Meantime: The gripping debut crime novel from Frankie Boyle

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Ultimately though, the book lives and dies on the strength of the comedy, which is very good indeed, I had moments where I struggled to continue, but by the end, in service to the weird plot, the comic side of it is somewhat suppressed and it ends up slightly on the unsatisfying side, there's not enough else to it to make it a thoroughly satisfying book despite it being a very good book. His life has been hard but ultimately, he is a good guy, and one thing that Frankie Boyle has in common with George R. This is fun to read and the plot does engage with you from the get go, but as you expect the characters just jump out from the pages. Not quite on a level of Trainspotting bad, but certainly not the behaviour or decorum you usually expect in crime fiction.

There are some great bits in towards the end but you've got to wade through quite a bit of unreliable drug-fuelled narration before that. It is probably filled with some of the most colourful and unique descriptions of people and places that I have ever read - a kind of acid trip playing out on the page - and yet it's surprisingly effective. It's as rambly as a story about a drug-addicted guy out of his mind trying to solve the murder of his friend as you expect it to be, but I was never bored. It's a crime thriller but it very much reflects Boyle's previous tv and stand up work, in that it's not your conventional crime thriller. Enlisting the help of a retired Detective turned crime- novelist, Felix is determined to solve the mystery of Marina’s murder, not trusting the police to get it right.

Felix taxis away with Tom and Sophie from Beloved Intelligence, who give him information on Chong and Marina. She seemed like a very genuine, straight to the point woman and I always had the feeling that if I was to meet her in person, I’d feel the need to show her respect.

She reveals Brond and Chong's plan – discovering Felix's closeness to Marina, they sent Donnie to live in his building. He also enlists several of his friends and associates to assist him in his endeavours to discover the real murderer as he believes that the Police don't really care. The reason the book is a three star is because it just tried to do too much, the plot itself became a little lost and there seemed almost too much to it. Frankie Boyle's compelling debut novel is a tale of murder and revenge, and of personal and political loss. He was a permanent panellist on Mock the Week for seven series and has made guest appearances on several popular panel shows including Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?I wasnt focused on trying to beat the detective and guess the culprit, I was just along for the ride and wanting to learn more about each character, which made this a nice stress-free yet nourishing read. The plot is deliberately used as the tracks for a scenic train journey, though on closer inspection, the landscape can be quite bleak, enjoyable nonetheless. It was full of witty one liners and dark humour and so it was very much the same tone as his comedy.