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First British Edition Little,Brown (2007) |
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Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks
Do you believe in ghosts? Do we really live on in some conscious form after we die, and is that form capable of communicating with the world of the living?Aye, right
| First British Edition Little,Brown (2006) |
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| Paperback - Abacus (2007) |
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A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil
Christopher Brookmyre on A Tale Etched In Blood And Hard Black Pencil
In His Own Words…
A Tale Etched In Blood And Hard Black Pencil is a small-town murder mystery, which is quite a departure for me—no underground bases or rocket-launchers—though as it’s largely dealing with school days, there’s ample scope for over-the-top violence. It begins with the discovery of two bodies on the outskirts of a town near Glasgow, and it quickly becomes clear to the detective in charge of the investigation that not only was one of the victims in her class at school, but so were both of the suspects now in custody. Instead of a forensic investigation into the physical evidence, the story emerges by tracing the childhoods of a group of characters from their first day in Primary 1 to the night of their high-school leaving dance, twenty years ago.
Almost every childhood incident in this book is based on events that happened during my own school days. I decided that rather than make things up, I would mine my own memories in order to concentrate more on developing original characters and examining the ways in which these events shaped them as they grew up.
I think most people, whatever their provenance, will be able to identify with the events and characters in this book, and will therefore be able to deduce what is being referred to even if the words are not familiar. For people not from Scotland, it might even add to the fun when they think back and remember their own terms for the same things and realize that their school was much the same, geography notwithstanding. My editor initially suggested a glossary just for the website—www.brookmyre.co.uk—but when I submitted it, it went down so well with everyone at the publishers that they insisted it go in the book. The joke is that many of the definitions require as much knowledge of Glasgow dialect as they ostensibly attempt to explain.
| Paperback - Abacus (2006) |
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| First British Edition Little,Brown (2005) |
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All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye
| British Pbk Original - Little,Brown (2004) |
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Be My Enemy
Christopher Brookmyre on Be My Enemy
In His Own Words…
Be My Enemy was my belief that inside each of us there is a little fascist who would like to silence anybody who disagrees with our point of view, and the book is an attempt to explore what happens when that nasty little instinct goes unchecked. To create my own diabolical little laboratory for this, I placed a number of characters, previously unknown to one another, in a self-contained and isolated environment: a Highland country house hotel where they are tucked away for a corporate team-building weekend. Add alcohol and edged weapons, then mix thoroughly...
In the case of most, this inner-fascist is merely a matter of political intolerance, and to that end the novel harks back to the more polarised politics of the Thatcher era: the lefties painting the right-wingers as bigots and oppressors, the right-wingers painting the lefties as disloyal subversives who needed to be cracked down upon. Twenty years on, the divisions and prejudices are still raw, though both sides are objecting to what they presume the other lot to believe rather than engaging in sufficient discourse to actually find out.
The more extreme manifestation of the inner fascist, however, is the mindset — increasingly prevalent post 9/11 — that believes we could make the world a safer place if we just wiped out the bad guys. It’s a simplistic, vigilante philosophy that would happily allow the security forces dish out some “instant justice” — as long as it’s people we disagree with on the receiving end. Our inner fascist would love to believe there was some super-elite, secret-agent unit capable of stealthily wiping out the Bin Ladens of the world, so as an exercise in cautioning people to be careful what they wish for, this book deals with the bloody and disastrous consequences when someone decides to create just such a force. As Jack Parlabane muses when it’s suggested that the answer to terrorism is “fighting fire with fire” — “I don’t imagine Red Adair’s with you on that one.”
Paperback - Abacus (2003)
First British Edition Abacus (2003) 
Let us prey ...
The press tend to talk about bank robberies as being daring, ingenious and audacious. They don’t describe many as Dadaist, even the ones who know what `Dadaist’ means. But how else does one explain choreographed dancing gunmen in Buchanan Street, or the surreal methods they use to stay one step ahead of the cops?
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is a connoisseur of crooks, and she’s sure that the heist she got caught up in wasn’t the work of the usual sawn-offs-and-black-tights practitioners indigenous to the parish. She knows she’s dealing with a unique species of thief, and it’s her job to hunt him to extinction - though the fact that it’s not just his m.o. that’s cute might prove a distraction.
This thief, however, has greater concerns than his own safety, and a secret agenda more valuable than anything he might steal. He can afford to play cat and mouse with the female cop who’s on his tail; it might even arguably be necessary. What he can’t afford is to let her get too close: he could end up back in jail, which holds terrors enough; but even more scary, he could end up in love.
Honesty is a virtue. Deceit is a talent. Theft is an art form.
The Sacred Art of Stealing: prepare to be misled.
‘Christopher Brookmyre is a genius’ Mirror
‘Brookmyre confounds your expectations with intriguing regularity ... a cracking read’ Heat
‘The Glesca Polis ought to thank its lucky stars that Brookmyre is merely devising cunning and hugely entertaining crime novels, rather than heists of his own’ Sunday Express
‘So intelligent, it should have its own Mensa category’ Daily Record
‘Brookmyre confounds your expectations with intriguing regularity ... a cracking read’ Heat
‘Criminally funny’ The TimesAbout The Author
Christopher Brookmyre has gone from having a huge cult following to being a top ten Sunday Times bestselling author. Very dry, sharp and intelligent, he's a regular on BBC Radio 4's 'Quote, Unquote' and various programmes on BBC Scotland, and a few months ago he even made his stand up debut at London's Comedy Store.
Christopher's writing is known for its satire, intelligence and irreverence and he's been named the 4th coolest author in the world by a brandleaders survey (below J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown and Philip Pullman). James Nesbitt starred in a TV adaptation and a future series is upcoming .
in his own words… The important stuff:
Christopher Brookmyre first hit the British bookshelves in the summer of 1996 with Quite Ugly One Morning, a scurrilous satire on the then Conservative government’s NHS reforms. The book won the inaugural Critics’ First Blood award for the best first crime novel of the year, but is destined to be remembered principally for featuring a huge jobbie on a mantelpiece in its opening chapter.
Its sequel, Country Of The Blind, (out in paperback this June) provided a second outing for morally ambiguous uber-hack Jack Parlabane, this time tenaciously probing who killed media-mogul Roland Voss (not least because Parlabane would have quite liked to do it himself).
Brookmyre’s third novel, the Los Angeles-set Not The End Of The World, will be published in hardback in July, taking on millennial hysteria, Christian fundamentalism, pornography, cheesy b-movies and bad hair. It has been described as “gloriously unsound” and is extremely unlikely to be among the Daily Mail’s books of the year.
The less important stuff:
Christopher Brookmyre was born in Glasgow in 1968, and has worked as a journalist in London, Los Angeles and Edinburgh, contributing to Screen International, The Scotsman, the Edinburgh Evening News and The Absolute Game. Contrary to the official version, Quite Ugly One Morning was in fact his fourth novel, but the first one to find a publisher. It followed two veritable duffers and a more promising third, which has subsequently been optioned for a film adaptation. He is married with no parasitic spawn.
The downright trivia (you have been warned):
Religion: St Mirren supporter since age eight. Attended Hammarby game. Underwent lengthy counseling. Also suffers from Hibby sympathies due to many years’ residence near Easter Road. Open to financial offers not to support your team as well. Detests the Old Firm with a passion, but feels sorry for their supporters, who presumably seek to associate themselves with the might of these spoiled giants to compensate for the desolate nothingness that is their lives.
Influence and inspiration (because someone always asks): Bill Hicks, Billy Connolly, Billy Franks, Robertson Davies, Jeff Torrington, Douglas Adams, Carl Hiaasen, Iain Banks, Terry Gilliam, Joel Silver, James Cameron, Warren Zevon, Manic Street Preachers, Indigo Girls, Teenage Fanclub, Mike Scott, Mutton Birds, The Skids …
Email: chrisb@cbrook.globalnet.co.uk
Christopher Brookmyre's first novel, Quite Ugly One Morning, won him the inaugural Fresh Blood Award for the best debut crime novel and held off Iain Banks as Scotland's number one bestseller in paperback. By the time his second, County of the Blind, was published, the media hailed Brookmyre as a star of the Scottish literati (with Warner and Welsh) and rewarded him with the dubious distinction of inventing tartan noir. His third novel Not the End of the World, is a story of fundamental religion and millennial hysteria with a heavy dose of Hollywood's porn industry thrown in.
Brookmyre is outselling Rankin in Scotland - His last novel The Sacred Art Of Stealing sold over 40000 copies. Not only that but, Brookmyre's infamous detective Parlabane, played by Douglas Henshaw, made his radio début in a play broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in January 04. Along with a cast of Scottish sports journalists (Richard Gordon, David Begg and Murdo McLeod) playing themselves and commenting on an armed robbery, Bampot Central featured Brookmyre himself as a policeman. There is also a TV series in development.
Chris lives near Glasgow with his wife, his son and his St Mirren season ticket.Thousands of New and used Books at your Fingertips...
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Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks (Little,Brown, 2007) A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil (Little,Brown, 2006) Abacus Pbk Apr 07 (Jack Parlabane) All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye (Little,Brown, 2005) Abacus Pbk Apr 06 Be My Enemy (Little,Brown Pbk, 2004) The Sacred Art of Stealing (Abacus, 2003) Little,Brown Oct 02 Abacus Pbk Sep 03 A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (Abacus Pbk, 2001) Boiling A Frog (Little,Brown Pbk, 2000) One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (Little,Brown, 1999) Abacus Pbk Aug 00 (Jack Parlabane) Not the End of the World (Little,Brown, 1998) Country of the Blind (Abacus, 1997) Abacus Pbk 1998 (Jack Parlabane) Quite Ugly One Morning (Little,Brown, 1996) Abacus Pbk 1997 (Jack Parlabane)
Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks
