Jack Parlabane, the investigative journalist who is not averse to breaking the law for the sake of a good story, has finally been caught on the petard of his own self-confidence and is experiencing accommodation courtesy of Her Majesty. The fledgling Scottish parliament is in catatonic shock after experiencing its first dose of Westminster sleaze. The Catholic Church of Scotland is taking full advantage of the politicians' discomfort and is riding high in the polls as the voice of morality. Behind the scenes the truth is obscured by the machinations of the spin doctors and in prison, aware he's missing out on a great story, Parlabane discovers that contacts and a pretty way with words are no defence against people he has helped to put away. Part political satire, part cliff-hanging thriller this is high calibre entertainment. And for the author's own view on his books visit his website at www.brookmyre.co.uk And for the author's own view on his books visit his website at www.brookmyre.clara.net
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Surreal, satirical, irreverent, violent and immensely funny.' THE TIMES 'Hiaasen is one of America's finest satirists. Brookmyre is Britain's' OBSERVER 'This merciless satire is so painfully accurate that the political establishment will read it and weep . . . Boiling a Frog hits a tender spot that for MSPs, their acolytes and, more worryingly, their spin doctors will be uncomfortably close to home' SCOTSMAN 'New Labour, the Scottish Parliament, the Catholic Church, the tabloid press, spin doctors - all of them are given a thorough knifing by Brookmyre's razor-sharp pen' MAXIM 'In Christopher Brookmyre's first two thrillers, Quite Ugly One Morning andCountry of the Blind, his investigative reporter hero Jack Parlabane was a partisan crusader against the sleaze and cronyism of the latter days of Conservative government. In the excellent new Boiling a Frog, Jack finds himself far more confused in an era of spin, so confused, indeed, that he finds himself in jail for burgling the offices of the Catholic Church in Scotland. For once, we know far more than he does--that the outbreak of public morality that has followed a child-porn scandal is as spurious as the photographs which turned up on the hard discs of various senior Labour figures; the excitement here is in watching Parlabane follow his nose through a web of deceit and murder to the truth. By turns passionately analytical and uproariously bawdy, Boiling a Frog works equally well as thriller and satire, a scathingly truthful caricature of the New Scotland. It also has a heart--Brookmyre is as good on the well-characterised plotters' consciences as he is on Parlabane's jail encounters with comically menacing thugs.' - Roz Kaveney, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full time novelist with the publication of QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING. Since the publication of A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY he and his family decided to move away from Aberdeen and now live near Glasgow. Oh, yes.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Humour and insight with a gritty feel,
This review is from: Boiling a Frog (Paperback)
Brookmyre has been described as Britian's answer to Carl Hiaasen, but in this book, Brookmyre's anger at a wide range of aspects of modern British society make for a darker, more gritty read.The topical plot describes leaders of Scotland's clergy fighting to retain their relevance in the face of the post-modern trashing of anything that smacks of formal religion. In a world where only tawdry shallowness is regarded as important, the church surrenders its future to the street instincts of a professional PR hustler, who has no scruples as to how he achieves his goals. Mayhem and murder ensue in pursuit of the church's agenda, but in true Brookmyre style, an underdog appears to gum the works, in the figure of the raffish Jack Parlabane, whose morality at times seems to be scarcely higher than the people he is battling. Throughout the book, Brookmyre tees off on several of his pet hates about Britain in general and Scotland in particular - political spin and correctness, powerful conspiracies, sectarian hatred born of ignorance and above all, the hypocrisy of self-elected religious figures. Brookmyre is always interesting and insightful, and comes across as a lone voice of reason (and one favouring a strong Scottish accent) in a culture which appears not to notice its own decay. - Maclean J Storer, author of Forward O Peasant
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