Showing results by author "Christopher Brookmyre" in All Categories

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. That was Jack Parlabane's stance on the matter, anyway. But this was before he found himself in the more compromising position of being not only dead himself, but worse: dead with an exclusive still to file.

Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things. Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it's not the corpse, what is that awful smell?

Everyone's favourite unorthodox journalist Jack Parlabane goes undercover to investigate the mysterious and lucrative world of alternative medicine - in particular, the practice of homeopathy. Are there unexplained forces that can be harnessed to heal us, or is it all a load of sugar?

Simon Darcourt, an inventive killer with a sense of humour, is creating his own celebrity talent show, one that is generating more publicity than its contestants have ever had in their lives. The catch is that those lives won't be very long. The police turn to Angelique de Xavia, a cop who has crossed his path before. However, the police are not the only people who want Darcourt. Now she's faced not only with tracking him down, but also with the task of ensuring she doesn't end up dead once she's served her purpose.

The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer...not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons and as much partying as they can get away with. Not so far away, the commanders of a top-secret military experiment, long-since spiralled out of control, fear they may have literally unleashed the forces of Hell.

"Herzlich willkommen, meine Damen und Herren, Sie nehmen teil an einem Banküberfall!" Eine Gruppe Gangster in Clownskostümen dringt bewaffnet in eine Glasgower Bankfiliale ein. Doch die schwarzhumorigen Ganoven sind nicht nur auf fette Beute aus, sondern bieten ihren Geiseln auch eine waschechte Show – Theatervorführung inklusive. Polizistin Angelique de Xavia soll dem skurrilen Spektakel ein Ende bereiten – und trifft dabei auf Zal, den Anführer der Verbrecherbande. Obwohl beide auf verschiedenen Seiten kämpfen, entspinnt sich eine Romanze zwischen ihnen.