
| Tobin For Hire (Kindle & Paperback) | White Marvel Books (28-Nov-2023) | 979-88697 14138 |
Buy Kindle Edition on Amazon
Buy Paperback Edition on Amazon
MARKS OUT OF 10 FOR THE COVER
Russ is looking SMOOTH in his patterned shirt and bell-bottoms. Mayflower have dispensed with the blondes and paired him up with a brunette in a maid's uniform. As Russ DOES become initimate with a brown-haired maid in the book, this almost makes up for the unforgiveable inaccuracy of the Tobin In Trouble book cover. 8/10
COVER NOTES
PAPERBACK EDITION
TOBIN'S IN TORONTO AND GIVING IT HIS (MONTRE)ALL! Russ, along with his Aussie bosom pal, Buzz Malone, takes Canada by storm in this his ninth naughty escapade. Where there are beautiful women and wide open spaces Tobin's there and abreast of it all! So when Russ gets taken on by Hire-A-Guy anything is likely to happen - AND DOES! "...there stood the most voluptuous Fairy Queen I've ever clapped eyes on. She was gorgeous..." AND DOES! "...This was no ordinary wedding. This one was between a couple of fellas!..." AND DOES! "...two lovely birds in one household, each not only fond of it but downright KEEN on it! Unbelievable..." YES RUSS, UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE!
2023 KINDLE EDITION
Russ Tobin and his Aussie wing-man, the Tennis Ace Buzz Malone, have skidded to a halt in Toronto, Canada...and they're just in time for Christmas. So when Russ signs up with the "hire-a-guy" agency, it's no surprise that his first job sees him dressed as Santa Claus in a department store. The only thing on his mind is spending a bit of quality grotto time with his Fairy Queen, but he needs to get rid of all these pesky kids first!
The assignments keep coming and they don't get any easier. Soon Russ is looking for an escape route from Christmas in Canada before it's too late.
Luckily for him, Buzz has another Tennis tournament to get to in warmer climes and suggests that Russ tag along. He'd a be fool to say no...
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PLOT
The story carries straight on from Tobin in Trouble with Russ waking up the next morning on Christmas Eve in Toronto. Russ and Buzz are staying at the King Edward Hotel (Notable for being where John & Yoko stayed immediately prior to their bed-in for peace in 1969. Other famous guests include Elvis Presley and Rudolph Valentino). He's been given a job by Greg Douglas' Hire-A-Guy agency (Greg is a pal of Buzz Malone) and Russ is about to commence his first day's work as Santa Claus at Simpsons Department Store (which Stan erroneously says is on the corner of King and Yonge - but he meant Queens and Yonge. King and Yonge is about 100 yards from the King Edward Hotel so Russ wouldn't have had to get a taxi there!). Unsurprisingly, Russ quickly gets friendly with his Fairy Queen Lily and stays the night with her, waking up on Christmas morning to see her off on the train to her family home in Ontario (do trains run on Xmas Day in Canada??). Russ returns to the hotel for a touching scene where he and Buzz exchange surprise gifts, despite their friendship only being 4 days old! Buzz announces that they've been invited to have Christmas lunch at an ice-skating party thrown by Greg Douglas, where a nasty skating accident sees him being "patched up" by Dominque De Neve. The rest of Christmas Day is spent "exchanging gifts" with Dominique and watching mucky films. Russ's prowess earns him a recommendation and before he knows it - he is being called on Boxing Day evening by Lucille Koeller-Jurling asking him to pay her a visit the following day at 8pm. Oh and Dominique has let him borrow a Cadillac!? Some guys have all the luck hey? Before he can get to Lucille's though, his next job is in the afternoon as a Barman at a gay wedding. Buzz heads off to Victoria, as Russ heads to the wedding, where even the guys can't keep their eyes of the HUNK that is Tobin. Unfortunately Russ gets in to trouble with a jealous boyfriend and ends up locked in yet another room, making him two hours late for Lucille. It matters not as he soon gets to do more than odd jobs for her, and even gets invited back the next day, only to find Lucille is out of town, but her maid - Brigitte is only too keen to get her slice of Russ. On the 29th December Russ returns for the third day of "work" at Lucille's. She is awaiting a $2m divorce settlement and is being spied on by her adulterous ex-husband who wants to catch her with another man so he can avoid paying out. Russ posing as a handyman is an elaborate ruse which finally goes wrong when the ex storms the house mid-action. Russ nearly dies from heat exhaustion whilst hiding in the Turkish Bath but then escapes via the bedroom window and manages to find Brigitte, then deliberately getting caught in bed with her instead. Lucille's settlement is safe, but Russ has to be ceremonially turfed out in order to keep up the pretence. He returns to the hotel, knackered, happy and wondering how his next job will pan out.
Tobin's plan to spend two weeks working for Hire-A-Guy while Buzz is away at the Tennis tournament in Victoria is thrown in to disarray when Buzz returns earlier than expected due to an outbreak of flu amongst the competitors (imagine that eh?) and promptly decides to head home for the "Aussie-American" tournament instead, starting on 2nd January. He has a flight booked leaving the next day via a stopover in Tahiti - and he cordially invites Russ to join him on the trip! Russ is not about to say no, especially as Buzz subs him the cash to alleviate any money worries (it's not clear what he does with the Cadillac, or indeed any other work that Greg Douglas has lined up for him...) and the book ends on the 30th December with them aboard a Qantas jumbo heading for Tahiti...what can go wrong?