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elowgang's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
mamamacg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
molliehamish's review against another edition
5.0
This book is incredibly... satisfying. I think satisfying is the word I am looking for. Every witticism and reference has you nodding along thinking "yeah! 'Bout time someone pointed that out" or "Damn, I love that song" or just thinking, "I wish I had the nerve and talent to write this kind of thing".
I found this book took a little longer to get into at first - possibly because I was expecting the avalanche of hate and spite that comes from Simon Darcourt at the beginning of "A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away". However, the pace picks up and it becomes incredibly bloodthirsty which is what made this book quite so satisfying, particularly after Rupert Murdoch and everything else that has been going on. And who doesn't like a book that rips the Tory Party to pieces?
The characters seemed very realistic to me, and it was perhaps a little unnerving when you find yourself relating to Spammy the stoner...
This is the first of the Jack Parlabane novels that I have read, can't wait to get into the others.
I found this book took a little longer to get into at first - possibly because I was expecting the avalanche of hate and spite that comes from Simon Darcourt at the beginning of "A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away". However, the pace picks up and it becomes incredibly bloodthirsty which is what made this book quite so satisfying, particularly after Rupert Murdoch and everything else that has been going on. And who doesn't like a book that rips the Tory Party to pieces?
The characters seemed very realistic to me, and it was perhaps a little unnerving when you find yourself relating to Spammy the stoner...
This is the first of the Jack Parlabane novels that I have read, can't wait to get into the others.
nuthatch's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining mystery set in Scotland in modern times. This is the second in a series with a quirky journalist as the main character. I enjoyed it but there is quite a bit of offensive language if that is something that bothers you.
christinebeswick's review against another edition
4.0
Another Christopher Brookmyre story told with humour, but frightening in its possibilities. Jack Parlabane, maverick journalist willing to break all the rules to get the story, is a great character and the rest of the protagonists are fully developed and very credible. There is more time taken on the back stories and explanations than the first book in the series, but still exciting and fun to read.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
Bit spoiled for audio choice at the moment, having decided to really concentrate on back to favourite series. This is the second Jack Parlabane book from Scottish writer, and world class pointer out of the idiocy of some aspects of life, Christopher Brookmyre (I was particularly pleased to find Gordon Duncan also reading / listening to this as it is another of my all time favourite Brookmyre books).
Gordon's advice re listening to the opening chapter of this book in the car came a little late alas, and there were a few moments when I did think if I was going to die, I hoped the people extracting me from the car had a similar sense of humour.
All of Brookmyre's books work well in text format, but there's something extra about the audio - the precise reading out of some of the funniest (okay and crudest) lines you're going to hear for quite a while. Perhaps not with your gran in the car is the only other warning I'd add.
Gordon's advice re listening to the opening chapter of this book in the car came a little late alas, and there were a few moments when I did think if I was going to die, I hoped the people extracting me from the car had a similar sense of humour.
All of Brookmyre's books work well in text format, but there's something extra about the audio - the precise reading out of some of the funniest (okay and crudest) lines you're going to hear for quite a while. Perhaps not with your gran in the car is the only other warning I'd add.
library_kat's review against another edition
3.0
"Tartan noir," The paperback cover brags; I'll preface this review by saying that I am neither Scottish nor English, that a few of Brookmyre's cultural references were therefore lost on me, and that I did mostly have to read the dialogue out loud to decipher the brogue. But I haven't read a good whodunnit in a long time and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. Brookmyre writes complex characters with simple strokes (though his women suffer from caricature occasionally), and dispenses with cheesy suspense tactics in favor of a juicy Holmesian how'd-they-do-it detective narrative. If his tongue-in-cheek writing style (described disparagingly by even the warmest UK reviewers as "American sass") grates a little, his wit and insight into physchological motivation does not. All in all, a well-balanced, perfectly paced crime novel that may not be for the faint of brogue.
andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
The second in this excellent series finds Jack Parlabane drawn into the investigation of the murder of a media mogul when he learns that an old friend has been caught in the subsequent chain of suspicious deaths. He helps a young lawyer of one of the suspected team burglars to investigate what looks like a cover up from the very top. With pace, humour, and brilliantly astute political comment (seemingly as relevant today as when written in the 1990's) this book had me satisfyingly closing the final page and desperate to read the next adventure.