Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre

Chris Brookmyre’s Jack Parbalane series has been running since 1996 with Quite Ugly One Morning. That book kicked Brookmyre’s career into high gear and he has not looked back. Thirty years later, and nine years since the last Parbalane novel Want You Gone, the ageing crime-solving journalist returns for a ninth time in Quite Ugly One Evening.

Jack Parbalane is now in his early 60s, and not having a good time. He is essentially fired from the publication he works for and then his mother passes away. At his mother’s funeral Jack is approached by MI5 and asked to help them. MI5 want him to pose as a version of himself and go undercover to help them solve a thirty year old mystery of an agent who was killed by Russians after infiltrating the influential Maskyn family to hunt for a mole. MI5 believes that the mole may still be in the family and still active. The Maskyns created and are still connected to a beloved 1960s puppet show called The Imaginators which has had a resurgence in the public consciousness and is now the centre of a culture war. Parbalane agrees to go on an Imaginators fan cruise that the whole Maskyn family is attending on the premise of doing an in-depth article. Before long he is dealing with MAGA-influencers, corporate shenanigans, family tensions and a murder mystery where he is possibly the prime suspect.

After eight books, Jack Parbalane is a really well-established character with a long history. But it is one that he wears lightly. While there are a couple of recurring characters, this book is not overbearing with deep cut references to previous adventures. Which means that even readers new to the character will be able to pick this book up and enjoy it. For those who have been following Parbalane’s life and career there are significant revelations to be had, some of which have a direct bearing on the way the plot plays out.

But more than this are the social and political issues that Brookmyre takes on. The Imaginators is a stand in for the beloved 1960s puppet adventure show The Thunderbirds. Like the original, The Imaginators used some problematic stereotypes. The modern day dispute is between those who want to see The Imaginators become more representative, inclusive and less offensive and those who see their love of the original as a licence to continue to live with and promote offensive 1960s attitudes. Layered on this a common tale of family politics, corporate take-overs and influencers leveraging the culture war for their own notoriety and profit. None of this commentary is delivered didactically but rather through the jaded, cynical lens of Parbalane’s narration.

There is a lot to love about Quite Ugly One Evening which once again shows Brookmyre’s effortless skill as a crime author. For those who have been following Parbalane’s career it is a fitting send off (at least it feels that way, Brookmyre might have other plans). For those just looking for a fun, pacy and twisty murder mystery that exposes modern foibles, Quite Ugly One Evening will still fit the bill.

Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre

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8.0/10