Crime Fiction Alphabet – C is for Christopher Brookmyre

Published on by Margaret

At first glance I wouldn’t have thought that Christopher Brookmyre would be my sort of author. He writes gritty,down to earth crime fiction, with no punches withheld. And when my son first lent me Quite Ugly One Morning I wasn’t at all sure that I would like it. I was wrong, I loved it – see here.

Brookmyre, a Scottish author, tackles corruption and social injustice in his books; they are satirical and full of bite, full of tension and pace. Before he became a full-time writer he was a journalist. After writing Quite Ugly One Morning he went on to write:

(Links go to Wikipedia)

For a critical perspective of Christopher Brookmyre’s work see this article at Contemporary Writers and for summaries of his books go to his page at Little, Brown Book Group.

Crime Fiction Alphabet is hosted by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise.

9 thoughts on “Crime Fiction Alphabet – C is for Christopher Brookmyre”

  2. I’m afraid I didn’t get past the first page of the only Brookmyre I’ve tried. Obviously I should have persevered. Where’s the best place to start?

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    1. I know what you mean, Annie. I read the first page of Quite Ugly One Morning and put the book back on the shelf. It was only just before I went to a talk by him that I thought I’d better read one of his books. I was glad I did – and he is an excellent speaker, by the way. I suppose I’d say start with that first book and peep through your fingers at the scary bits.

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  3. I had never read any of his books but a friend has been badgering me for ages to try him so I bought Pandaemonium in audio format when it was on special and am about half way through it right now. It’s not crime fiction (not sure what it is – sci-fi/fantasy I guess) but I am enjoying it immensely – I love his writing style and he’s got some real insight into people. It doesn’t hurt that the book is narrated by a bloke with a Scottish accent (I love blokes with Scottish accents).

    I will be reading his more pure crime stuff as soon as I can get my hands on it.

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  4. Margaret – An excellent choice for the letter “C!” It’s interesting how authors (and he’s one of them) can go between “pure” crime fiction (if there is such a thing) and some other genres. Thanks for reminding me of him.

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  5. Hi Margaret,

    I have to be up front and confess that I have never heard of Brookmyre, nor ever come across any of his books.

    That is definitely my loss, I think. He has gone straight to the top of my ‘must buy’ authors, after reading this post and your previous post about him.

    the more gory, the better, as far as I’m concerned, so this book sounds right up my street. Thanks for the great recommendation

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