Boiling a Frog

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.

Reviews of Boiling a Frog

Surreal, satirical, irreverent, violent and immensely funny. THE TIMES Hiaasen is one of America's finest satirists. Brookmyre is Britain's OBSERVER This merciless satire is so painfully accurate that the political establishment will read it and weep … Boiling a Frog hits a tender spot that for MSPs, their acolytes and, more worryingly, their spin doctors will be uncomfortably close to home SCOTSMAN New Labour, the Scottish Parliament, the Catholic Church, the tabloid press, spin doctors – all of them are given a thorough knifing by Brookmyre's razor-sharp pen MAXIM