The beginning of Chris Brockmyre's ,"The Cracked Mirror", threw me completely. 2 stereotypical characters from different crime genres are brought together in what seems like a very contrived manner.......most unlike Brockmyre and it does indeed prove to be contrived. There's hard-bitten,rule-breaking LAPD Maverick Johnny Hawke and twee Miss Marple-alike Penny Coyne, who even the local police agree has solved several murders that had left them stumped in Scotland's version of Midsomer. Even those names had me thinking,"did Chris Brockmyre really write this?" At first it's confusing and nearly lost me,then it's intriguing, throw in a bit of the surreal, some big shocks and a complete change of direction and the whole thing is exceptional and pretty unique. The plot is quite complicated,if you're expecting the usual bog standard crime thriller this is not it. It's a very clever story, I was surprised Brookmyre of all people using so many cliched phrases throughout the book.............well Chris you got me there.
An exceptional read,and a thought-provoking one.

The genre splicing element of the plot description was what drew me to this - I'm more of a hard boiled fan than a cozy crime reader (although I've read plenty of both) and I thought the author did a good job of capturing the spirit/ tone of both and bringing them together - I did feel the cozy voice sounded more authentic than the 'American' one (despite the author's earlier works which would have led me to expect the other way round).
I have to say I guessed the basics of the plot's 'twist' at the 7% mark, but I'm guessing that wasn't really the point: I'm not claiming I'm 'smart' for having done so: the author drops a couple of plot points by then that a reader familiar with (author name/ tv shows and movies redacted as potential plot spoilers) will pick up on straight away - so this one is very much a case of seeing how we actually get to that denouement and it's certainly a twisty turny journey that will no doubt appeal to fans of the author's previous works and new readers alike.
In a world where some successful authors (and their publishers) are content to keep turning out further episodes of series novels, it's clear Brookmyre is consistently looking to do something different as readers of his recent stand alones such as The Cliff House and The Cut will know. The Cracked Mirror is a book: that may divide some with its multiple genre cross over but it is doing something different. How well that works for you will depend on your personal taste.

With many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

Oh this is such a clever book! This is brash LA cop meets Miss Marple meets the world of AI. On paper this should never have worked but ‘holly golly’ Chris Brookmyre has absolutely nailed this storyline. Wonderfully written as the author is bang on the money with the change in narrative from Scottish to American. The story starts off calm and realistic but at one point we get an unbelievable police shoot out in the village library and you start to wonder what’s happening, but that is all part of the superbly plotted story. Johnny and Penny are two very mis-matched characters but they develop a strong and towards the end poignant relationship. This very good book will take you on a brilliant adventure that you will find hard to put down. Loved it!