That's precisely what Christopher Brookmyre sets out to do in A Snowball in Hell, the final bool in his Angelique trilogy, albeit with a lot of style. The first bool in the series, 'A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away' introduced Angelique de Xavia, female, Asian and an oddity in the Glasgow pokice force, who brought down a deadly serial killer. The sequel, 'The Sacred Art of Stealing' pairs her with the irrepressible Zal lnnez, master conman and escape artist. 'Snowball inHell' introduces a nemesis worthy of Zal and Angelique. A returning villain from the previous bools has the entertainment industry on the hop, as he brutally murders a leading journalist and a music band, and releases the snuff video. He goes on to kidnap more celebrities, holding them hostage and inviting the public to participate in a gruesome parody of reality shows. Officer De Xavia is clled in to deal with the criminal, but soon finds herself way out of league. The only person she can think of who can match this sly number is Zal, Who's been MIA for three years. With the clock racing, Angelique must track down the elusive Zal before she can take the kidnapper out. What follows is a story fraught with suspense, peppered with shocking rants that you somehow can't entirely disagree with, super slick capers and more than a little bit of romance. While the gore and the explicit language might stick this book in the 'lad lit' category, there's something here for everyone.
Whatever one can say in praise of Broolmyre's writing would feel inadequate; he's funny, he's sarcastic, he's insightful, and he's not afraid of speaking the ugly truth, even if it is through the perspective of a heinous criminal. He even shows a softer side with the romance angle, and this might tick off fans of Sacred Art, but diehard romantics will definitely go *squee*. As Admin Lambert puts it, "Do you know why you got into? Can you handle what I'm about to do? 'Cause it's about to get rough for you."
By Sabrin F Ahmad.
