I thank the author, Publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in return for a fair review.
I read and enjoyed many of the Jack Parlabane books, but then came the wonderful Ambrose Parry [half of whom is Chris Brrokmyre] series and I began to follow him seriously. If you are intrigued by the idea of combining a cosy Scottish village mystery with a much more hard-boiled LA detective thriller then this book is for you. I was hooked from the second chapter and had no idea where the story was headed. The two main characters are excellently developed and the plot is extremely clever. I thorougjly recommend this book and look forwward to more from Chris.

I loved this book! A lovely twist brings the two story strands together. The first few chapters may confuse a little, but keep with it. I just couldn't stop reading it. How are murders in Scotland and California connected? Two rather different protagonists work on the cases.

Every mystery is touted as 'twisty' but this one really deserves the title! It's everything it's cracked up to be.

Initially, the two storylines and styles are worlds apart, but this is an intentional clash that is a beautiful mechanism for the character development when the two protagonists ' worlds do collide.

I guessed the twist just before it happened, and thought 'oh no, what a terrible and annoying cliche.' But even though my guess was correct, it wasn't terrible at all: it just kept getting twistier and twistier until it came out the other side of every trope ever invented.

I also loved the literary references dotted throughout, very tongue-in-cheek and beautifully integrated into the plot.

Many mysteries strive to be unique by being too clever for their own good; this one is cleverer than all of them, but blindingly good.

Interesting idea for a detective novel - a mash up of a Miss Marple type sleuth and an LA investigator. They cross paths at a society wedding in Scotland. For me, I would have preferred one or the other as I couldn’t entirely enage with the characters or the mixing of genres.

Well that’s one weird book! To start with I thought the two narratives were written by different authors but then they became entwined! The storyline was fascinating until it turn to science fiction & just became confusing.

The Mirror Cracked. Review

What a glorious mash up of two and more, completely different stories and opposing genres! You think-how can he possibly make this work??

But the genius thing is he can and he does. Cosy crime, hard-boiled American thriller and even a little Scottish noir. Not to mention sci-fi undertones.

As the blurb suggests, this is not your ordinary crime novel. It is so much more. The story unfolds at pace, with many an unexpected twist and turn as the main characters seek to uncover the truth of some suspiciously unlikely deaths.

The two protagonists form an unlikely partnership, each remaining true to themselves, their genres and their own personal stories. They are authentic and all too human -portrayed with warmth and understanding by an brilliant author of perception and empathy.The development of their poignant relationship, sensitively expressed, adds real depth and emotional resonance to a gripping mystery story.

A one-off or the start of a whole new category of crime fiction? Fingers crossed for the latter.!

Will post to Amazon and The BookLoad when published. Happy to get a reminder email

A smart meta-mystery that blends together multiple micro-genres, The Cracked Mirror operates best when it focuses on its vacilitating pair of rootworthy protagonists, the grizzled, washed-up detective fresh out of LA and a modern Marlowe novel, and an elderly investigator in rural Scotland who more than resembles a certain Christie archetype. While its twists sometimes threaten to derail the story, it nails the execution mostly, and if nothing else proves to be an entertaining ride.

I have never read anything by this author but the cover just drew me in as did the summary. Did it disappoint me, not in any way. I loved this book it had me gripped from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend it

I have read most of CB’s books though recently it was the Ambrose Parry collaborations , so when I started reading this novel and met the spritely 82 year old Scottish librarian sleuth , I wondered if he was thinking of putting on his slippers and moving into the safe world of cosy crime.
I need not have worried as there plenty of slightly weird happenings in the book which are typical of the author and perhaps made me not look carefully enough at them as I did not suspect the major revelation about 80% of the way through the book.
At first the narrative alternates between Penny in Scotland and detective Johnny Hawke in California. They are brought together and join forces to solve deaths that seem to be related. A lot of the background is related to cutting edge high tech companies and the games industry but the reader does not have to be into these things to understand the plotting.
The maverick US detective and the break no rules Penny knit together well despite being opposites and I really was backing them to clear up the mysteries of the deaths.
For me this was CB in top form.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC

Firstly, I love Brookmyre. I have been with him from the start. I have been a beta reader and a proofreader for a good few of his early books, so I certainly know the author’s writing well enough.

While I liked this and had fun with it, it is definitely not up there with his best. However, on finishing this read I was (in hindsight) overly critical. The overall premise is a bit silly, but on reflection a lot of his work is; in a good way. One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night is one of my favourite books (not just of his) and it’s utterly, brilliantly, ridiculously bonkers.

Here, Brookmyre is clearly going for a Bosch / Miss Marple mash-up and when you get down to it, it’s a lot of fun. Silly, but fun nonetheless.

There is a twist, which I partially caught, but don’t want to get into spoiler territory. On reflection, it does address some of the contrivances I felt are in the text, but they were there during the read that I felt was off-putting.

The reason why I don’t rate this higher (and perhaps its because I haven’t read him for a while), is that Brookmyre never used to shy away from really hammering home a strong stance on a particular viewpoint; be it religious, political or other. He could be absolutely brutal and I was waiting for it, but plays it very safe with this one, which seems very…un-brookmyre like.

However, when you get down to it, like most of his work, it’s just good fun.

*Additional note for disclosure: The pdf when added to my Kindle (no matter what I did) had formatting issues that was frustrating to read sometimes and that "may" have negatively impacted my review. I think my review is fair, but it's only fair to disclose.

What a fantastic introduction to this author, for me. I'd never heard of Chris Brookmyre, but I'm now off to find anything they've ever written.

So very impressed with this charming, yet deadly, jaunt up to Scotland. We've got the seasoned, yet cynical, LA detective - who always gets his man, and the crumbly old lady, who is razor sharp of mind, if not in body, but has solved plenty of small village crimes in her time. An unlikely pairing, but a fabulous one nonetheless.

The dynamic here is excellent and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough. Clever and twisty, you'll be enthralled to the ending and the big reveal.

In rural Scotland, Miss Penelope Coyne has returned from holiday to discover that a new resident has been found murdered in the local parish church.

She also receives an invitation to the society wedding of the year. The only problem is that she doesn't recognise the name of who has invited her.

Meanwhile in LA, lieutenant Johnny Hawke is investigating the apparent suicide of a scriptwriter of the latest blockbuster. He has to pursue the man's business partner to Scotland and ends up at the same wedding as Penny.

There is a meeting of minds and clash of morals that makes for a rollercoaster of a novel!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Abacus Publishing for the chance to read and review this book.

not to my taste I am afraid. I was enjoying the "miss Marple " side of it but when it cut to America I found the terminology too difficult to read.

Not every book people read will be a five-star review not because of the book but because the reader taste differs. This was my first experience of a cross genre book and I think it will be my last.

Both stories were great but I could not get them to work while reading them together but would say that is more about me than the book.

The characters Penny Coyne and Johnny Hawke and the storylines are scripted fantastically well with many little nuggets to want you to keep reading to find the answers.

3.5⭐️ - I really enjoyed this book. Didn’t see the twist coming until it twisted. Really liked the characters and the style of writing and would definitely read more by this author. Great read!

Brookmyre has thrown away the rule book for this one. How is it possible for a mash up of Miss Marple and modern day LAPD to come together in a single volume. I went into this with an open mind. I’ve read and enjoyed other Brookmyre titles, but this is very different. It’s incredibly clever and it messes with your mind. Two completely different characters, writing styles and locations. Each are involved in solving murder, one in LA, the other in Perth, Scotland. Then their worlds come together via a wedding.

There’s no easy way to describe this story except it’s fiends clever. Red herrings and plot twists abound and the final twist is jaw dropping. On reflection, there were clues all the way there, but the writing is so cleverly crafted, they slide by unnoticed. I’m guessing this will be a marmite title. I loved it for its sheer audacity, A brave and inventive approach that, for me, worked. I suspect some will find it perhaps trying to be too clever. We must be thankful for publishers and authors prepared to gamble on something new and less formulaic. I hope this is a great success and happily give 5*

LAPD cop Johnny Hawke is maintaing his unfortunate record for unpleasant things happening to his work partners. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Scotland, seemingly innocuous elderly librarian Penny Coyne is embroiled in another puzzling case.

These two people should never have met, much less team up. But this unlikely duo have unwittingly stumbled across something which has been going on for a very long time indeed...

I just reviewed The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre. #TheCrackedMirror #NetGalley

Didn’t really know how to score this book as it was so odd…..it starts off like a modern-day Miss Marple with a little old lady in her 80’s who is a bit of an amateur sleuth but then it moves to an LA police detective ….,,

Couldn’t really warm to either character but the mix didn’t work either - like oil and water.

Brilliantly inventive bringing together of a miss marple style character and an LAPD cop - apparently in the style of Michael Connolly, who I’m not familiar with but recognised the style from films and TV. The interlinking of their stories- and the bleeding together of subgenres - is masterfully done and very entertaining. Throw in some intriguing concepts about modern technology (very much not the bag of the marple-esque Penny), and Brookmyre keeps all the plates spinning across multiple mysteries. The big reveal is perhaps a little too obvious - the clues are there to be picked up in true golden age style - but I can forgive that as it’s so much fun and still leaves a lot to be unpicked. Love the sting in the final lines too.

Seasoned and brash LAPD Robbery and Homicide Lieutenant Johnny Hawke is a loose cannon. Renowned for the quick demise of his partners, he is to be handled with care. Why his boss entrusts him with the soft handling of an apparent suicide is anyone’s guess, but there the story starts.

Meanwhile, over the pond in Perthshire, Scotland, we have Miss Penelope (Penny to her friends) Coyne, amateur sleuth, librarian and all round local treasure. Credited with solving fifteen murders (not so amateur then!) in the small town of Glen Cluthar, her latest murder “investigation” involves a philandering local, a priest and the town’s Catholic church.

When the two MPs meet at a society wedding, there’s only one outcome.

A very clever and unusual plot that had a lot going for it. Unfortunately at times it was just a little too clever and much too long, Holly Golly did it drag on. Brookmyre’s fans will love it, but for me it just misses the mark of being a great book as opposed to an ok read.

Great idea, good writing, needs some editing.

Thank you NetGalley and Abacus.