Boiling a Frog
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Amazon.co.uk Review
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
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I started with 'Quite ugly...' because Prachett recommended it as a good reading in an interview. A few weeks later I was through all his published works and eagerly waiting for the 'Boiling...' to arrive.
As a not-native speaker of English languague it was quite a chore reading his slang-filled books, but it was worth it, oh yes, by far! Reading one of Brookmyres books I have encountered three feelings - laughter that makes passers-by turn their heads and tsk-tsk disapprovingly; recognition ('Wow, he writes about how the things really are!') and panic ('God, what if the things really are the way he describes them?')
'Boiling a Frog' is not the best first book of Brookmyre to read, but it's an eagerly awaited sequel for those who have enjoyed Parlabane's past 'adventuers'. My favourite is still 'Not the end of the world', though.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a big fan of Brookmyre and yet again, he pulls it off with an inspired read.
A dark satirical look at modern day Scotland and, although the plot may seem far-fetched at first, in actual fact its worryingly believable!
I did find it quite slow to start with but it was well worth persevering with it as the pace soon picked up and the story had me on the edge of my seat! In fact, by the end, I simply couldn't put it down!
Although this is admittedly not Brookymyre's best novel, it is a cracking read all the same and wholeheartedly recommended!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was my first Brookmyre read, and I was astounded by the hours of enjoyment that I received from this novel; alas, they were simply over far too quickly.
Although, as I believe has been noted by others, a quite unbelievable plot, Brookmyre offers an original and witty take on the perilous nature of politics, religion, New Scotland and the nature of society in this dark and brooding tale.
A story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and at times feeling rather queasy, (hacking people's heads off with saws, sharpened steel rulers through parts of the body, that sort of thing) I raced through the pages to find out how the truly addictive plot and characters could possibly sort out the mess they had got themselves into.
With a quite obviously marvellous talent for encompassing the reader into the deceitful world of the plot, I will certainly be looking to submerge myself into Brookmyre's world again sometime soon.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brookmyre at his best
A typical Brookmyre novel with plenty to enjoy : action, nice twists in the plot overlaid with his distinct humour ! Read on and Enjoy !
Published 2 months ago by A. RAWICZ-SZCZERBO
Slow plot up until the end
Brookmyre's fifth novel sees the return of investigative journalist Jack Parlebane, thrown in jail for breaking and entering. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. R. Johnson-Rollings
Worth finishing; but not sure if it's worth starting.
Be warned it took me about 4 weeks to read the 1st 200 pages of this book, and 2 hours to read the last 200. worth finishing, but not so sure if it's worth starting. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2004
Satire at its best
I found this the most compelling of Brookmyre's books. The dialogue was sharp, humourous and realistic. Furthermore, the character development was superb as his is trademark. Read more
Published on 23 July 2003 by "steve166"
Flashes of genius
This book is my first Brookmyre outing, and while it didnt quite hit the spot, it shows sufficient talent for me to have added a few more of his books to my reading... Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2002 by Tom Douglas
Flashes of genius
This book is my first Brookmyre outing, and while it didnt quite hit the spot, it shows sufficient talent for me to have added a few more of his books to my reading... Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2002 by Tom Douglas
Not up to the usual standard
As a major Brookmyre fan, I was first in line to pick up Boiling a Frog, and found it extremely disappointing. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2002
Scotland falls for the stereotypes
Scotland appears to be developing a real image problem. In every film, television series and book written about the place, the themes seem to be the same and corruption is usually... Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2001 by dr_kes@hotmail.com
A little different, but I think you'll still love it.
A thoroughly entrancing book. It may begin slowly and you might think 'this is going no where' but as always there is something just below the surface. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2001
A pot-boiler by a writer going off the boil?
A big Brookmyre fan, I was first in line for a copy of Boiling a Frog. Great disappointment! He's too good a writer to write a positively bad book, but this one is nowhere near up... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2001
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