A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away

This is a 3 1/2 star for me. I enjoyed the humour, was an alright story and writing style, although I did find some of it was too bogged down in detail. I think it would have been a solid 4 star if I'd read it when it came out in 2001, but it hasn't aged that well. It does make me want to find more recent stuff by Chris Brookmyre.

This is an interesting detective story that threatens to become Scooby-Doo at one point, but at least Brookmyre acknowledges it. His female detective resists cliché by not being psychotic; she has self-doubt in a big way, but none at all of it about being black. I had my doubts about the black cop in DG Compton's Justice City (1994) - would everyone, and not just the older generation, have a problem with a policeman of ethnic-minority origin? It doesn't seem likely. Brookmyre also doesn't allow the 'choose life' bit from Trainspotting to go unchallenged, saying more or less what's wrong with a cosy suburban life if the alternative is far worse?