Description

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*

‘An enjoyably dark and entertaining tranche of Glasgow noir . . . [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

Publisher Review

A darkest noir, unputdownable crime novel that swerves and surprises, with a gut-punch ending. I loved it! * Denise Mina * A gloriously funny mystery that bucks the "cosy crime' trend" . . . Peppered with one-liners, it reads Raymond Chandler in Glasgow . . . Boyle regularly deploys the beautifully offbeat imagery that characterises the best of his stand-up * Telegraph * Starts off the funniest noir - like a Glaswegian Big Lebowski - then takes you somewhere suddenly heartbreaking . . . A debut novel that makes me absolutely INSIST there is more to come * Marina Hyde * The gags are so good that the book doesn't outstay its welcome [...] anybody who loves jet-black humour is in for a treat * Daily Express * 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 * 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 * A surprisingly moving and beautiful journey through one man's sh*tshow of a friend's death/hangover * Lucy Prebble, screenwriter for Succession * A fine slice of contemporary noir, full of acute insight into the way we live now -- John Williams * Mail on Sunday * Just finished this and f*ck me, it's total class!! I'm sure all the expletive swears are coming out for this one - and so they should. Ace * Helen Stanton, Forum Books * Meantime is a tremendous book: a detective story full of twists and turns that is as beautifully written as it is darkly comic. . . Not surprisingly, Meantime is very, very funny. But it is also a gripping work of stylised crime fiction that marks, I suspect, a new and exciting chapter in Boyle's multi-faceted career -- Matthew D'ancona * Tortoise * Remarkably moving * The Scotsman * A sharply written, memorable read * Scottish Field * Meantime flies along, filled with laughs and moments that pull you up sharp * The Sun (Scotland) * Boyle's key strength is in creating such a believable milieu, even when events are exaggerated, underpinned but never derailed by a tongue-in-cheek humour * Chortle *