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Quite Ugly One Evening

Jack Parlabane is back in this ingenious locked-room mystery
Brief Description
The plot is breathtaking, the setting beautiful and the characters are written with genuine depth. And smack bang in the middle of this Succession-meets-The Traitors novel is Brookmyre's most iconic character: the monumental Jack Parlabane. Irrepressible, acerbic and positively rubbing his hands with glee. Absolutely brilliant'... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Jack Parlabane is back in this gripping, devilishly entertaining locked-room mystery from award-winning author Chris Brookmyre

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The plot is breathtaking, the setting beautiful and the characters are written with genuine depth. And smack bang in the middle of this Succession-meets-The Traitors novel is Brookmyre's most iconic character: the monumental Jack Parlabane. Irrepressible, acerbic and positively rubbing his hands with glee. Absolutely brilliant' M. W. Craven

Brookmyre at his twisted best... Laugh out loud and perfectly conceived. What a bloody triumph' Helen Fields

An Atlantic voyage. A family at war. A secret worth killing over.

Reporter Jack Parlabane thrives on chasing stories in unlikely places, and where could be less likely than a fan convention on a cruise liner celebrating a contentious Sixties TV series? But unlike the media family exploiting their show's renewed relevance, he's not there to stoke controversy: he's there to solve a murder.

Already in deep water with his employer, Jack desperately needs a win, and solving this decades-old mystery could be it. Problem is, he's in the middle of the Atlantic, and someone onboard has already killed once to keep their secret.

And that's not even the tricky part. No, the tricky part is definitely the dead body locked in a stateroom with him, covered in his blood. Now Jack has to solve two murders, otherwise the only way he's getting off this ship is in handcuffs - or in a body bag.

Quite Ugly One Evening is a zeitgesty locked-room mystery that sees the return of rogue journalist Jack Parlabane thirty years after his first appearance in Quite Ugly One Morning.

Praise for Chris Brookmyre:

'Chris Brookmyre is a genius' Richard Osman

'In the pantheon of great crime writers' Elly Griffiths

'There's nothing he can't do' Mick Herron

'Chris Brookmyre is a storytelling mastermind' Chris Whitaker

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780349145839

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 May 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Abacus

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 480g

Pages: 400

About the Author

Chris Brookmyre (Author)

Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full-time novelist with the publication of his award-winning debut Quite Ugly One Morning, which established him as one of Britain's leading crime writers. His 2016 novel Black Widow won both the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. Brookmyre's novels have sold more than two million copies in the UK alone.

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