This is story of murder, corruption and sin. And that''s just the hero.

Every great story begins with something unspeakable . . . the first Jack Parlabane thriller, from multi-award-winning author Chris Brookmyre.

Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things.

Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it''s not the corpse, what is that awful smell?

Quite Ugly One Morning is a wickedly entertaining and vivacious thriller, full of acerbic wit, cracking dialogue and villains both reputed and shell-suited, and heralds the arrival of a crime fiction legend, journalist Jack Parlabane.

''A lean, nasty, fun little page-turner''
New York Times

''Brookmyre is always a class act''
The Observer

''A sharp, funny novel''
TLS

''A wicked satire''
Scotsman

This is story of murder, corruption and sin. And that''s just the hero.

Every great story begins with something unspeakable . . . the first Jack Parlabane thriller, from multi-award-winning author Chris Brookmyre.

Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things.

Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it''s not the corpse, what is that awful smell?

Quite Ugly One Morning is a wickedly entertaining and vivacious thriller, full of acerbic wit, cracking dialogue and villains both reputed and shell-suited, and heralds the arrival of a crime fiction legend, journalist Jack Parlabane.

''A lean, nasty, fun little page-turner''
New York Times

''Brookmyre is always a class act''
The Observer

''A sharp, funny novel''
TLS

''A wicked satire''
Scotsman