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Following his previous involvement with a branch of Murderer's Anonymous, which ended with him dead at the foot of a cliff and his brain stored in a jar, Barney Thomson's future seemed bleak. However, for no reason that he can get to the bottom of, suddenly he is back, plucked from the grave to be the personal barber to the First Minister of the Scottish Executive. Unexpectedly thrown into the world of political intrigue and scandal, Barney's life is at least given some consistency when a serial killer begins to pick off members of the cabinet in a series of brutal, but popular murders.
Excerpted from King Was in His Counting House, The by Douglas Lindsay. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The door opened and a young woman walked in, carrying a tray of breakfast materials. She smiled, her teeth were extraordinarily white, and she was dressed in dark blue. Neatly cut trousers and a top with a high, Chinese buttoned neckline. The outfit was edged with very fine red and gold, and had a beautiful presence of its own, of uniformity and of lavish, unnecessary expense.
‘Nice to see you’re awake, Mr Thomson,’ she said, standing properly before him, after laying the tray on a large round table. ‘We weren’t sure what you would like to eat, so there’s a selection.’
He didn’t reply. She was partly blocking the sun so that it was hitting the back of her head and creating a halo effect around her bobbed blonde hair. She was beautiful. Pale. Almost celestial. And Barney Thomson suddenly wondered if he was dead.
‘Nice to see you’re awake, Mr Thomson,’ she said, standing properly before him, after laying the tray on a large round table. ‘We weren’t sure what you would like to eat, so there’s a selection.’
He didn’t reply. She was partly blocking the sun so that it was hitting the back of her head and creating a halo effect around her bobbed blonde hair. She was beautiful. Pale. Almost celestial. And Barney Thomson suddenly wondered if he was dead.
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Sometimes when the sun hits you first thing in the morning, bursting in through open curtains and creeping slowly across the floor, the warmth on your face is glorious. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Sometimes when the sun hits you first thing in the morning, bursting in through open curtains and creeping slowly across the floor, the warmth on your face is glorious. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is Douglas Lindsay's best novel yet. He has upped the ante from the simply black humour of the previous books to presenting a satire somewhat in the mode of Christopher Brookmyre, but still with his own unique voice. The tales of the Scottish Parliament and its ministers had me laughing out loud. Hope he gets away without being sued for libel! Plus, of course, I continue to feel affection for Barney. Long may he live (or die). And long may the body count rise.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
At first glance it looks like Douglas Lindsay has just done the same old thing of killing his main character off because he was bored with him, before being forced to bring him back by either public of financial demands. Who knows what his reasons were, but on this occasion Barney's previous death has served him well. Whereas the Barney of before was a miserable dour Scot, with whom it was very difficult to sympathise, this new incarnation is much more laid back and arcebic, and consequently a lot more fun. He even gets to have sex, something which he never even dreamt of before his death. Hard to say why he's not dead anymore, as if Lindsay himself couldn't decide, but that doesn't seem to matter. This book is tremendous fun, and followers of Scottish politics - if such a thing exists - will enjoy sorting out which character is based on which real life politican/criminal. The whole thing is stupidly hilarious and the creation of Jesse Longfellow-Moses, a cross between Blair, Bush, Saddam and Andy Pandy, is probably the best in the whole series.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Followers of Barney Thomson's adeventures will no doubt be a little surprised to see his return. His demise at the end of the third book in the series seemed to have put paid to his highly amusing escapades. However, Douglas Lyndsay has engineered his return from the grave. How exactly? Well, you get to choose from several possible outcomes. Which one is true? Are any of them? Does it matter?
It's a more confident Barney Thomson in this book. Rather than simply being swept along by events he has more of a vocabulary and is more active. Of course, mass deaths still follow the poor bloke around and he's at the centre of suspicion, but it couldn't be any different.
It's good to have him back, but if I had one criticism it's that the ending is maybe just a little too contrived, even for Barney. Good read though.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Help, my brain was in a jar!
I know, I'm hooked, don't look at me like that but I just love wee Barney and I was so worried about him lying there dead on that rocky outcrop and then when I heard they took his... Read more
Published 1 month ago by McDroll
Disappointing return
I loved the first 3 Barney Thomson novels - excting, humourous and with a gripping (yet oddly believable) story line, so I was intrigued to see how the hero managed to return from... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2008 by Kelly Evans
Another Fantastic Barney Adventure!
I'm so pleased Barney has returned from the dead! This book is another gripping read. Lindsay's unique style and original story-telling remains, and I hope every Scottish... Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2004
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