with the final panel being empty white space. Downs says, "I feel that the Downstown characters will always be floating in the margins of the newspaper somewhere." Downs self-published an retrospective collection of the series, The Laylo Papers: The Complete Guide to Relationships (1989). Bug Man In 2003, Downs published Like Flies to a Corpse (later renamed Shoofly Pie), the first book in his Christian murder mystery series, Bug Man. The six-volume series features forensic entomologist Dr. Nick Polchak who uses the insects he finds on murder victims to solve crimes. The series includes: Shoofly Pie (2003), Chop Shop (2004), Plague Maker (2006), First the Dead (2008), Less than Dead (2009), Ends of the Earth (2009), and Nick of Time (2011). To ensure scientific accuracy, Downs attended a forensic entomology seminar for crime scene investigators and coroners. The first two Bug Man books were published by Howard Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, with Downs changing to Thomas Nelson with the third book. Downs said, " I made the switch simply because Nelson is so much larger and can bring greater resources to the marketing of my books." In a review for Chop Shop, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Downs keeps the pages turning with some excellent twists and first-rate humor. He laudably knows how to show rather than tell—a rarity for Christian fiction. ...Downs's flair for the unusual—makes him a writer to watch in the faith fiction market." Shoofly Pie received a Silver Angel Award, for works with moral or ethical impact, from Excellence in Media. Chop Shop received the Book of the Year Silver Award from ForeWord magazine in 2005. First the Dead was given a starred review from Publishers Weekly for its "taut writing and well-developed characters." Merged content from [[Bug Man]] to here. Other Novels Downs also wrote three stand-alone novels, all published by Thomas Nelson: Plague Maker (2006), Head Game (2007), and Wonders Never Cease (2010). Plague Maker received a Christy Award for best suspense book in 2007. Although Plague Maker is not part of the Bug Man series, it does include a cameo by Dr. Nick Polchak. One reviewer noted, "Downs knows his bugs and his techno stuff, but what makes this work so well is the appeal of the characters...." Publishers Weekly said, "This is Downs's best book to date." Downs also collaborated with Ted Dekker and Davis Bunn for The Christian Fiction Collection