A Shot in the Dark
The prize-winning mystery for fans of The Thursday Murder Club
Published on 28. June 2018
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-4088-9051-6 (ISBN)
Description
The charming first novel in a new comic crime series, from one of Britain's most-loved writers, the incomparable Lynne Truss
'More Marx Brothers than Agatha Christie, this is crime fiction turned on its head - a giddy spell of sheer delight' Daily Mail
Brighton, 1957. Inspector Steine rather enjoys his life as a policeman by the sea. No criminals, no crime, no stress.
So it's really rather annoying when an ambitious - not to mention irritating - new constable shows up to work and starts investigating a series of burglaries. And it's even more annoying when, after Constable Twitten is despatched to the theatre for the night, he sits next to a vicious theatre critic who is promptly shot dead part way through the opening night of a new play.
It seems Brighton may be in need of a police force after all...
'More Marx Brothers than Agatha Christie, this is crime fiction turned on its head - a giddy spell of sheer delight' Daily Mail
Brighton, 1957. Inspector Steine rather enjoys his life as a policeman by the sea. No criminals, no crime, no stress.
So it's really rather annoying when an ambitious - not to mention irritating - new constable shows up to work and starts investigating a series of burglaries. And it's even more annoying when, after Constable Twitten is despatched to the theatre for the night, he sits next to a vicious theatre critic who is promptly shot dead part way through the opening night of a new play.
It seems Brighton may be in need of a police force after all...
Reviews / Votes
A farce that gathers hilarious pace with every page ... More Marx Brothers than Agatha Christie, this is crime fiction turned on its head - a giddy spell of sheer delight * Daily Mail * [An] entertaining new crime series ... Truss's affection for a rollicking, twisty caper has transferred to the page with ease ... There's some fine storytelling on display here * Observer * Funny, clever, charming, imaginative, nostalgic and gently satirical * The Times * With plenty of brightly coloured bucket-and-spadery, including ghost trains and Punch and Judy and variety acts, this clever, tongue-in-cheek escapade is a perfect summer read -- Crime Books of the Month * Guardian * Pitch-perfect send-up of 1950s Brighton with nods to Graham Greene ... The ingenious plot involves such period attractions as the Ghost Train, theatrical landladies, Pathe News and cherry Genoa cake. Hilarious * Sunday Times Crime Club * One of those rare books that actually makes you laugh out loud ... Impossible not to read in one sitting * Sunday Times * A Shot in the Dark is an intricately plotted murder mystery that's darkly humorous and beautifully written * Herald * It takes a writer of Lynne Truss's wit and intelligence ... to take on both the cosy and comic fields, shaking them up to forge something fresh and beguiling ... Delightfully witty -- Barry Forshaw * i * This book is as much a comedy as a crime novel... Lynne Truss is a national treasure, and this is a gentle, complicated, humorous tale * Literary Review * Truss's new crime novel is an unqualified masterpiece * Glasgow Herald * Bringing the undoubted comic talents of Lynne Truss to crime fiction should be a marriage made in heaven, and that is exactly what it turns out to be. A Shot in the Dark is sheer, witty delight ... Enchanting -- Simon Brett A Shot in the Dark is an intricately plotted murder mystery that's darkly humorous and beautifully written * Yorkshire Post * We all know that Truss can work miracles ... but I doubt even Constable Twitten could work out how she has produced a whodunit that exudes heartwarming cosiness while boasting Game of Thrones levels of violent death, or given her cast of amusing characters more life than most of the characters I've encountered in fiction this year -- Jake Kerridge * Telegraph * Praise for Lynne Truss: 'Truss deserves to be piled high with honours * Sunday Times * A wonderful tale full of parodies, pastiches and paradoxes ... Pure joy * Daily Telegraph * A novel as entertaining as it is addictive ... The best in humorous writing * Sunday Telegraph * A comic chiller in the best tradition of mad British humour * Daily Express * A Shot in the Dark couples suspense with dark hilarity ... The funniest crime novel of 2018 * Wall Street Journal *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Weight
596 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-9051-6 (9781408890516)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2018
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Lynne Truss is a writer and broadcaster. She has written for Woman's Journal, the Daily Mail, The Times and the Sunday Times. In 1996 she was named Columnist of the Year and the following year was shortlisted for Sportswriter of the Year. She has written extensively for radio, including dramas, adaptations and short stories. She is the author of three novels and she also writes scripts and comedy series for BBC Radio 4. Truss's first book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, was an international bestseller and won the British Book Awards Book of the Year. Lynne Truss lives in Brighton.
Lynnetruss.com
Lynnetruss.com