Quite Ugly One Morning
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| Author | Christopher Brookmyre |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Satire, Crime, heist, detective, black humour |
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Publication date
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1996 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| ISBN | (Hardback first edition) |
| OCLC | 35844309 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
| LC Class | PR6052.R58158 Q58 1996 |
| Followed by | Country of the Blind |
Quite Ugly One Morning is Christopher Brookmyre's first novel which introduces Jack Parlabane, the writer's most used character. It was published to popular and critical acclaim, winning the inaugural First Blood Award for the best first crime novel of the year.
Jack Parlabane rents a flat from a friend in Edinburgh (which just happens to be opposite a police station), and investigating the unpleasant murder of a gambling medic in the flat below proves too much to resist, the victim mutilated and the crime scene grossly vandalized; the victim, Dr Jeremy Ponsonby, is tied up, missing both his nose and his index fingers, had his throat cut, and the crime scene is covered in urine and faeces and vomit, the latter being from the postman who found the body. Parlabane soon finds himself involved with a number of characters including Darren Mortlake, a hit-man from Essex, Dr Sarah Slaughter, the dead doctor's ex-wife, lesbian with attitude DC Jenny Dalziel, and crooked hospital trust administrator Stephen Lime.
The book takes its name from a song from Warren Zevon's 1991 album Mr. Bad Example. It was followed by the best seller Country of the Blind in 1997 which again involved Jack Parlabane.
Journalist Jack Parlabane gets accidentally locked out and, entering a neighbour's flat, stumbles into a bizarre crime scene, the victim a horribly mutilated Dr Jeremy Ponsonby. With Parlabane found suspicious and taken in for questioning, Ponsonby's ex-wife, Dr Sarah Slaughter, later enters the unattended crime scene in an attempt to accept his death. Finding a plastic ampoule dropped at the scene, Sarah collects it as Parlabane appears, released from custody, and he invites her into his flat to talk. Explaining he's a crime journalist who very recently fled Los Angeles, Jack tells Sarah that he believes her ex-husband's murder was for personal or political reasons, and not a "break-in gone wrong" as the police believe.
Previously, hitman Darren Mortlake snuck into Posonby's flat on behalf of Midlothian NHS trust administrator Stephen Lime, intending to inject Ponsonby with potassium chloride and make his death look like a heart attack. Accidentally waking Ponsonby, a struggle ensues where Ponsonby bites off Darren's index finger and several pieces of furniture are smashed. Having knocked his target out, Darren ties him and cuts his throat, angrily mutliating his body as he dies. Before he leaves, Darren thoroughly contaminates the crime scene in an attempt to overwhelm and confuse the police. Hiding in a Bed and Breakfast hotel owned by one Mrs Kinross, Darren inadvertedly attracts her attention when he impulsively kills her dog, despite tactfully disposing of the body.
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