As a teenager Jane Bell had dreamt of playing in the casinos of Monte Carlo in the company of James Bond, but in her punk phase she'd got herself pregnant and by the time she reaches forty-six she's a grandmother, her dreams as dry as the dust her Dyson sucks up from her hall carpet every day. Then her son Ross, a researcher working for an arms manufacturer in Switzerland, is forced to disappear before some characters cut from the same cloth as Blofeld persuade him to part with the secrets of his research. But they are not the only ones desperate to locate him. A team of security experts is hired by Ross's firm: headed by the enigmatic Bett, his staff have little in common apart from total professionalism and a thorough disregard for the law. Bett believes the key to Ross's whereabouts is his mother, and in one respect he is right, but even he is taken aback by the verve underlying her determination to secure her son's safety as she learns the black arts of quiet subterfuge and violent attack. The teenage dreams of fast cars, high-tech firepower and extreme action had always promised to be fun and games, but in real life it's likely someone is going to lose an eye ...Visit the author's website at www. brookmyre.co.uk
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Amazon Review
All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye belongs to the half of Brookmyre's work less concerned with the state of the Scottish nation and more with what happens when iconically ordinary Scots are dumped into the middle of Hollywood plots. Here, we have, on the one hand, an international trouble-shooting organization most of whose agents are on the run from some sort of trouble themselves, and, on the other, a forty-something grandmother aware that life has passed her by and was not meant to. When someone tries to kidnap her grand-daughter, she responds with inventive viciousness; told to save her family by making a South of France rendezvous, she steals passports, cars and tickets as if she has always been doing it. Recruited merely as an expert on a missing boffin who happens to be her son, Jane demonstrates that the quiet desperation of ordinary life is the best training a super agent could have...This is Brookmyre at his most slyly subversive and viscerally exciting, a daydream which never quite becomes preposterous. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A sharp, memorable and occasionally surprisingly touching book.' Euan Ferguson, Observer 'Funny, electric and captivating.' Marcel Berlins, THE TIMES 'Memorably funny lines.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'The usual rip-roaring narrative but with a vividly adult, sensitive edge.' GLASGOW HERALD 'Exotic locations, fast-moving storyline, snappy dialogue, a raunchy grandmother, espionage, violence, humour and a mad scientist- Brookmyre certainly knows how to pack a crime novel... definitely in a league of his own.' DAILY MIRROR 'As ever, Brookmyre can do madcap escapism which cocks a snook at the cliches of your average thriller while never letting up on the adrenaline, completely sucking you into the world of his devious imagination.' DAILY EXPRESS 'Very funny.' HEAT 'All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye belongs to the half of Brookmyre's work less concerned with the state of the Scottish nation and more with what happens when iconically ordinary Scots are dumped into the middle of Hollywood plots. Here, we have, on the one hand, an international trouble-shooting organization most of whose agents are on the run from some sort of trouble themselves, and, on the other, a forty-something grandmother aware that life has passed her by and was not meant to. When someone tries to kidnap her grand-daughter, she responds with inventive viciousness; told to save her family by making a South of France rendezvous, she steals passports, cars and tickets as if she has always been doing it. Recruited merely as an expert on a missing boffin who happens to be her son, Jane demonstrates that the quiet desperation of ordinary life is the best training a super agent could have...This is Brookmyre at his most slyly subversive and viscerally exciting, a daydream which never quite becomes preposterous.' Roz Kaveney, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By N. D. Holt
Format:Paperback
I had read all of Christopher Brookmyre's other books before this was realeased, and was waiting for its publish date, then after publication I came and read some other reviews which slated it as an underwhelming read ... so I went on to read something else instead.
Well, I've just finished "All Fun and Games" and found it thoroughly enjoyable ... sure it isn't full of the gut wrenching, stomach churning humour of the other books ... but once I was started on it and the story got going ... I still couldn't put it down until I'd finished it.
If you've read, and enjoyed, his other books ... have a read of this one, and don't be put off by the more critical reviews.
Well, I've just finished "All Fun and Games" and found it thoroughly enjoyable ... sure it isn't full of the gut wrenching, stomach churning humour of the other books ... but once I was started on it and the story got going ... I still couldn't put it down until I'd finished it.
If you've read, and enjoyed, his other books ... have a read of this one, and don't be put off by the more critical reviews.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I just love comedy in crime novels and no one does it better than Brookmyre. I've read all of his books and this one is my favourite.
I agree with some of the reviewers that it does take a while for it to get going (the start being somewhat laboured), but if you can forgive the first few chapters and persevere, it soon turn into a very page-turning and wonderfully humorous (black comedy) story from there on in.
Great scenario that the mother, Jane, (a James Bond fanatic), is recruited in to find her missing son. But there are lots of well thought through characters and sub plots to keep you entertained throughout.
If you've never read a Brookmyre book, treat yourself to this one! And if like me, you are into the dark comedy crime genre, then The Dealer by Tony Royden is another gem that I would highly recommend you try.
I agree with some of the reviewers that it does take a while for it to get going (the start being somewhat laboured), but if you can forgive the first few chapters and persevere, it soon turn into a very page-turning and wonderfully humorous (black comedy) story from there on in.
Great scenario that the mother, Jane, (a James Bond fanatic), is recruited in to find her missing son. But there are lots of well thought through characters and sub plots to keep you entertained throughout.
If you've never read a Brookmyre book, treat yourself to this one! And if like me, you are into the dark comedy crime genre, then The Dealer by Tony Royden is another gem that I would highly recommend you try.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By C. J. Tait
Format:Paperback
Get past the first chapter - a bit pedestrian and confusing - and enjoy the fun, laughs and excitement that are to come. This is the first Brookmyre novel that I have read, but it certainly won't be the last (another is waiting on the shelf for me even as I write).
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as easy to get into as some of his other books
I usually scream with laughter at Mr B's books, but htis one leaves me a little cold, too much going on and too many characters at once, doesn't leave me with a sense of place of... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Sma
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read
Action. Adventure. Intrigue. And of course, Brookmyre writes with his engaging style. I thought this an excellent story, well crafted, and I'll read others in the future.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. O. J. Proctor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Different...
...but still excellent. An interesting diversion for Christopher Brookmyre - dark and cynical as ever but with a few unexpected twists.
Liked it a lot.
Liked it a lot.
Published 3 months ago by Darth Gixxer
5.0 out of 5 stars
great read
I'm working my way through Chris Brookmyre's back catalogue, and loving it so far. This is another good read, although I'd like to have seen at least one of the sappier characters... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mark Schofield
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly fun and games
My 10th Brookmyre and although it has great set pieces and wonderful characters - notably Bett and Jane - it is not quite up there with One Fine Day or The Sacred Art. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Dillon the Villain
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've heard the phrase die laughing. Little did I know.....
I laughed so hard I really thought I'd burst a blood vessel. It was a perfectly written hysterical unexpected unusual VERY VERY VERY FUNNY book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Anniefitz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious, touching and genuine - despite all the weaponry!
I rarely find myself laughing out loud while reading, but this book made me giggle right the way through. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kiki_M
1.0 out of 5 stars
Another disappointment
This must be what it is like to be a crack addict - your first experience gives you such a high, you take more and more to reproduce the initial high but never quite succeed. Read more
Published 13 months ago by pigsmayfly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stewartfield Beamers
I saw a huge Beamer parked on double yellows outside Stewartfield (East Kilbride) Morrisons yesterday... I was almost tempted to nick it!
Published 14 months ago by davidh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christopher Brookmyre
The book arrived on time in good order. Another witty and funny book from the author, who keeps one guessing.
Published 18 months ago by Susric
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