Christopher Brookmyre
Christopher Brookmyre (born 6 September 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was "Quite Ugly One Morning" and subsequent works have included "All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye" (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman , under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. Biography. Brookmyre was born in Glasgow and raised and schooled in Barrhead, attending St. Mark's Primary School and St. Luke's High School, before attending the University of Glasgow. Brookmyre is married to an anaesthetist with whom he has a son, and supports St Mirren F.C., references to Scottish football ('fitba') frequently featuring in his books. Brookmyre is a member of the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a covers band also comprising crime novelists Mark Billingham, Doug Johnstone, Val McDermid, Stuart Neville and Luca Veste. Between April 2008 and December 2015, he was the President  of Humanist Society Scotland. Novels. Jack Parlabane. Eight of Brookmyre's novels ("Quite Ugly One Morning", "Country of the Blind", "Boiling a Frog", "Be My Enemy", "Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks", "Dead Girl Walking", "Black Widow" and "Want You Gone") centre on the investigative journalist Jack Parlabane. Parlabane also stars in the short stories "Bampot Central", "Place B." and "The Last Day of Christmas" with the latter serving as a short prelude to "Dead Girl Walking". Parlabane also appears in "Fallen Angel" Angelique de Xavia. Three of Brookmyre's novels feature the character of counterterrorism officer Angelique de Xavia : "A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away", "The Sacred Art of Stealing", and "A Snowball in Hell". "A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away" and "A Snowball in Hell" pit Xavia against international terrorist-for-hire Simon Darcourt. "A Snowball in Hell" was originally due to be titled "The Great Grease-Tailed Shaven Pig Hunt". Jasmine Sharp and Catherine McLeod. Three of Brookmyre's novels feature the characters Jasmine Sharp, a private detective, and Catherine McLeod, a senior police detective: "Where the Bodies Are Buried", "When the Devil Drives", and "Flesh Wounds". McLeod also features in the short  story "Siege Mentality", and "The Last Siege of Bothwell Castle", and has minor roles in "Dead Girl Walking" and "Black Widow", and a minor reference in "Fallen Angel". Bedlam. "Bedlam" was released in 2013. The book has been turned into a video game, also written by Brookmyre. Ambrose Parry. In 2018, Brookmyre wrote "The Way of All Flesh" with his wife, Dr. Marisa Haetzman. It was published under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. In 2020, the team followed up with "The Art of Dying", and in 2021, "A Corruption of Blood". Influences. Brookmyre has said that the inspiration for Jack Parlabane  was Ford Prefect from Douglas Adams' "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." 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. Music is heavily featured in several books. Quite Ugly One Morning is taken from Warren Zevon's album Mr. Bad Example - the last chapter title continues the song's chorus. Zevon and Bruce  Springsteen feature in the second novel, Country of the Blind. The band 'Savage Earth Heart' in Dead Girl Walking share their name with a song by The Waterboys. Art Alexakis of the band Everclear has been thanked by Brookmyre inside the front cover of two of his books - "Be My Enemy" and "The Sacred Art Of Stealing". Brookmyre has said that "Sacred Art" was inspired by the Everclear song 'Unemployed Boyfriend' from the album "". This is the song which the lead character, Zal Innez, discusses with Angelique De Xavia. De Xavia is stated by her brother to spend her evenings  alone "drinking supermarket merlot and listening to that depressing Mogwai rubbish" in "The Sacred Art of Stealing". The first name for Innez, as well as the inspiration for the costumes worn by his gang of bank robbers, are taken from Zal Cleminson, guitarist for The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, who always wore Pierrot makeup on stage. Parlabane is a fan of Skids and Big Country and Jasmine Sharp goes to see Twin Atlantic perform live in one of her books. The character Jane Fleming in All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye visits King Tut's Wah Wah  Hut in Glasgow, witnessing a performance by Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli's side-project The Twilight Singers which references lines from the Twilight Singers' song "Teenage Wristband". Dulli is also the rock-star on whose NME-emblazoned face Matt Black signs an autograph in One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night. 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 3. In 2004, actor David Tennant narrated the audiobook of "Quite Ugly One Morning". In 2007, actor Billy Boyd narrated the audiobook of "Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks". Recurring characters. With the possible exceptions of "Pandaemonium" and "Bedlam", Brookmyre's books are all set in the same "universe" and 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: