Meantime: The gripping debut crime novel from Frankie Boyle

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Chilton preferred the "clever descriptions" over the "shock-value ones" and said that the novel succeeds as Felix is "transfixing, sharp-witted and slightly horrifying". The world that Boyle puts us in is both beautifully observed and at the same time exaggerated and otherworldly, bonkers is the right word. There is a large cast of characters, each one having their own idiosyncrasies and each one of them is memorable for some reason or other. He also enlists several of his friends and associates to assist him in his endeavours to discover the real murderer as he believes that the Police don't really care. It contains all the deft wordplay you’d expect and a few well-aimed, drive-by satirical shots at political targets along the way.

He recruits his downstairs neighbour, Donnie, as his partner in crime, who unfortunately has an even greater appetite for illegal substances than Felix and they don't surprisingly get very far.Felix would be out of his depth in a puddle, so as he plunges into the worlds of nationalist politics (the action is set in the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum) and artificial intelligence, the picture gets more muddled. This amount includes seller specified domestic postage charges as well as applicable international postage, dispatch, and other fees. Taking readers from the world of drugs, to artificial intelligence, to conspiracy theory through to politics (Like AI without the I part …), the story is set in the period immediately post independence vote. The Scotsman 's Stuart Kelly said that the name Felix, meaning "happy" or "lucky", is chosen because Felix is neither, though he is good-hearted; as Felix is a Catholic, it could be a reference to felix culpa—the positive outcomes of the fall of man.

Reading with my brain adopting Frankie's familiar voice telling stories about the people, times, and places that I recognised really enhanced my enjoyment of this book. His life has been hard but ultimately, he is a good guy, and one thing that Frankie Boyle has in common with George R.Inherent vices and scalpel-sharp jokes vie with a very human concern for those least garlanded in the rat race of life' Ian Rankin'An enjoyably dark and entertaining tranche of Glasgow noir . The comedian Frankie Boyle is the latest in a rash of television personalities trying their hand at crime fiction; but, as you might expect from somebody who titled one of his tours I Would Happily Punch Every One of You in the Face, Boyle is not joining his fellow celebs at the cosy end of the crime spectrum. Reading the blurb for this book (on multiple occasions) I could not get my head around what it was going to be like. When Felix investigated Marina's murder, they planned for him to overdose on Donnie's drugs or be framed for intent to supply, then for him to be killed by Matt and Mary – who were given drugs and told someone was trying to kill them. Meantime does have virtues, especially towards the closing pages where we are given a reason for Felix’s personality.