Christopher Brookmyre (b. September 6, 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. ^[1] His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning and subsequent works have included One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which he said "was just the sort of book he needed to write before he turned 30"^{[citation needed]}, and All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005). is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the country. ... Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. ... Quite Ugly One Morning is Christopher Brookmyres firstnovel. ... All Fun and Games until Somebody loses an Eye is the ninth novel by Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Biography

Brookmyre was raised and schooled in Barrhead, attending St. Marks Primary School and St. Luke's High School, before attending the University of Glasgow. ^[2] Brookmyre is married to an anaesthetist and supports St Mirren F.C., references to Scottish football ('fitba') frequently featuring in his books. Barrhead (Ceann a Bhàirr in Scottish Gaelic although Gaelic is not spoken by natives of this part of Scotland] or Baurheid by some locals) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, 8 miles southwest of Glasgow on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. ... St Lukes High School is a secondary school situated in the Auchenback area of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, in the Greater Glasgow area. ... Master of Theology (MTh) Dentistry Nursing Affiliations Russell Group Universitas 21 Website http://www. ... Saint Mirren Football Club (usually referred to simply as St Mirren, or by the nicknames The Buddies or The Saints) are a Scottish football club based in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire. ... Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Novels

Five of Brookmyre's novels (Quite Ugly One Morning, Country of the Blind, Boiling a Frog, Be My Enemy and the recently released Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks) centre on the investigative journalist Jack Parlabane. Parlabane's unorthodox, occasionally criminal methods usually see him catching all manner of "white collar" villains, from murderous NHS Trust managers (Quite Ugly One Morning) to rogue secret service chiefs (Country of the Blind, Be My Enemy). The character is very anti-authoritarian and frequently curses institutions such as the government, media and intelligence services. Through Parlabane, Brookmyre articulates what might be argued as a radical viewpoint, with the "bad guys" invariably belonging to the the Establishment. Most vitriolic is Boiling a Frog, in which Parlabane tracks down massive corruption and murder in the Scottish Catholic Church. This latter novel is also notable for countering readers' accusations that Parlabane had become too good at his work, by opening with him in prison following a conviction for breaking and entering, and for revealing the character's full name to be John Lapsley Parlabane. Investigative journalism is a branch of journalism that usually concentrates on a very specific topic, and typically requires a lot of work to yield results. ... White-collar workers perform tasks which are less laborious yet often more highly paid than blue-collar workers, who do manual work. ... The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly-funded healthcare system of the United Kingdom. ... Quite Ugly One Morning is Christopher Brookmyres firstnovel. ... Because of both the secrecy of secret services and the controversial nature of the issues involved, there is some difficulty in separating the definitions of secret service, secret police, intelligence agency etc. ... Intelligence (abbreviated or ) is the process and the result of gathering information and analyzing it to answer questions or obtain advance warnings needed to plan for the future. ... The Establishment is a pejorative slang term to refer to the traditional and usually conservative ruling class elite and the structures of society which they control. ... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ...

Influences

Brookmyre has said that the inspiration for Jack Parlabane was Ford Prefect from Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series; he said "I always adored the idea of a character who cheerfully wanders into enormously dangerous situations and effortlessly makes them much worse." ^[3] The name Parlabane is taken from the works of Robertson Davies as are the names of several other characters in Brookmyre's works, indicating another of the author's influences. Mos Def as Ford Prefect (left), along with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (right), from the 2005 film adaptation. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... William Robertson Davies, CC, FRSC, FRSL (born August 28, 1913, at Thamesville, Ontario, and died December 2, 1995 at Orangeville, Ontario) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. ...

In other media

In 2003, Quite Ugly One Morning was dramatised in two parts by ITV, with the lead played by Irish actor James Nesbitt. None of Brookmyre's other novels have been adapted for television, but his short story Bampot Central was rewritten as a radio play by the author for BBC Radio. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... James Nesbitt (born January 15, 1965) is a Northern Irish actor who is best known for his roles in ITVs Cold Feet and the BBCs Murphys Law as well as many television advertisements. ...

In 2004, actor David Tennant narrated the audiobook of Quite Ugly One Morning. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Tennant is the stage name of David John McDonald (born 18 April 1971), a Scottish actor from Bathgate, West Lothian, best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who. ...

Recurring Characters

Brookmyre's books contain a number of recurring characters, especially the appearance or mention of major characters (such as Parlabane) in incidental roles in other stories. Some of the recurring characters are listed below:

• Jack Parlabane
• Sarah Slaughter, anaesthetist and ex-wife of the murder victim in "Quite Ugly One Morning". She and Jack are married.
• Angelique de Xavia, the diminutive but deadly police officer from "A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away" and the "Sacred Art of Stealing"
• Tim Vale, the head of security on the Floating Island Paradise Resort is revealed as an associate of Jack Parlabane in "Country of the Blind" when Sarah accuses Jack of having got his gun from Vale. They then join forces in "Be My Enemy".
• Simon Darcourt, the Black Spirit, is the "hero" of the short story "Mellow Doubt", though, unless you have read "A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away". you wouldn't get the reference.
• Steff Kennedy, the hero of "Not the End of the World", is mentioned as the photographer who took the picture of the Arguments for their single sleeve in "A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away".

He has stated that he would like to write another book featuring Zal Innez, one of the main characters in The Sacred Art of Stealing.

Awards

• Quite Ugly One Morning was the winner of the Critics' First Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel of the Year in 1996.
• Bampot Central was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Short Story Dagger in 1997.
• Boiling a Frog won the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective in 2000.
• All Fun And Games until Someone Loses an Eye was the winner of the seventh Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2006.

Bibliography

• Quite Ugly One Morning, 1996 *
• Country of the Blind, 1997 *
• Not the End of the World, 1998
• One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, 1999
• Boiling a Frog, 2000
• A Big Boy did it and Ran Away, 2001 *
• The Sacred Art of Stealing, 2003
• Be My Enemy, 2004 *
• All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye, 2005 *
• A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil, 2006 *
• The Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks 2007 *

Quite Ugly One Morning is Christopher Brookmyres firstnovel. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Not the End of the World is Christopher Brookmyres third novel. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... A Big Boy did it and Ran Away (2001), is Christopher Brookmyres sixth novel. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel by the Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... All Fun and Games until Somebody loses an Eye is the ninth novel by Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

References

The Scotsmans offices in Edinburgh The Scotsman is a Scottish national newspaper, published in Edinburgh. ...

External links

• Christopher Brookmyre's Official Site
• Christopher Brookmyre at www.contemporarywriters.com

• Christopher Brookmyre at the Internet Book List
• Quack science Article by Brookmyre in New Humanist, September/October 2007