The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre

In The Cracked Mirror, Scottish crime author Chris Brookmyre asks the question that crime genre lovers have possibly not thought to ask themselves. What would happen if Miss Marple met Harry Bosch and they had to solve a crime together?  In doing so Brookmyre has plenty of fun with not only these but a few other classic, trope-filled and much loved sub-genres of crime fiction. And while some suspension-of-disbelief is required, when you start with not worrying about the question: Why has an old woman been needed to solve 15 murders in a small Scottish village? you are half way there.

The Cracked Mirror opens in two strands. The first involves renegade LA detective Tommy Hawke. Hawke is a hard drinking, hard living detective who has a reputation for getting his partners killed or injured. He is put onto the apparent suicide of a screenwriter at an independent film company, and while he suspects foul play, the pressure is on for him to sign off on the death and move on. Soon, as expected in this type of narrative, Hawke is suspended and flying himself to Scotland to follow a lead. Meanwhile in the Scottish village of Saint Culthar, eighty-three year old sleuth Penelope ‘Penny’ Coyne solves yet another murder and then finds herself mysteriously invited to a wedding where she becomes involved in a suspicious suicide, this one in the publishing industry and with connections to Hawke’s case.

The Cracked Mirror reads like a love letter to two venerated crime authors and the sub-genres that they excel in – Agatha Chistie and Michael Connelly. Particularly when the two protagonists get together and have to adapt to each other’s idiosyncrasies. And Brookmyre uses this to bring in other crime fiction elements. There is a third strand involving a hard boiled detective called Rattigan and other fictional detectives, from Sherlock Holmes to Dirk Gently, get name checked.

But, importantly, The Cracked Mirror is a good crime novel in its own right. Underneath it all there are a number of mysteries to be solved. And while Brookmyre hints at the mystery that explains the weirdness of his premise, the crime (or crimes?) is/are solved by the mismatched protagonists combining their powers and methods. Amazingly, Brookmyre also manages to deliver an emotional through-line and a fair amount of poignancy when he brings all of his threads together.

The Cracked Mirror crosses crime sub-genres and mashes established literary genres. But Brookmyer is able to do this in such a knowing, reverential and understanding way that it all works. There are plenty of meta-levels to delve into in The Cracked Mirror including what it says about crime fiction – from book to screenplay to movie (to game?). But even these musings become integral to the overall plot which manages to be tense, playful, engaging, a little weird and ultimately satisfying.

The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre

9

9.0/10