Hi Everyone,

Another evening review from me. I have just finished this book so I thought I’d get my review written and posted now before I take myself off to bed. I’m so very tired today. I was up quite early, getting some decorating done for my step son’s fifteenth birthday. I have another early morning tomorrow as the plumber is coming to fix a bath tap for us. Anyhow, this is getting really boring and nobody asked for this run down of my life.

Book 📖

Thank you to @johnmurrays and @frankie_boyle for this copy of Meantime in return for an honest review. Meantime was published on 21st July 2022 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

When Felix’s good friend Marina is murdered in the local park, he takes it upon himself to investigate and try and find out who committed this terrible crime. There’s one small problem. Felix has a raging Valium addiction, isn’t shy to try other drugs and therefore, doesn’t have the greatest attention span, memory or level headedness.

Not to worry though, he ropes in help from a very broad range of different people, including a successful crime novelist, a GP and his fellow drug addict neighbour. Felix and his investigation team find themselves involved in Scottish radical politics, cults, secret agents and more; all on the hunt for the truth.

General Thoughts 🤔

Reading the blurb for this book (on multiple occasions) I could not get my head around what it was going to be like. There is a lot going on in the blurb and it was a perfect indicator because there was a lot going on in the book; in a good way. The craziness and unpredictability was definitely enough to keep me engaged and reading. Every chapter was like a new mini adventure that all pieced together to form the story.

This was definitely not your bog standard crime thriller. It’s certainly different, but I think it was different in a good way. I do however think that the mystery thriller aspect of the book was kind of secondary to all of the other stuff. Though it was well put together, I thought that it was more of a vehicle for us to follow Felix.

Characters 👫👭👬

Felix was the main character and narrator of this book. In the beginning, I found him a little bit irritating and a bit of a waste of space. I quite quickly started to turn and I liked him. He most definitely wasn’t stupid, but he did seem to be numbed by all of the drugs he was taking which I think held him back in his investigation. By the end of the book, I threw away everything I felt about Felix and I had so much love for him.

I really liked Jane in the book (the crime novelist). She seemed like a very genuine, straight to the point woman and I always had the feeling that if I was to meet her in person, I’d feel the need to show her respect. I can’t pinpoint why she gave me that feeling, she just gave off an air of authority I think.

Writing Style ✍️

It was Frankie Boyle’s writing style that first hooked me into this book. This may be where people become divided. I know that Frankie Boyle is a bit of a Marmite comedian, so if you do love him, I’m sure you’ll love this book. I didn’t find it possible to read this and not hear Frankie Boyle’s voice in my head. It was full of witty one liners and dark humour and so it was very much the same tone as his comedy.

However there came a point in the book where it seemed to take a bit of a sudden turn. It took me a bit by surprise to be honest and made me sit a little straighter and concentrate a little more. It got very tender and raw and brought a tear to my eye. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition to all that had come before this part of the book.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This book was a touch wild, very funny, and at points quite emotional. It was definitely not a run of the mill crime thriller, but I don’t think that it claimed to be. As long as you pick up Meantime with an open mind and you’re not opposed to dark humour and a lot of swearing, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

😍😍😍😩😩