Frankie Boyle

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* *A SUNDAY TIMES THRILLER OF THE MONTH* 'A gloriously funny mystery' Telegraph 'An enjoyably dark and entertaining tranche of Glasgow noir . . . Imagine Withnail and I stumbling into a Bond movie co-written by William McIlvanney and Mick Herron . . . [A] deft, engaging thriller' Observer Glasgow, 2015. When Valium addict Felix McAveety's best friend Marina is found murdered in the local park, he goes looking for answers to questions that he quickly forgets. In a haze of uppers, hallucinogens, and diazepam, Felix enlists the help of a brilliant but mercurial GP; a bright young trade unionist; a failing screenwriter; semi-celebrity crime novelist Jane Pickford; and his crisis fuelled downstairs neighbour Donnie. Their investigation sends them on a bewildering expedition that takes in Scottish radical politics, Artificial Intelligence, cults, secret agents, smugglers and vegan record shops. Meantime is a picaresque detective story set against the backdrop of post-referendum Scotland. Frankie Boyle's compelling debut novel is a tale of murder and revenge, and of personal and political loss. 'A darkest noir, unputdownable crime novel that swerves and surprises, with a gut-punch ending. I loved it!' Denise Mina, author of The Long Drop 'Reads like a twisted Caledonian take on Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye. Inherent vices and scalpel-sharp jokes vie with a very human concern for those least garlanded in the rat race of life' Ian Rankin 'Part whodunnit, part social safari, part extended stand-up monologue . . . the novel is full of scintillating sentences and perfect lines of dialogue' Sunday Times 'A surprisingly moving and beautiful journey through one man's shitshow of a friend's death / hangover' Lucy Prebble, executive producer and writer of Succession

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

Meantime

Jan Jackson

Do you have a clearer idea of what's going on now? I'm kind of lost."

 "Oh, yes, I'm getting there, I think.' She pushed herself away from the rock and paced around a little in front of me. The wind picked up hard. Jane's open coat billowed behind her. Leaning on her cane, for a second she was a wizard or druid anmong the stones. 'Of course, this is something that should take place in the drawing room of a country house, and I should have an audience of troubled elites, but you'll have to do.' 

The stones and I are your audience, fire away,' I drawled. "Excuse me, your Excellency' I said to one of the smaller stones as I sat on it. We both laughed. It wasn't that funny, but morphine seemed to be a real mood lightener.

Meantime quotes

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