Country of the Blind (original 1997; edition 2002)

A wealthy and powerful newspaper owner is murdered in a luxury house in Perthshire. The police have apprehended the four burglars responsible. But one of them has left a package with his lawyer, to be opened if he didn’t make a quick return to her office. And the security consultant Donald Lafferty, friend of journalist Jack Parlabane, dies minutes after uttering an oblique message to the assembled TV crews outside the police station where the suspects are being held. A tale of intrigue and conspiracy follows where skulduggery at the heart of government is revealed and unravelled. While the plot and its resolution is not entirely convincing the book is vastly readable with the occasional joke or reference thrown in to lighten things. I particularly liked, “I’m a man of stealth and haste.”

It is interesting that this was written in the dog days of the 1990s Conservative Government yet reads as well now as it might have done then; as if nothing has changed, which of course, in some respects, it hasn’t.

I have noted before Brookmyre’s usage “borne of” when “born of” makes more sense. He adds here, “up to high doe” (which gave me an image of a deer on a plinth) and “thrusted” as the past tense of thrust.

This was only Brookmyre’s second novel so a few infelicities are to be expected. But he has the increasingly irritating habit here of beginning every new scene in medias res and then flashing back to its beginning. He also feels the need to provide backstory for every new viewpoint character when they take up the narrative thread. While this is a timeworn literary technique it is no more than a form of info dumping.

The Country of the Blind is a Brookmyre. It does what it says on the tin. All well and good. Sometimes that is what hits the spot. ( )

Journalist Jack Parlabane is back in this delicious book of political plots, conspiracy theories, and bizarre killings. Following up on the first book in the series, we find Jack almost married to Dr. Sarah Slaughter and contemplating taking a step away from his usual undercover, dangerous ways of getting his story.

Politics are a dirty business and none are dirtier than in Christopher Brookmyre’s Country of the Blind. It’s all about power, money and who has control. A important power broker, owner and publisher of many European newspapers , along with his wife and two body guards are found brutally murdered and four bumbling thieves are quickly arrested for the crime. But when witnesses or anyone taking a second look at the crime start dying in mysterious ways, Jack Parlabane can no longer sit on the sidelines.

Non-stop action, thrills and laughter are trademarks of this series. But it’s also refreshing to find a well crafted story with adult themes that are valid and eye opening. The fact that Brookmyre is able to express his own opinions as part of a thumping good read makes it all the more engaging. Brookmyre has his finger firmly on his reader’s pulse and delivers chills and thrills in a very stylish manner. ( )

This is one of Brookmyre's earliest novels, and in this one Jack Parlabane investigates a conspiracy gone out of control. A billionaire media mogul and his wife and security guards have been killed in a well-guarded luxury home - and some local lads have been set up in the frame.

It's action packed, full of plot twists and bad language, and has a good heart. Characters are likeable and idiosyncratic. The story is told with Brookmyre's trademark Scottish dialect and comic style, and it's just plain fun. Well worth the read. ( )

Plot:
Set a couple of years after the events in Quite Ugly One Morning, Jack Parlabane and Sarah Slaughter are now happily engaged. Jack has promised Sarah that he will stop the more illegal tactics of his journalistic investigations. Unfortunately, that’s when media mogul Roland Voss, his wife and two bodyguards are found dead, with four robbers fleeing the scene, who are easily blamed for the murder. But then the lawyer of one of the robbers, Nicole Carrow, steps forward, claiming that she has evidence the robbers were being framed and Jack receives a call for help from an old friend via national television and soon everything goes to hell.

The book is fast-paced and full with vivid, wonderful characters. It’s written with a fine sense of humour and a lot of snide remarks when it comes to Scottish politics. In short, a perfect, entertaining crime novel.

Read more at my blog: http://kalafudra.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/country-of-the-blind-christopher-brook... ( )

Yet another fantastic caper from Christopher Brookmyre which I am sure I will read again in the future. Laugh out loud, thrilling and well-paced. Fantastic! ( )