I Predict a Riot - Laugh Out Loud

I Predict a Riot, by Colin Bateman is set primarily in Belfast and centres on the relationship between Walter, who is a little overweight, is bored with his job and is also desperate to find love; and Margaret, a security guard at Primark, but who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. They meet through a dating app and all goes swimmingly until Walter bumps into Margaret's estranged husband, Billy (a dodgy accountant for a local racketeer). Confused and now bruised, Walter tries to forget Margaret but when she ends up in hospital after eating a dodgy carrot cake (yes, you read that right!), it is Walter who goes to visit her. Into this mix comes Linda, an estate agent who is deeply unhappy with her own love life, and is attracted to Walter when he tries to invest in a property. Walter can't believe that, so soon after the Margaret debacle, another woman is practically throwing herself at him. But it's Margaret he really likes. Their on-off relationship seems doomed by missteps, mishaps and bad decisions ... many of which are infuriating and funny in equal measures. But alongside this is Margaret's friend and work colleague who encourages her to follow her dreams, and who is experiencing newfound freedom following the incarceration and subsequent death of her terrorist husband in South America. However, it turns out that her husband, Redmond, has faked his own death to escape, and then makes his way back to Belfast disguised as his twin brother - but what will he do now that his wife has seemingly "moved on" following his apparent demise. And then there is Superintendent James "Marsh" Mallow, who is determined to put villain-come-politician, Pink Harrison (and Billy's boss), behind bars, even if it costs him his job. As you can tell, there are many strands within this novel, which aptly has the subtitle of "Murder, Extortion and Carrot Cake". The characters are larger than life and yet, it's easy to have empathy for them in their odd and often self-inflicted situations. The dialogue is sharp and funny and this book is an easy read, despite the chopping and changing between different storylines, which, of course, do cross over with each other as the book progresses. Full of incident, twists and turns and humour, this is a fun read that made me laugh out loud on a number of occasions. 

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 672 print pages.

Price I paid: £4.00.

Formats available: Print, unabridged audio download.

The Naming of the Dead - Rebus and Siobhan take on the G8!

The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin is the 16th Rebus novel and is set in July 2005 when the G8 met in Scotland, during which, terrorist bombings took place on the London transit system. Against this background of tension and unease, a murder is discovered - but the victim was a rapist, newly released from prison. No one seems in a big rush to solve this one until DI John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke realise that this crime seems to have links with two others ... so it looks like a serial killer is on their patch. An additional complication comes in the form of an apparent suicide at Edinburgh Castle - the victim being an MP, but Rebus is convinced all is not what it seems. Rebus is warned off the case ... no-one wants any scandal while the G8 is going on, but, in-between his bouts of drinking and smoking and general grumpiness, Rebus is like a dog with a bone and will not let it lie. In the meantime, Siobhan is trying to spend a bit of time with her parents, who have come up from London to participate in the demonstration to the G8 to cut the debt that is crippling the poorer countries of the world. But when her Mum is injured during the proceedings, Siobhan is determined to seek revenge, which leads her into the clutches of well-known Edinburgh gangster, Big Ger Cafferty ... an old adversary of Rebus. Just as they start to make progress in the investigation, they are suspended ... but does that stop them ... not on your nelly! Rebus is used to going his own way and getting into all sorts of trouble with his bosses, but now Siobhan seems to be following in his footsteps - which will do nothing for her career. Despite the odds and indeed colleagues who seem against them, they endeavour to find answers - including why the serial killer seems to have stopped killing. As always, Ian Rankin pulls together a tangled web of characters and situations, taking the reader (and his characters) on a merry dance involving dead ends, red herrings and decidedly obstructive colleagues. Even though Rebus would be a hard person to live with, there are few better to spend time with between the covers of a crime novel. Whilst anyone who has been reading the series will be very familiar with Rebus, Siobhan and Cafferty, they are joined by a large cast of characters, not all of whom you can take at face value, which, with the involved plot, helps to keep you guessing all the way to the end. A very satisfying page turner and such a joy to know there are still many books in the series to come! 

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 515 print pages.

Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.