Bedlam

If society has the B-list celebrities it deserves, it now has a killer to match. Except that Simon Darcourt is a great deal more successful in his career choice than the average talent show contestant. He's also got the media taped - by the simple expedient of by-passing them completely and posting real-time coverage of his killings on the internet. He's got viewing figures to make the world's TV executives gasp in envy, and he's pulling the voyeuristic strings of every viewer by getting them to 'vote' to keep his captives alive. Angelique De Xavier, his previous nemesis, is drafted onto the police team trying to bring this one-man celebrity hate-fest to an end. But she can't do it alone, she needs the magical skills of her lover, only she doesn't know where Zal is and meanwhile a whole load of celebs are, literally, dying to be famous. An intelligent satire, a thriller with exhilarating pace - Christopher Brookmyre at his best.

Jack Parlabane, the investigative journalist who is not averse to breaking the law for the sake of a good story, has finally been caught on the petard of his own self-confidence and is experiencing accommodation courtesy of Her Majesty. The fledgling Scottish parliament is in catatonic shock after experiencing its first dose of Westminster sleaze. The Catholic Church of Scotland is taking full advantage of the politicians' discomfort and is riding high in the polls as the voice of morality.Behind the scenes the truth is obscured by the machinations of the spin doctors and in prison, aware he's missing out on a great story, Parlabane discovers that contacts and a pretty way with words are no defence against people he has helped to put away.Part political satire, part cliff-hanging thriller this is high calibre entertainment.And for the author's own view on his books visit his website at www.brookmyre.co.ukAnd for the author's own view on his books visit his website at www.brookmyre.clara.net

COULD YOU FIND A HOTEL FOR A HARPY? OR A BAR FOR A BIGFOOT? Following the disaster that was her last job, Zo? is searching for a fresh start as a travel writer in New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position, though, Zo? is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her r?sum? - human. Not to be put off by anything - especially not her blood-drinking boss or death goddess co-worker - Zo? delves deep into the monster world. But her assignments turn deadly when the careful balance between humans and monsters starts to crumble with Zo? right in the middle.

We could tell you about the bodies. We could tell you their names, where they were found, the state they were in. We could tell you about the suspects too, the evidence, the investigators; join a few dots, even throw you a motive. But what would be the point? You're going to make your own assumptions anyway. After all, you know these people, don't you? You went to school with them. We all did. Granted, that was twenty years ago, but how much does anybody really change? Exactly. So if you really knew them then, you'll already have all the answers. If you really knew them then...Put on your uniform and line up in an orderly fashion for the funniest and most accurate trip back to the classroom you are likely to read, as well as a murder mystery like nothing that has gone before it. Forget the forensics: only once you've been through school with this painfully believable cast of characters will you be equipped to work out what really happened decades later. Even then, you'll probably guess wrong and be made to stand in the corner.

Frances Angel, drunk and disgruntled, arrives in Italy to attend the I Zingari Art School, leaving behind her dazzling career as a successful theatrical impresario and returning to a distant and painful past. She falls into an eclectic group of performance artists, ex soldiers and a housewife who really just wants to paint something to match her settee. In the village a scale replica of the La Scala opera house becomes the setting for the great drama of Francis' past to be played out on the world's smallest stage. Francis expected to find some answers but what she didn't expect was romance and quite so much farce.