Boiling a Frog

by Christopher Brookmyre

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0349114137
• ISBN13: 9780349114132
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Time Warner Books UK
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Humour and insight with a gritty feel

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