Wednesday 21 September 2011

Review - The Sparrow Conundrum by Bill Kirton




The Sparrow Conundrum by Bill Kirton

The blurby bit -

Chris Machin isn’t his name, at least not to the bottom feeders in Aberdeen squabbling over North Sea oil and gas contracts. Chris has a code name, and when his garden explodes, The Sparrow takes flight, plunging everyone involved into chaos and violence.

A sociopathic cop and an interfering ex-girlfriend don’t exactly make for clarity of thinking, not when the one fancies a bit of violence to add spice to an arrest. The ex adds other, more interesting dimensions to Chris’ already complicated life.

The bodies pile up—some whole, some in fragments—and two wrestlers join the fray. A road trip seems just the solution but then so do Inverness, a fishing trawler and a Russian factory ship as the players face … The Sparrow Conundrum.


The review -

The Sparrow Conundrum is a laugh-a-paragraph comic crime caper set against the backdrop of the oil industry in Aberdeen. A full range of funny-bone tickling is on offer for the discerning reader; from a grin sparked by a witty comment, to a chuckle ... to a hefty belly-laugh when a delightful set piece reaches its hilarious conclusion.

The characters that Bill Kirton serves up in The Sparrow Conundrum are a continuous delight throughout the book. My favourites were the sociopathic detective Lodgedale and the crime boss Eagle who surely had his head turned by a gang of bullies at a private school.

Kirton is a master of the comic. His scenes are carefully orchestrated for maximum laughs and his language carefully chosen to tickle.

If you like a change from the normal mystery/ thriller fare and you don’t take your crime fiction too seriously you owe it to yourself to get a copy of The-Sparrow-Conundrum. Hiaasen, Bateman and Moore should be looking over their shoulder, 'cos Kirton has arrived.

(The above link takes you to Amazon - it should be noted there are plenty of other ways to buy this -bloody good - book)


12 comments:

  1. I just finished this book myself ... and loved it.

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  2. isn't he clever, Linda?

    It's a wee bit different, Ricky and worth checking out. And Bill's a good guy.

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  3. if Bill does a US tour, I could arrange for some serious groupie action

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  4. hahaha - love it, Thea. I'm sure, given this sort of response, Bill could be persuaded.

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  5. maybe you two dudes might want to travel together...oh, the humanity!

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  6. Thea, you do realise that comments on blogs are legally binding, I hope.

    And Michael, that night we held hands and you promised me the world, I had no idea you were serious.

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  7. Bill, I was only trying to talk you in off the ledge. Next time I'll just let you try out your superman cape from the 10th floor!

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  8. Bill, did you mentioning binding?

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  9. OMG and to think I missed this post due to my FRICKIN internet. But not for much longer.

    This book was so surprising. Not that it would be good, but the total departure from Bill's serious detective books. I loved it.

    I'll be in D.C. after Christmas. How bout a parade then? Thea and I could gather the masses. By then the monument should be back open and Bill could use some of the ropes to exhibit this apparel and promote his books.

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  10. Sorry, Marley - are you speaking in naughty metaphor? Ropes to exhibit his apparel?

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  11. Monument? Masses? My (gulp) "apparel"? I'm on the ledge again, Michael.

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