I very nearly stopped reading this book after the first few pages. It begins with a bleak and violent scene and I thought, oh no, not for me. However, something made me persist, and I am so pleased that I did. Barney is a Glaswegian hairdresser who feels pretty much invisible. He is ignored by his wife, his co-workers and, worst of all, the customers in the barber shop where he works. Often, he is left twiddling his thumbs while a queue of people sit waiting for their hair to be cut by the two other barbers. All this is against the backdrop of a pervading sense of fear that has been created by the activities of a serial killer who has been evading the police for some time. But Barney's hum drum existence suddenly becomes uncharacteristically interesting when he accidentally kills one of the barbers, and instead of reporting the incident, he panics and tries to dispose of the body in the hope that the police will chalk it down as the next victim of the elusive multiple murderer. Things start to go out of control and he confides in his mother, who, to his great surprise seems to know a thing or two about making a body disappear. Barney's life becomes increasingly complicated, and little do those around him realise that they are becoming more and more likely to fall victim to this reluctant killer. Who knew that murder could be so funny? There are some great moments in this book and you cannot help but like Barney and sympathise for his ever-growing predicament. You know you shouldn't be rooting for him, but somehow you just cannot help it. Full of dark wit, great dialogue, believable characters and a fine dusting of farce, The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson, by Douglas Lindsay is a book that I found highly enjoyable. A great book to read while travelling or relaxing on holiday. And Barney's story doesn't end there, I have just found out that there are more books featuring Barney, so I may just have to indulge in some more darkness!
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Length: 181 print pages.
Price I paid: free (the ebook was on offer back in 2013 ... yes, it's taken me this long to get round to reading it)
Formats available: print, ebook.
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