Quite Ugly One Morning [Paperback] Review

I first read Brookmyre in the Fresh Blood 2 anthology, where his story "Bampot Central" had me in stitches (the story is also posted on Brookmyre's website). I then read his book to be publishedin the US, "Not the End of the World," which is a fairly predictable Los Angeles-set thriller, suitable for a long rainy night or airplane, but little else. I thought I'd give him one more chance to wow me with this, his prize-winning first novel.
I have to say, I'm not sure what other reviewers are talking about when they throw out terms like "noir", "pulp", or "Irvine Welsh" when talking about this book. I mean, it is a crime story, and it is set in Edinburgh, and there are a (very) few Scottish idioms, but otherwise it's a pretty mainstream crime novel, heavily laced with humor. It's not noir at all, it's not Irvine Welsh at all (unless you think Irvine Welsh invented black humor), and it's only pulp in the Quentin Tarantino sense, which is to say, hip postmodern neo-pulp. There are some rather gory scenes at the beginning and end, but it's all handled with so much comedy and wisecracking that it's more cartoon show than horrorshow. Think Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen rather than Raymond Chandler or James M. Cain.
In any event, the story is a mostly enjoyable tale about corruption within the National Health Trust system. Hero investigative journalist Jack Parlabane literally stumbles into a cover-up murder and then teams up with a female cop and the murder victim's ex-wife to get to the bottom of it all. Fast-paced, with some memorable villains (the shell-suited hitman is a riot), and plenty of digs at Thatcheism and privatization schemes, it's a fun read with plenty of one-liners, but unlikely to make a lasting impression.

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