One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night

4.5 stars.

A high school reunion (of sorts) is set on a (slightly) off shore rig platform that has been turned into a floating resort. It is a chance for one graduate to show off, but an opportunity for hired mercenaries to hit a captive audience with no where to go.

Well. Honestly, I didn't know what was happening here for at least the first 1/4 of the book, as we meet the players and some bit players and random people off the street. (Not quite.) After that, I just enjoyed the ride, even if I didn't fully understand what was going on, trusting that the author had a plan to tie everything together. (The author did.) I enjoyed all of the characters, and just about all of them were sympathetic characters, even the mercenaries. They were show more all human, with human foibles. The two who weren't sympathetic really stood out in stark relief against everyone else, and I'm pretty sure that was on purpose. The egotistical, narcissistic, asshole-ishness was really noticeable, and I'm glad that they (mostly) paid for it. There was quite a bit of phonetic dialogue, which always annoys me, but for the most part, this was quite enjoyable. show less

This was my introduction to Brookmyre, and I love it! It's a great crime farce, with very human characters and a wicked sense of humor.

Like the best of Hiassen's, or Westlake's, or Dave Barry's crime farces... this one piles ridiculousness on absurdity, while still amke it- almost- plausible- and funny enough that one wants to find out what happens next.

This is set in Scotland, which is a nice change from southern Florida, but apparently seeking equal opportunity when it comes to the criminal element.

Even several of the "bad guys" are plausible and somewhat sympathetic characters, and this is even more true with the "good guys"- though all are flawed in ways that add to the plot.

I will mention that there is quite a lot of gore in show more several places. If reading about dismemberment squicks you, this is probably not your book; but while it is graphic imagery, it's not really emotionally graphic. This is probably a Bad Thing for our compassion, but it does make the gore easier to tolerate.

Very highly recommended for fans of crime/caper farces, especially if the gore is tolerable. This is a wickedly funny book. show less

A group of people are invited to a 15-year class reunion to take place on an oil rig which has been, or rather is in the process of being, extravagantly renovated and turned into an offshore resort - the kind meant to make reluctant British vacationers experience nothing foreign. The host is a former classmate, eager to prove he's made the most of himself since their rough Auchenlea (outside Glasgow, Scotland) Catholic school days. While most of his former classmates barely remember who he was, they're curious and, most of all, looking forward to the open bar.

Right from the start, the book is both very darkly humorous and very violent, and that remains consistent throughout. Like some of its main characters, it is self-deprecating in show more an appealing way. Characters who deserve a comeuppance get it, and characters who seek redemption find it. For those offput by and squeamish at a certain degree of violence and resulting gore, no matter how entertaining and even clever, this is likely not the right book. My main critique is that Brookmyre has so many threads going, some of the potentially interesting ones get a bit lost in the mayhem.

Still and all, Brookmyre captures the essence of adulthood - that we all are trying to prove that we've evolved beyond what and who we were - or how we were perceived - as teenagers, and in reality we're all still carrying those roles around with us. Part Elmore Leonard, part Tom Wolfe, and the odd dash of John Hughes-the-reunion-years, all combined to make an entertainingly bloody good action-packed read. show less

This novel opens with one of the most shameless shaggy dog stories ever, and goes on from strength to strength. Love how he blows up cliches from action movies, while doing the novelistic equivalent of a violent action movie. Vulgar, violent, funny, compulsively page-turning.

Fabulous book. Really, the dry humour is real here, and I was laughing on my own already after the first pages. From there, it goes downhill very quickly, with more gore and wit to leave you smirking or just laughing your head off.
Best scene: former PI McGregor hitchhiking with a severed arm. It is just too funny.
Now go on and read it, I won't tell you more because I would otherwise spoil it.

What happens when you hold a high school reunion party aboard an oil-rig that's being converted into a hotel & leisure complex and there are unwelcome visitors in the shape of a band of mercenaries with their own rather different party in mind? This high-octane thriller starts off at a sedate pace. We meet the mercenaries; we meet the former pupils - both officially invited and not, and find out how their lives have moved on after 15 yrs. Then the action starts happening and everything accelerates to the final showdown at breakneck speed. In between the action with its gruesomely realised scenes of ultraviolence, we get loads of laughs in Brookmyre's unique style. Most of the characters are truly awful, but we are drawn to burnt-out show more comic Matt and wronged-wife Simone who in blockbuster movie traditional become heroes. Another unputdownable novel from one of Scotland's best talents. show less

Brookmyre does Die Hard though on a converted oil rig instead of an office tower block. A gloriously violent start with lashings of black humour let you know what you're in for (to give you some idea of what I mean a flying arm knocks out a recently retired policeman out for a walk). Terrorists invade an oil rig that's been converted into a floating resort. Instead of the expected pre-launch party full of investors and other high-rollers they encounter a school reunion that's been 15 years in the making.

Former school non-entity, Gavin, wants to show off to all those people who took no notice while at school. He's now a successful travel entrepeneur and has developed a floating resort on an oil rig which is scheduled to be transported to show more off the coast of Africa. So what better place to have a reunion so that he can gloat. Events take an unexpected turn when his party is crashed by the most ragtag bunch of terrorists you've ever seen.

This book contains all the elements you'd expect from a Christopher Brookmyre novel. You may have to take some time deciphering the unfamilliar Scottish words and if you don't like violence or bad words then this book is not for you. For those that like their humour on the dark side with thrills and suspense thrown in then this is fully recommended. show less