A Snowball in Hell

Last updated

A Snowball in Hell
A Snowball in Hell.jpg
First edition
Author Christopher Brookmyre
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Satire, Crime, Detective, black humour
Published2008 (Little Brown, London)
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN 9780349-12051-5
Preceded by The Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks  
Followed by Pandaemonium  

A Snowball in Hell (2008) completes Christopher Brookmyre's suspense trilogy featuring DI Angelique de Xavia. She and her antagonist, Simon Darcourt, were introduced in A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (2001), while she was the central character in The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002), where she met the third main character of Snowball, the magician Zal Innez. Brookmyre himself sees Snowball as a sequel to two separate books. [1]

Contents

Plot summary

The story is set five years after the two previous novels in the group. Angelique de Xavia is now working for an anti-terrorist squad based in Paris. Then she is needed in London, where Simon Darcourt—who was supposed to have died in their confrontation at the end of "A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away"—is back on the scene, with a new specialization: broadcasting videos of the torture (and, sometimes, deaths) of celebrities he has kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Zal Innez, who is in danger from Scottish gangsters, American gangsters, and the law, finds a berth on a cruise ship and becomes a performing magician, drawing crowds.

Angelique is contacted by a person who has abducted her parents, and who will trade them only for Darcourt; meanwhile, she is part of a team looking to arrest Darcourt. She tracks down Zal, believing he can out-think Darcourt, and her parents' abductors too. Zal immediately responds and they seem to be making progress, discovering that Darcourt has cancer. Zal finally sees through Darcourt's multiple misdirections, and the reader is gradually brought up to speed as the finale unfolds.

Characters

Main point-of-view characters:

Themes

The first two novels are set in Glasgow, as befits Tartan Noir, but this one is primarily set in London. Nevertheless, it is one of two Brookmyre novels chosen for discussion by Len Wanner in his 2015 book Tartan Noir: The Definitive Guide to Scottish Crime Fiction (the other being the very first, Quite Ugly One Morning). Wanner focuses on it because of "the moral quality of Brookmyre's narrative strategy" of presenting much of the story in the voice of the "Sadean" (not merely sadistic but like the Marquis himself) philosopher-terrorist Simon Darcourt. [3]

This novel turns a satirical eye (Simon's) on celebrity culture, pop music, and television reality shows. Wanner sees the wit as "Wildean" but there is a larger concern with popular culture's dependence on an audience. The darkly humorous theme of "Dying to be Famous" (a "show" Simon broadcasts) links up with the willingness of a Parisian jihadi to die in order to obtain the publicity of police firing in a mosque surrounded by TV cameras. The only thing that matters in such a culture is being perceived. This contrasts with Angelique's resistance to being an ethnic postergirl for the police.

Angelique de Xavia, through all three novels, provides "a distinctive take on racism, sectarianism, and elective loyalties," representing the "post-colonial detective" studied by Ed Christian and Peter Clandfield. [4] :226 As Clandfield says, her "integration into long narratives whose full complexity probably cannot be conveyed in an essay such as this one" [4] :235 prevents her from being a merely noir—or merely Black—protagonist. In Snowball she finally confronts her parents' assimilationist hopes for her and finds her own way of reconciling herself with them.

Another retrospective theme for all three novels emerges in the comparison between the artisanal, entertaining magic Zal performs and Simon's self-congratulatory cleverness as a murderer. The trilogy resolves with Zal's insight trumping Simon's passionate trickiness.

Reception

The novel won a 2009 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. [5] It did not however receive as strong a critical reception as the first two in the group. [6]

Related Research Articles

The Deptford Trilogy is a series of inter-related novels by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Connelly</span> American author (b. 1956)

Michael Joseph Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestselling author of 38 novels and one work of non-fiction, with over 74 million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into 40 languages. His first novel, The Black Echo, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1997 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of Connelly's novel The Lincoln Lawyer starred Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.

<i>High Sierra</i> (film) 1941 film by Raoul Walsh

High Sierra is a 1941 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh, written by William R. Burnett and John Huston from the novel by Burnett, and starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart. Its plot follows a career criminal who becomes involved in a jewel heist in a resort town in California's Sierra Nevada, along with a young former taxi dancer (Lupino).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psmith</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Rupert Psmith is a recurring fictional character in several novels by British author P. G. Wodehouse, being one of Wodehouse's best-loved characters.

<i>Country of the Blind</i> 1997 novel by Christopher Brookmyre

Published in 1997, Country of the Blind is Christopher Brookmyre's second novel. Following on from the adventures in Quite Ugly One Morning, the storyline fast-forwards to find Parlabane living in domestic bliss and about to get hitched. As part of the engagement package, he has promised his soon-to-be-missus that he'll give up the more dangerous, dodgy and illegal parts of his investigative-journalism career.

<i>Raw Deal</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Anthony Mann

Raw Deal is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt. It was shot by cinematographer John Alton with sets designed by the art director Edward L. Ilou. An independent production by Edward Small, it was distributed by Eagle-Lion Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Brookmyre</span> Scottish novelist

Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.

<i>Villain</i> (1971 film) 1971 British film by Michael Tuchner

Villain is a 1971 British gangster film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport and Donald Sinden. It is based on James Barlow's 1968 novel The Burden of Proof. Villain was director Michael Tuchner's first feature film after directing in television.

<i>Inspector Rebus</i> Series of detective novels by Ian Rankin

The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They are considered an important contribution to 'Tartan Noir'.

<i>Doctor Sally</i> 1932 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Doctor Sally is a short novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 7 April 1932 by Methuen & Co., London. In the United States, it was serialised in Collier's Weekly from 4 July to 1 August 1931 under the title The Medicine Girl, and was included under that name in the US collection The Crime Wave at Blandings (1937).

<i>Frozen Assets</i> (novel) 1964 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Frozen Assets is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 14 July 1964 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title Biffen's Millions, and in the United Kingdom on 14 August 1964 by Herbert Jenkins, London.

<i>Batman: Nine Lives</i>

Batman: Nine Lives is an Elseworlds graphic novel published by DC Comics in 2002, written by Dean Motter, with art by Michael Lark.

<i>The Sacred Art of Stealing</i>

The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel by the Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. It is the author's seventh book and is a stand-alone sequel to A Big Boy did it and Ran Away.

<i>Not the End of the World</i> (Brookmyre novel)

Not the End of the World is Christopher Brookmyre's third novel, and the first not to feature Jack Parlabane, Christopher Brookmyre's most used character. The novel is also the first book Brookmyre has written that is based solely outside of the United Kingdom. The story takes place in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart MacBride</span> Scottish writer (born 1969)

Stuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, whose crime thrillers are set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen, with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae as protagonist.

<i>A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away</i>

A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (2001) is Christopher Brookmyre's sixth novel, the first book in a suspense trilogy featuring policewoman Angelique de Xavia. She is the central character in The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002) and the main protagonist in A Snowball in Hell (2008). Her antagonist in this novel, Simon Darcourt, reappears in A Snowball in Hell, where their relationship is resolved. A Big Boy touches on a number of Brookmyre's interests, including gaming, rock and roll, and childhood.

<i>Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind</i> 1980 Hong Kong film

Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind is a 1980 Hong Kong crime film directed by Tsui Hark. The initial cut of the film was banned for its violence, generating public interest in the film that caused its edited version to become a box office success in Hong Kong.

<i>The Dark Remains</i> (novel) 2021 Scottish crime novel

The Dark Remains is a Scottish crime novel of the tartan noir genre set in Glasgow. Part-written by William McIlvanney who left a half-finished handwritten draft when he died in 2015, the novel was completed by Ian Rankin and published in 2021. See Canongate website, with interview with Ian Rankin:

Steven Lindsay, better known as "Tiger" Lindsay, is a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster involved in an important legal case to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club declared a criminal organization in Canada.

References

  1. Hinds, Kier. "A Snowball in Hell..."
  2. Marshall, Hazel. "A Big Boy Wrote It and Stayed to Talk About It".
  3. Wanner, Len. Tartan Noir: The Definitive Guide to Scottish Crime Fiction (Freight Books, 2015).
  4. 1 2 Clandfield, Peter (2005). "Putting the 'Black' into 'Tartan Noir'". Race and religion in the postcolonial British detective story : ten essays. Julie H. Kim. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN   0-7864-2175-4. OCLC   58985674.
  5. Flood, Alison (29 May 2009). "Geoff Dyer wins Wodehouse prize for comic fiction". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  6. Lawson, Mark (22 August 2008). "A Snowball in Hell". The Guardian. Lawson's brief commentary indicates a reaction similar to Wanner's, a combination of delight in Simon's wit and horror at his egoism (and ruthlessness). See also Wilkinson, Carl. "A Snowball in Hell"., less enthralled with the characters.