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Jasmine Sharp and Catherine McLeod #2
When the Devil Drives
The second installment in Christopher Brookmyre’s new crime series, When the Devil Drives is an intensely gripping literary thriller that delves into the darkest reaches of the human psyche.
Actress turned private investigator Jasmine Sharp has become accustomed to clients looking for long-lost relatives, so when a woman hires her to find her younger sister Tessa Garrion, Jasmine presumes the case will be relatively straightforward. The assignment takes her back into the world of professional theater, where she is warned off more than once for probing too deeply into the past.
Meanwhile, Detective Superintendent and mother-of-two Catherine McLeod is called to the scene of a murder in the Highlands. Following a theatrical outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Cragruthes Castle, a prominent figure in the Scottish arts community is shot dead during a post-performance photo call. With her initial leads turning out to be red herrings, McLeod struggles to determine the killer’s motive.
Jasmine soon uncovers Tessa’s involvement in a drug-riddled Highlands estate retreat replete with occult rituals, which implicates more than a few people in the upper echelons of Scotland’s arts scene. Tessa’s disappearance in the summer of 1981 begins to look increasingly like murder, but the guilty will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden. As Jasmine’s and McLeod’s investigations intertwine, it becomes evident that both cases are far more convoluted and dangerous than anticipated.
Actress turned private investigator Jasmine Sharp has become accustomed to clients looking for long-lost relatives, so when a woman hires her to find her younger sister Tessa Garrion, Jasmine presumes the case will be relatively straightforward. The assignment takes her back into the world of professional theater, where she is warned off more than once for probing too deeply into the past.
Meanwhile, Detective Superintendent and mother-of-two Catherine McLeod is called to the scene of a murder in the Highlands. Following a theatrical outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Cragruthes Castle, a prominent figure in the Scottish arts community is shot dead during a post-performance photo call. With her initial leads turning out to be red herrings, McLeod struggles to determine the killer’s motive.
Jasmine soon uncovers Tessa’s involvement in a drug-riddled Highlands estate retreat replete with occult rituals, which implicates more than a few people in the upper echelons of Scotland’s arts scene. Tessa’s disappearance in the summer of 1981 begins to look increasingly like murder, but the guilty will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden. As Jasmine’s and McLeod’s investigations intertwine, it becomes evident that both cases are far more convoluted and dangerous than anticipated.
361 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2012
127 people are currently reading
965 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Brookmyre
46Ìýbooks1,504ÌýfollowersChristopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning, and subsequent works have included One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which he said "was just the sort of book he needed to write before he turned 30", and All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005).
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October 7, 2022
When The Devil Drives is the second in the Jasmine Sharp and Catherine Macleod series. It’s an interesting series when the two main characters are never together.
Jasmine has now taken over her dead uncle’s PI business but she’s still a novice. She has been hired by a dying woman to find her sister. A woman who’s been off the grid for several decades. The last sighting of her was when she worked with a theatre company. A company led by a man who's gone on to major fame. But the company disbanded before even putting on its first performance. Meanwhile, Catherine has been called out to a manor where a man has been shot and killed.
This isn’t a fast paced story by any stretch, but it held my interest throughout. The plot encompasses the Scottish theatrical world, which works well as Jasmine was training to be an actress before life intervened. We see just enough of the MC’s personal lives to give them depth.
The book was published in 2012 and Brookmyre’s anger at the financial collapse is still raw (bankers don’t come off well). He uses a very dry humor to good effect. There are plenty of red herrings and I didn’t see the end coming at all.
This may be the second in the series, but it would work fine as a stand-alone.
I listened to this and was less than impressed with the narrator, Hilary MacLain. She was incapable of making an authentic sounding male voice. This sometimes caused me confusion when I couldn’t tell who was supposed to be speaking.
Jasmine has now taken over her dead uncle’s PI business but she’s still a novice. She has been hired by a dying woman to find her sister. A woman who’s been off the grid for several decades. The last sighting of her was when she worked with a theatre company. A company led by a man who's gone on to major fame. But the company disbanded before even putting on its first performance. Meanwhile, Catherine has been called out to a manor where a man has been shot and killed.
This isn’t a fast paced story by any stretch, but it held my interest throughout. The plot encompasses the Scottish theatrical world, which works well as Jasmine was training to be an actress before life intervened. We see just enough of the MC’s personal lives to give them depth.
The book was published in 2012 and Brookmyre’s anger at the financial collapse is still raw (bankers don’t come off well). He uses a very dry humor to good effect. There are plenty of red herrings and I didn’t see the end coming at all.
This may be the second in the series, but it would work fine as a stand-alone.
I listened to this and was less than impressed with the narrator, Hilary MacLain. She was incapable of making an authentic sounding male voice. This sometimes caused me confusion when I couldn’t tell who was supposed to be speaking.
June 10, 2021
4.5.
Warning: Do not read “When the Devil Drives� until you have read “Where the Bodies Are Buried�. It is like reading the second Harry Potter book before you have read the first one. WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is the second book in the Jasmine Sharp/Catherine McLeod three-book series.
Although called the Jasmine Sharp/Catherine McLeod series, the main character is Jasmine Sharp, with Catherine McLeod playing a supporting role. I believed that to be true in the first book, where Jasmine’s character was more fully developed than Catherine’s. It is very obvious in this one, where the story follows Jasmine’s quest, with Catherine making only cursory appearances. It is possible that in the third book, which I haven’t yet read, Catherine plays a stronger role.
The first 55% of the book is weak � well, weak for author Chris Brookmyre � worth only a rating of four stars. We follow Jasmine on her search for a woman who has been missing for thirty years. But between the description of this search, we get a brief summary of the first book (for people who did not follow my warning to read it first), and some tricky inserted time changes. Chris Brookmyre has gone back-and-forth between time periods in other books. For example, in “The Cut�, which I loved. And he normally does it seamlessly. But here he plays some tricks, not letting us know in which time period these short inserts are, although most of them are from either 30 years ago or the murderer’s mind in the present. And while we are following Jasmine’s quest, we are briefly taken into the future � a plot device that I didn’t think was fair. I can’t say anything more about this or I’d have to put a “spoiler alert warning� on this review.
I felt that Brookmyre was channeling Agatha Christie in this first part. We know that a murder took place thirty years ago in or near a large old mansion; we know that a male was the murderer, and that there were a limited number of males at the old mansion who can be possible suspects. A limited suspect pool and Jasmine must discover who did it. Then another murder occurs; a member of the suspect pool is killed.
Part 2 begins around the 55% mark. Fallan enters the story and it becomes a high octane Chris Brookmyre story, moving quickly, with all the twists and turns that we have come to expect from a Brookmyre story. At about the 90% point, there is a 180 degree turn that I didn’t see coming (and I doubt many others did either), and after the case is solved, the last sentence adds still another surprise twist, so resist the urge to read the last sentence until you are there, essentially finished reading the book.
So Part 2 of the book is a strong 5. This means that overall, WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES deserves a 4.5 star rating, both as a thriller and as a mystery. I first was going to give it a four-star rating, mainly because I thought inserting a scene from the future was an unfair plot device. Then, I saw that the overall rating for the book was around four stars, and I thought it deserved a higher overall rating than that. So I am giving it five stars to compensate for readers who found the plot too complicated. (Even though Part 1 is too complicated.)
Warning: Do not read “When the Devil Drives� until you have read “Where the Bodies Are Buried�. It is like reading the second Harry Potter book before you have read the first one. WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is the second book in the Jasmine Sharp/Catherine McLeod three-book series.
Although called the Jasmine Sharp/Catherine McLeod series, the main character is Jasmine Sharp, with Catherine McLeod playing a supporting role. I believed that to be true in the first book, where Jasmine’s character was more fully developed than Catherine’s. It is very obvious in this one, where the story follows Jasmine’s quest, with Catherine making only cursory appearances. It is possible that in the third book, which I haven’t yet read, Catherine plays a stronger role.
The first 55% of the book is weak � well, weak for author Chris Brookmyre � worth only a rating of four stars. We follow Jasmine on her search for a woman who has been missing for thirty years. But between the description of this search, we get a brief summary of the first book (for people who did not follow my warning to read it first), and some tricky inserted time changes. Chris Brookmyre has gone back-and-forth between time periods in other books. For example, in “The Cut�, which I loved. And he normally does it seamlessly. But here he plays some tricks, not letting us know in which time period these short inserts are, although most of them are from either 30 years ago or the murderer’s mind in the present. And while we are following Jasmine’s quest, we are briefly taken into the future � a plot device that I didn’t think was fair. I can’t say anything more about this or I’d have to put a “spoiler alert warning� on this review.
I felt that Brookmyre was channeling Agatha Christie in this first part. We know that a murder took place thirty years ago in or near a large old mansion; we know that a male was the murderer, and that there were a limited number of males at the old mansion who can be possible suspects. A limited suspect pool and Jasmine must discover who did it. Then another murder occurs; a member of the suspect pool is killed.
Part 2 begins around the 55% mark. Fallan enters the story and it becomes a high octane Chris Brookmyre story, moving quickly, with all the twists and turns that we have come to expect from a Brookmyre story. At about the 90% point, there is a 180 degree turn that I didn’t see coming (and I doubt many others did either), and after the case is solved, the last sentence adds still another surprise twist, so resist the urge to read the last sentence until you are there, essentially finished reading the book.
So Part 2 of the book is a strong 5. This means that overall, WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES deserves a 4.5 star rating, both as a thriller and as a mystery. I first was going to give it a four-star rating, mainly because I thought inserting a scene from the future was an unfair plot device. Then, I saw that the overall rating for the book was around four stars, and I thought it deserved a higher overall rating than that. So I am giving it five stars to compensate for readers who found the plot too complicated. (Even though Part 1 is too complicated.)
July 13, 2020
‘When the Devil Drives� by Christopher Brookmyre, book two in the Jasmine Sharp/Catherine McLeod mysteries, is a classic-style noir with Scotland as the setting. Similar to the first novel in the series, it’s a plot full of twists and turns.
Private detective Jasmine Sharp is the primary in this novel. Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod is more than a step behind Jasmine in the investigation of a murder.
The two protagonists approach the mystery from different angles. Catherine is investigating a shooting which took place on an aristocratic’s property. Sir Angus McCready, the laird of Ruthes, owner of the Cragruthes Castle, was hosting thirty-five corporate guests. They were watching an outdoor performance of a play - A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The way the killing shot happened proves it was murder, but the question of ‘why� takes a long time to unravel. In fact, Catherine is not able to move as fast as Jasmine in finding the answer. Catherine is not even aware Jasmine is also investigating key suspects, and Jasmine is unaware of Catherine’s case.
For Jasmine, this is a missing person case. Mrs. Alice Petrie, a new client, wants Jasmine to find out what happened to her sister, Tessa Garrion. Tessa disappeared in February, 1981, thirty years ago. Tessa was an actress, a very good one. After an acting gig fell through, Tessa simply disappeared. Did she quit acting? Did someone at the failed venture of staging the play kill her? If so, why? If Tessa is alive, she’d be fifty-three years old. Mrs. Petrie is sixty-eight. She is running out of time - cancer. She is desperate to learn what became of Tessa before she dies.
Jasmine makes many phone calls, begins to find people who worked with Tessa back then. Strangely, none of them want to talk about Tessa. Then Jasmine is certain someone is following her. One night, her car is torched.
It appears Jasmine has unknowingly kicked a hornet’s nest. Things are getting scary. Before she began working as a detective, she was in college studying to be an actress. She is still very young and still learning how to be a detective. Should she call him, that man who helped her mother out for decades? Glen Fallan used to be an enforcer for drug lords. (I am sure the author is doing a joke naming a character Fallan which sounds much like fallen. Glen - a deep valley.) Jasmine has yet to understand the relationship between Fallan and her mother, but he is tough as nails and is a confessed murderer. He told her in the previous novel in the series he had given up killing people twenty years ago. Jasmine discovered him working as a gardener, but his black-ops skills are totally up-to-date. Unlike many killers, he is ex-military. Fallan is a pro.
Does she dare call him? She had told him to stay away from her, but now it looks like someone is out to hurt her. Miserably, she decides...
I am getting a sense from this series there is an overarching theme:
Despite one’s plans and dreams - Epic Fails happen. Then comes afterwards.
The characters either make lemonade and reinvent themselves or they rot from the inside out.
Private detective Jasmine Sharp is the primary in this novel. Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod is more than a step behind Jasmine in the investigation of a murder.
The two protagonists approach the mystery from different angles. Catherine is investigating a shooting which took place on an aristocratic’s property. Sir Angus McCready, the laird of Ruthes, owner of the Cragruthes Castle, was hosting thirty-five corporate guests. They were watching an outdoor performance of a play - A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The way the killing shot happened proves it was murder, but the question of ‘why� takes a long time to unravel. In fact, Catherine is not able to move as fast as Jasmine in finding the answer. Catherine is not even aware Jasmine is also investigating key suspects, and Jasmine is unaware of Catherine’s case.
For Jasmine, this is a missing person case. Mrs. Alice Petrie, a new client, wants Jasmine to find out what happened to her sister, Tessa Garrion. Tessa disappeared in February, 1981, thirty years ago. Tessa was an actress, a very good one. After an acting gig fell through, Tessa simply disappeared. Did she quit acting? Did someone at the failed venture of staging the play kill her? If so, why? If Tessa is alive, she’d be fifty-three years old. Mrs. Petrie is sixty-eight. She is running out of time - cancer. She is desperate to learn what became of Tessa before she dies.
Jasmine makes many phone calls, begins to find people who worked with Tessa back then. Strangely, none of them want to talk about Tessa. Then Jasmine is certain someone is following her. One night, her car is torched.
It appears Jasmine has unknowingly kicked a hornet’s nest. Things are getting scary. Before she began working as a detective, she was in college studying to be an actress. She is still very young and still learning how to be a detective. Should she call him, that man who helped her mother out for decades? Glen Fallan used to be an enforcer for drug lords. (I am sure the author is doing a joke naming a character Fallan which sounds much like fallen. Glen - a deep valley.) Jasmine has yet to understand the relationship between Fallan and her mother, but he is tough as nails and is a confessed murderer. He told her in the previous novel in the series he had given up killing people twenty years ago. Jasmine discovered him working as a gardener, but his black-ops skills are totally up-to-date. Unlike many killers, he is ex-military. Fallan is a pro.
Does she dare call him? She had told him to stay away from her, but now it looks like someone is out to hurt her. Miserably, she decides...
I am getting a sense from this series there is an overarching theme:
Despite one’s plans and dreams - Epic Fails happen. Then comes afterwards.
The characters either make lemonade and reinvent themselves or they rot from the inside out.
March 10, 2023
When The Devil Drives is the second book in the Jasmine Sharp and Catherine McLeod series about two very different female detectives working in Glasgow - an inexperienced young private investigator, and a seasoned Detective Superintendent. You don’t need to have read the previous book, Where The Bodies Are Buried, although events from that one are referenced. This was a clever crime story which pairs a cold case mystery with a modern day mystery, against the background of the Scottish theatre scene.
Jasmine is hired by the older sister of a young actress who disappeared in 1981 after working on a production of MacBeth with a small theatre company, while Catherine is ordered to head the investigation into the sniper shooting of a prominent media personality at an play staged at a castle. Working separately, the detectives must expose secrets that powerful people would rather keep buried, but how do the cases connect and what really happened all those years ago?
It’s two years since I read the previous book so I remembered the characters but not what happened - which was OK as you get a decent recap. Unusually for a dual protagonist series, the two women do not work together - they don’t even meet, as they conduct parallel investigations, and while aware of each other, they maintain a wary distance from one another. My favourite part was Jasmine’s evolving relationship with shady father-figure Glen Fallan, especially given the devastating revelation of his role in her past. The mystery here was well done, with enough twists to keep me guessing, and a nice final flick of the tail at the end. There are currently two more in this series so they’re going on the Wishlist, but I need to get the “bought tbr� down before I can buy them.
Jasmine is hired by the older sister of a young actress who disappeared in 1981 after working on a production of MacBeth with a small theatre company, while Catherine is ordered to head the investigation into the sniper shooting of a prominent media personality at an play staged at a castle. Working separately, the detectives must expose secrets that powerful people would rather keep buried, but how do the cases connect and what really happened all those years ago?
It’s two years since I read the previous book so I remembered the characters but not what happened - which was OK as you get a decent recap. Unusually for a dual protagonist series, the two women do not work together - they don’t even meet, as they conduct parallel investigations, and while aware of each other, they maintain a wary distance from one another. My favourite part was Jasmine’s evolving relationship with shady father-figure Glen Fallan, especially given the devastating revelation of his role in her past. The mystery here was well done, with enough twists to keep me guessing, and a nice final flick of the tail at the end. There are currently two more in this series so they’re going on the Wishlist, but I need to get the “bought tbr� down before I can buy them.
April 19, 2013
Still holding the coveted title of ‘My Favourite Author�, if he publishes, then I will read! I received this as an ‘Uncorrected Proof� review copy.
This is the second book featuring young Jasmine Sharp, 21 years old and working as a Private Investigator. Following the high profile Ramsay case that she solved in Where The Bodies Are Buried, Jasmine has got a bit of a name for herself.
When she is approached by a sickly older woman to find her sister who went missing without trace more than 30 years ago, Jasmine expects it to be a pretty easy case to solve.
The case has a personal pull for her tpp, the missing woman having been a promising actress. As Jasmine followed her late mother’s footsteps, training to be an actress, she finds herself pondering on the life that both herself and her mother could have had, and feels an almost kinship to the missing actress.
What she doesn’t expect is the dark and twisted path the investigation leads her down � sex, drugs, ritualism and possibly even murder?
The trail is so ancient and the ‘players� are amongst some of the most respected in their fields � so is Jasmine ever really going to be able to find out the whole truth?
I am loving Jasmine Sharp � I was a bit concerned that I would be missing Jack Parlabane from many of Brookmyre’s previous books, but Jasmine is superceding my expectations. Her opening scene is pure genius.
She’s feisty, intelligent and razor-sharp � she may not have Parlabane’s sarcasm and cutting wit, but she has Glen Fallan once again � handy with a gun and a fist and generally a dead dodgy guy. Emphasis on the dead there as that is what he has meant to have been for the past 20 years. Fiercely protective of Jasmine, he is a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Also making a reappearance is Detective Catherine McLeod, covering a murder that Jasmine’s own investigation touches upon yet again. But will she be able to solve the case before Jasmine using good old-fashioned (and legal) police work?
I am so glad that this series isn’t disappointing me � although i would still relish a Jack Parlabane reappearance ;)
It was very timely too that on the day of Margaret Thatcher’s funeral (when Cameron was spouting all sorts of tripe) while reading this book, I read this phrase relating to the ‘video nasty� uproar in the 80s (does anyone remember that):
“It was a convenient distraction for the Thatcher government too,� Finnegan added. “Nothing like a moral panic to take people’s minds off mass unemployment and riots on the streets.
I am overly excited to see that the third in the series � Flesh Wounds � is due out in August!!
This is the second book featuring young Jasmine Sharp, 21 years old and working as a Private Investigator. Following the high profile Ramsay case that she solved in Where The Bodies Are Buried, Jasmine has got a bit of a name for herself.
When she is approached by a sickly older woman to find her sister who went missing without trace more than 30 years ago, Jasmine expects it to be a pretty easy case to solve.
The case has a personal pull for her tpp, the missing woman having been a promising actress. As Jasmine followed her late mother’s footsteps, training to be an actress, she finds herself pondering on the life that both herself and her mother could have had, and feels an almost kinship to the missing actress.
What she doesn’t expect is the dark and twisted path the investigation leads her down � sex, drugs, ritualism and possibly even murder?
The trail is so ancient and the ‘players� are amongst some of the most respected in their fields � so is Jasmine ever really going to be able to find out the whole truth?
I am loving Jasmine Sharp � I was a bit concerned that I would be missing Jack Parlabane from many of Brookmyre’s previous books, but Jasmine is superceding my expectations. Her opening scene is pure genius.
She’s feisty, intelligent and razor-sharp � she may not have Parlabane’s sarcasm and cutting wit, but she has Glen Fallan once again � handy with a gun and a fist and generally a dead dodgy guy. Emphasis on the dead there as that is what he has meant to have been for the past 20 years. Fiercely protective of Jasmine, he is a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Also making a reappearance is Detective Catherine McLeod, covering a murder that Jasmine’s own investigation touches upon yet again. But will she be able to solve the case before Jasmine using good old-fashioned (and legal) police work?
I am so glad that this series isn’t disappointing me � although i would still relish a Jack Parlabane reappearance ;)
It was very timely too that on the day of Margaret Thatcher’s funeral (when Cameron was spouting all sorts of tripe) while reading this book, I read this phrase relating to the ‘video nasty� uproar in the 80s (does anyone remember that):
“It was a convenient distraction for the Thatcher government too,� Finnegan added. “Nothing like a moral panic to take people’s minds off mass unemployment and riots on the streets.
I am overly excited to see that the third in the series � Flesh Wounds � is due out in August!!
June 18, 2012
I think it is time for Chris to return to Christopher. I would call myself a die-hard Brookmyre fan, have been since I picked up QUOM but I'm not getting it these days. It's not just the topher than is missing it is basically the storyline, or one that really grips you. Fine, he's had a change in direction. Maybe he wants to grow up a bit or just keep his publishers happy, I don't know. But Chris(topher) if you are going to do this without the swearies or the banter then you have to get yourself a strong storyline that carries through to the end and makes you do "aaah right" at the end. This one was too obvious. And your book was about 100 pages too long. Too many things that just did not add to the storyline other than to drag it out a bit.
Jasmine has potential. Find it. Develop it and maybe then you get back to getting 5 stars from me.
Jasmine has potential. Find it. Develop it and maybe then you get back to getting 5 stars from me.
July 17, 2013
This novel is the second featuring PI Jasmine Sharp and Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod, the first being Where the Bodies are Buried. Jasmine Sharp has been asked to track down a missing person, which is quite common in her line of work. Alice Petrie is dying and wants to get in touch with the younger sister she lost touch with, actress Tess Garrion. As we know from the previous book, Jasmine wanted to be an actress herself, before inheriting her Uncle Jim's business, so she is interested in the case. She becomes more interested when she discovers that Tessa Garrion dropped out of existence shorting after working with Hamish Queen's fledgling theatre company. What happened in 1981 which meant that the company split up and all traces of Tessa vanished? Jasmine joins up with Glen Fallen to unmask a killer from a theatrical cast who include a headteacher, the head of Scottish tv drama, a horror film director, a theatre director and a minister amongst their number.
Meanwhile, Catherine McLeod is called to a corporate hospitality event, where someone linked to Jasmine's case is shot. Sir Angus McCready was hosting a Shakespeare play at his castle, when one of the guests is felled during a photoshoot. Jasmine, though, may be one step ahead - and closer to danger, as she unmasks old secrets. I really like this series, which has great characters and fantastic twists to the plot; as well as a lot of funny one liners. The next book is Flesh Wounds, which I am really looking forward to.
Meanwhile, Catherine McLeod is called to a corporate hospitality event, where someone linked to Jasmine's case is shot. Sir Angus McCready was hosting a Shakespeare play at his castle, when one of the guests is felled during a photoshoot. Jasmine, though, may be one step ahead - and closer to danger, as she unmasks old secrets. I really like this series, which has great characters and fantastic twists to the plot; as well as a lot of funny one liners. The next book is Flesh Wounds, which I am really looking forward to.
May 19, 2017
When the Devil Drives by Chris Brookmyre - good
So we're back to CB's second strand: he's Chris not Christopher, so we know we're getting less comedy more crime. Happily he's carried forward, not just, Jasmine, but also, Catherine and Glen Fallon. Some of the other cops from the first book make an appearance, in passing, but those are the three characters we're focused on.
An outdoor performance of a Shakespeare play is being performed at a privately owned Castle for the high and mighty of a Scottish Bank. At the end of performance photo op, a sniper kills someone. This is still in Strathclyde jurisdiction, so Catherine and her team are called in.
In parallel, Jasmine has been asked to find a missing person. A woman calls to see her, she's been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is trying to find her estranged sister.
This being a novel - the two stories are inevitably interlinked and, of course, both are solved.
This being Chris Brookmyre, the stories are well plotted, the humour and dialogue is sharp and the pages turn really quickly!
Looking forward to hearing him talk about the latest in this strand next month and in the meantime have picked up the latest of his 'Christopher' offerings to tide me over.
So we're back to CB's second strand: he's Chris not Christopher, so we know we're getting less comedy more crime. Happily he's carried forward, not just, Jasmine, but also, Catherine and Glen Fallon. Some of the other cops from the first book make an appearance, in passing, but those are the three characters we're focused on.
An outdoor performance of a Shakespeare play is being performed at a privately owned Castle for the high and mighty of a Scottish Bank. At the end of performance photo op, a sniper kills someone. This is still in Strathclyde jurisdiction, so Catherine and her team are called in.
In parallel, Jasmine has been asked to find a missing person. A woman calls to see her, she's been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is trying to find her estranged sister.
This being a novel - the two stories are inevitably interlinked and, of course, both are solved.
This being Chris Brookmyre, the stories are well plotted, the humour and dialogue is sharp and the pages turn really quickly!
Looking forward to hearing him talk about the latest in this strand next month and in the meantime have picked up the latest of his 'Christopher' offerings to tide me over.
July 7, 2012
The second novel featuring Jasmine Sharp, Catherine McLeod and Glen Fallan. As with most of Brookmyre, the mystery ultimately revolves around the misdeeds of Scotland's elite. The thread with McLeod seems to get short shrift and there are times when Glen Fallan seems a thug ex machina. But still it reads quickly and pleasingly, not necessarily giving up the identity of the murderer or the victims easily but providing sufficient leads to not frustrate the reader.
October 11, 2013
Meh. I love Brookmyre's early work, I've reread it all, it stands up superbly. He's a brilliant, angry, funny, exciting writer and is superbly constructed, absolutely fantastic.
All that said, I think we're breaking up. This didn't even start till more than 50% of the way through. Backstory, backstory, authorial interjection, dialogue which mostly covered backstory. It was painfully slow. Things really picked up at 80% when suddenly the plot came into focus and the Brookmyre twisty genius plotting became apparent, and it really felt like he was back on form (the final twist was totally unnecessary and added nothing, though). But 80% in is too damn late. And his tendency to rant on about certain topics (violent video games are good, obscure music is good, religion is bad, bankers and Tories are bad) is feeling less vivid and visceral, and more like listening to your dad on his hobbyhorse. (Yes, dear, I know you think organised religion has a negative effect on personal and sexual development. I read .)
For a brilliantly plotted twisty deceptive thriller with great characters, read . I really hope the author can find his form again. This isn't it.
All that said, I think we're breaking up. This didn't even start till more than 50% of the way through. Backstory, backstory, authorial interjection, dialogue which mostly covered backstory. It was painfully slow. Things really picked up at 80% when suddenly the plot came into focus and the Brookmyre twisty genius plotting became apparent, and it really felt like he was back on form (the final twist was totally unnecessary and added nothing, though). But 80% in is too damn late. And his tendency to rant on about certain topics (violent video games are good, obscure music is good, religion is bad, bankers and Tories are bad) is feeling less vivid and visceral, and more like listening to your dad on his hobbyhorse. (Yes, dear, I know you think organised religion has a negative effect on personal and sexual development. I read .)
For a brilliantly plotted twisty deceptive thriller with great characters, read . I really hope the author can find his form again. This isn't it.
July 21, 2019
Having enjoyed other books by , I tried (2011), the first in the Jasmine Sharp and Catherine McLeod series and, as I had expected, thoroughly enjoyed it. Jasmine Sharp being the drama school dropout who became an unlikely Glasgow PI and Catherine McLeod a Detective Superintendent for Glasgow polis. I therefore approached this book, (2012), the second in the series, with high expectations.
I'm delighted to report it's every bit as good as its predecessor. Once again, I was struck by how well drawn Jasmine is, complete with her many insecurities and burdgeoning confidence. Her second major case is the search for a missing person which manages to stir up some deep dark secrets that various members of the Scottish establishment would prefer remained dead and buried.
It's compelling, well written, convincing, rigorously researched and makes me want to continue with this series. Happily there is a third book, (aka ) (2014), that I am now keen to read.
4/5
I'm delighted to report it's every bit as good as its predecessor. Once again, I was struck by how well drawn Jasmine is, complete with her many insecurities and burdgeoning confidence. Her second major case is the search for a missing person which manages to stir up some deep dark secrets that various members of the Scottish establishment would prefer remained dead and buried.
It's compelling, well written, convincing, rigorously researched and makes me want to continue with this series. Happily there is a third book, (aka ) (2014), that I am now keen to read.
4/5
December 18, 2013
Christopher Brookmyre is appointment purchasing in these parts, but even allowing for that obsession, I do really like the way this Jasmine Sharp series is shaping up. WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is the second book now, and whilst it would be better to read them both in sequence, you could get away with just picking up this one, especially if you're aware there's a story behind Jasmine becoming a Private Investigator.
There is a cast of central characters, built around Sharp, featuring hardman Fallan and DS MacLeod. Since Sharp took over running her Uncle Jim's detective agency, it's become increasingly apparent (to her) that she's not completely useless at this PI game. She's particularly good at finding long lost relatives, so when a woman walks through the door looking for her long-lost sister, it's a bit business as usual for Sharp.
For MacLeod, business as usual is the shooting of a well known patron of the arts and man about town, although the location, in the Highlands, and the manner, long-range sharp-shooting are less run of the mill.
More straight-laced than Brookmyre's satirical novels, that doesn't mean that WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is without humour, or absurdity or a bit of in your face goings on. But it all fits well into the scenario of PI's, cops and crims. Nicely plotted with intersecting lines that come together in a believable fashion. Combined with a nice line in lurking protection from Fallan again, I do really like this series. It's not dark and noir, it's not light and fluffy. It's not cuttingly satirical. It is, however, very engaging, and enjoyable and I'm really looking forward to following where it goes in the future.
There is a cast of central characters, built around Sharp, featuring hardman Fallan and DS MacLeod. Since Sharp took over running her Uncle Jim's detective agency, it's become increasingly apparent (to her) that she's not completely useless at this PI game. She's particularly good at finding long lost relatives, so when a woman walks through the door looking for her long-lost sister, it's a bit business as usual for Sharp.
For MacLeod, business as usual is the shooting of a well known patron of the arts and man about town, although the location, in the Highlands, and the manner, long-range sharp-shooting are less run of the mill.
More straight-laced than Brookmyre's satirical novels, that doesn't mean that WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES is without humour, or absurdity or a bit of in your face goings on. But it all fits well into the scenario of PI's, cops and crims. Nicely plotted with intersecting lines that come together in a believable fashion. Combined with a nice line in lurking protection from Fallan again, I do really like this series. It's not dark and noir, it's not light and fluffy. It's not cuttingly satirical. It is, however, very engaging, and enjoyable and I'm really looking forward to following where it goes in the future.
June 7, 2013
Too long, too much whining. Too implausible. Very annoying. I especially found the "patron of the arts" notorious drug dealer's judgmental diatribe on the Thachter administration a bit hard to take. He's scandalized about "high unemployment" when he's made his living selling drugs. But let's hear it for him, he never sold LSD. Wow, a drug dealer with a heart. But he wasn't the only reason for two stars. The characters came off as being very pretentious. It was hard to drum up empathy for any of them. And I definitely did not believe for one minute that this amateur private detective found it so easy to interview all these "upper class" members of the theatre world. She just breezed in and they all talked. Yeah. Of course, let's not forget her "associate" Fallan. Another "believable" part of the story. I didn't read the first book. Looks like I won't. I have to confess that by page 250 I gave up on this book and skimmed to the end. It was filled with too much narrative that you think you have to read because you'll miss something important. After weeding out the unnecessary, the book could have been 75 pages.
January 3, 2016
Jasmine Sharp has very quickly become one of those fully-fledged characters I want to know more about and whose career path is of interest and she is the reason for the four stars, along with Glen Fallen.
There are moments of true menace, but in lots of ways this is more of a farce, especially with the theatrical background (research possibly a bit heavily-applied in places?) with the number of potential murderers popping up for consideration, however, musings on the reasons why and the tremendously good writing keep all the bubbles in the air.
There are moments of true menace, but in lots of ways this is more of a farce, especially with the theatrical background (research possibly a bit heavily-applied in places?) with the number of potential murderers popping up for consideration, however, musings on the reasons why and the tremendously good writing keep all the bubbles in the air.
November 16, 2014
I liked the mystery a lot, but the writing style not as much. Still a good British tale. An almost actress turned private investigator (Jasmin Sharp) is asked to trace an actress who disappeared 30 years earlier. The actress had been working with a theatre group in a rural area, and Jasmin tracks down and interviews the members. In another story line, not far from where the theatre group worked decades earlier, a famous theatre producer is murdered. Jasmin needs to determine if there is a connection between that murder and her case.
April 7, 2013
... is it me..... or was this really not a good read...... As a die hard Brookmyre fan, I settled down eagerly to read this. But t just did not grab me - or even make me snigger once in a while. I think he's changed his style with these characters - and not for the better. Go back to being edgy please.
June 10, 2012
For me, Brookmyre has jet to write a bad story. Ok, not great literature, but wonderful characters, fantastic story, at times witty, insightful and thoughtful. Easy fun books to read.
May 15, 2019
Very enjoyable, this quickly struck me as a cut above the usual crime thriller, reminded me why Brookmyre is one of my favourite authors. Witty and well-plotted, this continued the Sharp Investigations series after an exciting opener I recall enjoying a couple of years ago.
Slightly detracting, however, was a general sense that I was slightly confused by virtue of not remembering what happened in the preceding book of the series. Not necessarily the author's fault - just unfortunate - maybe had I read it sooner (or not read #1 in the series at all) I wouldn't have this lingering sense of not quite understanding. There's a missing actress, there's a man shot whilst watching outdoor theatre, there are parallel police and private detective investigations, there's a little sense that Brookmyre is a very good writer but I enjoyed some of his wittier stand-alone books more.
Slightly detracting, however, was a general sense that I was slightly confused by virtue of not remembering what happened in the preceding book of the series. Not necessarily the author's fault - just unfortunate - maybe had I read it sooner (or not read #1 in the series at all) I wouldn't have this lingering sense of not quite understanding. There's a missing actress, there's a man shot whilst watching outdoor theatre, there are parallel police and private detective investigations, there's a little sense that Brookmyre is a very good writer but I enjoyed some of his wittier stand-alone books more.
January 19, 2020
One of the most enthralling detective/mystery books I've read in a while
September 25, 2012
Is the devil merely the name we give the worst in ourselves? When private investigator Jasmine Sharp is hired to find Tessa Garrion, a young woman who has vanished without trace, it becomes increasingly clear that there are those who want her to stay that way. What begins as a simple search awakens a malevolence that has lain dormant for three decades, putting Jasmine in the crosshairs of those who would stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. Uncovering a hidden history of sex, drugs, ritualism and murder, Jasmine realises she may need a little help from dark places herself if she's going to get to the truth. But then needs must...
The second slice of tartan noir crime from Chris Brookmyre featuring Jasmine Sharp; aspiring actress accidently turned PI. Jasmine has learnt a lot since her shaky start in ‘Where the Bodies are Buried� and is more confident and infinitely more competent. Detective Superintendent Catherine Macleod is back as well as Glen Fallon - ex hitman, gangster, all round scary man with a heart of gold. It starts with a brilliant set piece and then we are off on a twisting, turning path through the story packed with Brookmyre’s trademark wit that makes violence, missing people and murder seem such good fun.
The second slice of tartan noir crime from Chris Brookmyre featuring Jasmine Sharp; aspiring actress accidently turned PI. Jasmine has learnt a lot since her shaky start in ‘Where the Bodies are Buried� and is more confident and infinitely more competent. Detective Superintendent Catherine Macleod is back as well as Glen Fallon - ex hitman, gangster, all round scary man with a heart of gold. It starts with a brilliant set piece and then we are off on a twisting, turning path through the story packed with Brookmyre’s trademark wit that makes violence, missing people and murder seem such good fun.
August 11, 2016
A surprisingly tamer read than I was lead to believe given the cover blurb. A quote from my beloved Mark Billingham says"Chilling, compelling" so I had high hopes but while I enjoyed it, I was expecting something grittier, darker & eviler (is that a word?).....of maybe I was mislead by the devil in the title!
Jasmine was a likeable enough character. Only having read the blurb I had no idea she was a) the main character or b) she was a private investigator, so the opening chapter in the hospital was a delight & a surprise.
As a PI she's not a maverick or even a hard boiled one, but that is fitting considering her age. I don't know all her background & history with Fallan but there was enough to get the gist of their relationship without spoiling the tale should I decide to read the first in the series - which is a distinct possibility as Fallan is the kind if guy I like - good with a gun & his fists! The storyline was entertaining enough if a little slow at times for my taste, red herrings & false trails abound, some very easy to spot & others less so.
Jasmine was a likeable enough character. Only having read the blurb I had no idea she was a) the main character or b) she was a private investigator, so the opening chapter in the hospital was a delight & a surprise.
As a PI she's not a maverick or even a hard boiled one, but that is fitting considering her age. I don't know all her background & history with Fallan but there was enough to get the gist of their relationship without spoiling the tale should I decide to read the first in the series - which is a distinct possibility as Fallan is the kind if guy I like - good with a gun & his fists! The storyline was entertaining enough if a little slow at times for my taste, red herrings & false trails abound, some very easy to spot & others less so.
March 6, 2014
In book two of the series Catherine and Jasmine once again find themselves working on the same case - unbeknownst to one another - from different directions. Catherine gains a measure of respect for Jasmine's blossoming detective skills, tempered by resentment of her meddling in police business. The mysterious ex-mobster Glen Fallan also plays a central role in all of these books, but we still don't know all we need to know about him. You might want to have a map of Glasgow and surrounding area at hand while reading these books. A dictionary of Glaswegian jargon wouldn't hurt, either.
July 3, 2013
Fairly brisk paced whodunnit, lots of suspects and a woman who hasn't been seen since 1981.
The second Jasmine Sharp gives us a chance to catch up with the young P.I. as she continues to learn on the job.
Most of what Jasmine does is done through lucky breaks and a determination to find the truth, she's not trained in unarmed combat or armed for that matter. However she has spent years at college learning how to act, which might come in handy.
The second Jasmine Sharp gives us a chance to catch up with the young P.I. as she continues to learn on the job.
Most of what Jasmine does is done through lucky breaks and a determination to find the truth, she's not trained in unarmed combat or armed for that matter. However she has spent years at college learning how to act, which might come in handy.
April 9, 2015
Ok it is very, very rare that I do not finish a book. This was my first introduction to Christopher Brookmyre who I had heard good things about, but I was very disappointed. I was almost half way though the book and it was a struggle to get that far, there was so much back story on things happening in the book and not a lot happening that I could not get into the story at all.
November 23, 2024
Nach dem Tod ihres Onkels erbt Jasmine Sharp seine Detektei. Sie hält sich mit kleineren Jobs über Wasser. Auch ihr aktueller Auftrag scheint nichts anderes zu sein. Jasmine soll Tessa Garrion finden, die vor mehr als 30 Jahren in Glasgow verschwand. Ihre Schwester, die nur noch wenige Monate zu leben hat, will sie noch einmal sehen. Aber für Jasmine ist das alles andere als ein gewöhnlicher Auftrag.
Eigentlich wollte Jasmine seit ihrer frühesten Kindheit nichts anderes als Schauspielerin werden. Aber die Krebserkrankung ihrer Mutter zwang sie dazu, die Academy zu verlassen. Nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter stellte ihr Onkel Jim sie mehr als Mitleid ein. Als er bei dem ersten gemeinsamen großen Fall ermordet wurde, gewann Jasmine eine Art Berühmtheit die ihr hilft, die Detektei am Leben zu erhalten. Und sie macht es nicht schlecht, denn ihre Jugend öffnet ihr Türen, die einen älteren Mann verschlossen bleiben würden. So kann sie einen Fall von sexueller Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz einfach dadurch lösen, indem sie zum Opfer wird, auch wenn ihr das nicht gefällt.
Ihr aktueller Fall berührt sie deshalb so sehr, weil es viele Parallelen gibt. Die Verschwundene ist Schauspielerin und war auf der Academy, auf der auch sie bis zur Erkrankung ihrer Mutter war. Die Schwester, die sie sucht, hat Krebs- wie Jasmines Mutter. Aber da gibt es noch den Mann im Kilt, der mit dem Verschwinden Tessas zu tun haben scheint.
Wieder einmal überrascht mich, wie normal und sensibel Christopher Brookmyre schreiben kann. Trotzdem blitzt zwischen den Zeilen auch der herrlich verrückte Stil durch, den ich an ihm so mag. Ich bin erst am Anfang des Buchs und habe gerade eine ungefähre Ahnung, in welche Richtung es sich entwickeln könnte. Ob der am Anfang erwähnte Teufel wohl noch eine große Rolle spielt?
Der erste Teil wurde gegen Ende etwas langweilig. Chris(topher) Brookmyre und eine ganz normale Ermittlung passen nicht so gut zusammen. Dafür hat der zweite Teil mit einer Überraschung angefangen. Außerdem gibt es Hinweise auf die verschiedensten Täter und Szenarien. Es bleibt also spannend, wenn auch überraschend normal.
Worüber ich mich ein bisschen wundere, ist der Namenswechsel. Aus Christopher wurde Chris. Neuer Name- neuer Stil? Oder geht es wie bei Iain Banks, der das M. in seinem Namen nur für Science Fiction verwendet? Die Homepage gibt keine Antwort darauf, also heißt es weiter grübeln .
Brookmyre ist seinem neuen Stil bis zum Ende treu geblieben. Trotzdem war das Buch nicht langweilig. Im Gegenteil, es gab zum Schluß noch ein paar sehr überraschende Wendungen. Trotzdem konnte mich ie Geschichte nicht so begeistern wie andere Bücher des Autors. Dazu hat das gefehlt, was die Bücher Brookmyres für mich ausgemacht hat: der schräge Humor, der hier nur ab und zu kurz aufblitzt.
Eigentlich wollte Jasmine seit ihrer frühesten Kindheit nichts anderes als Schauspielerin werden. Aber die Krebserkrankung ihrer Mutter zwang sie dazu, die Academy zu verlassen. Nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter stellte ihr Onkel Jim sie mehr als Mitleid ein. Als er bei dem ersten gemeinsamen großen Fall ermordet wurde, gewann Jasmine eine Art Berühmtheit die ihr hilft, die Detektei am Leben zu erhalten. Und sie macht es nicht schlecht, denn ihre Jugend öffnet ihr Türen, die einen älteren Mann verschlossen bleiben würden. So kann sie einen Fall von sexueller Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz einfach dadurch lösen, indem sie zum Opfer wird, auch wenn ihr das nicht gefällt.
Ihr aktueller Fall berührt sie deshalb so sehr, weil es viele Parallelen gibt. Die Verschwundene ist Schauspielerin und war auf der Academy, auf der auch sie bis zur Erkrankung ihrer Mutter war. Die Schwester, die sie sucht, hat Krebs- wie Jasmines Mutter. Aber da gibt es noch den Mann im Kilt, der mit dem Verschwinden Tessas zu tun haben scheint.
Wieder einmal überrascht mich, wie normal und sensibel Christopher Brookmyre schreiben kann. Trotzdem blitzt zwischen den Zeilen auch der herrlich verrückte Stil durch, den ich an ihm so mag. Ich bin erst am Anfang des Buchs und habe gerade eine ungefähre Ahnung, in welche Richtung es sich entwickeln könnte. Ob der am Anfang erwähnte Teufel wohl noch eine große Rolle spielt?
Der erste Teil wurde gegen Ende etwas langweilig. Chris(topher) Brookmyre und eine ganz normale Ermittlung passen nicht so gut zusammen. Dafür hat der zweite Teil mit einer Überraschung angefangen. Außerdem gibt es Hinweise auf die verschiedensten Täter und Szenarien. Es bleibt also spannend, wenn auch überraschend normal.
Worüber ich mich ein bisschen wundere, ist der Namenswechsel. Aus Christopher wurde Chris. Neuer Name- neuer Stil? Oder geht es wie bei Iain Banks, der das M. in seinem Namen nur für Science Fiction verwendet? Die Homepage gibt keine Antwort darauf, also heißt es weiter grübeln .
Brookmyre ist seinem neuen Stil bis zum Ende treu geblieben. Trotzdem war das Buch nicht langweilig. Im Gegenteil, es gab zum Schluß noch ein paar sehr überraschende Wendungen. Trotzdem konnte mich ie Geschichte nicht so begeistern wie andere Bücher des Autors. Dazu hat das gefehlt, was die Bücher Brookmyres für mich ausgemacht hat: der schräge Humor, der hier nur ab und zu kurz aufblitzt.
January 19, 2018
This constitutes the second in what is to be hoped will be a long series of books by Christopher Brookmyre. Jasmine Sharp received quite a large amount of laudatory coverage for finding the long dead parents, the Ramsays, discovering that their infant son had survived. What happens to him was part of Where The Bodies Are Buried. Because of her success and name recognition, an elderly woman, Mrs. Petrie, seeks her assistance to find her sister who disappeared 30 years ago. Tessa Garrion was last known to be part of an acting group called Glass House Productions, formed by Hamish Queen, a man who later became famous in theatre circles all over Britain. Because of Queen's aristocratic connections, the group ended up performing A Midsummer Night's Dream at Craigruthes Castle, home of Sir Angus McCready, Laird of Ruthes. Tessa Garrion was no long part of the troupe of actors, yet, in an uncanny way, Jasmine's quest to find the long-disappeared actress intersected with the search for Hamish Queen's killer 30 years later. It transpired that Tessa Garrion had been at Craigruthes Castle in 1981 with Hamish, Julian, Darius, Saffron and other members of the ensemble. She disappeared after a night of ribald revelry, hallucinatory drugs, sexual escapades and Satanic rituals. Make-believe though they were, to innocent teenagers they looked like the real thing. The police search for Hamish Queen's killer, lead by Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod and her team, soon find themselves enmeshed in lies, obfuscations, cover-ups and deflections. This is akin to Jasmine's experience tracking down Tessa Garrion's former acting mates. She senses that all of them are covering up something or somebody. But what or who? Read this intriguing book to find out.
June 29, 2020
Like many other readers, I have been a huge fan of Brookmyre's earlier work. This is the second in a new series centered around Jasmine Sharp, and it is better than the first one. And while I can understand why a fair number of people really did not like this one, I have to admit I just read and enjoyed it -- and it's the kind of plot which would usually put me off. With a suspension of disbelief, this one pretty much zipped along for me.
Jasmine is more confident and less awkward than in the previous book. I also still find Glen Fallan interesting, and their partnership to be both improbable and plausible at the same time. The writing is strong, and the new characters are well delineated. Meanwhile, the police folk from the first book return, though in a less featured role.
One thing I disliked was the periodic foreshadowing. At the beginning of the book, the reader encounters a murder, and I would have preferred that to have been developed later And the plot can be dark in places, though it usually brightens up a bit after the shock.
Anyway, for me this was a pretty good read and I will read the remaining one sooner or later.
Jasmine is more confident and less awkward than in the previous book. I also still find Glen Fallan interesting, and their partnership to be both improbable and plausible at the same time. The writing is strong, and the new characters are well delineated. Meanwhile, the police folk from the first book return, though in a less featured role.
One thing I disliked was the periodic foreshadowing. At the beginning of the book, the reader encounters a murder, and I would have preferred that to have been developed later And the plot can be dark in places, though it usually brightens up a bit after the shock.
Anyway, for me this was a pretty good read and I will read the remaining one sooner or later.
August 1, 2019
When the Devil Drives is the 2nd in the series with PI Jasmine Sharp and DS Catherine McLeod. In this installment, Jasmine as accepted Sharp Investigations as her own upon the death of Jim and is being kept quite busy with referrals. A walk in client leads her to investigate a 30 year old missing person case. It soon becomes evident that there are forces at work that definitely don’t want Jasmine working on the case. Meanwhile DS McLeod is investigating a shooting death which may have been professional sniper or a stray bullet from poachers. She digs into her case with the same tenacity that Jasmine works on hers, parallel cases in which the reader keeps waiting for them to meet.
Excellent read, well written with an intriguing mystery plot. I found in this, as in the first in the series, that the Jasmine story line is more compelling but overall I enjoyed the book in its entirety. Recommended read, but I’d definitely start with the first in the series, Where the Bodies are Buried, which by the way, is a read this month over at the English Kindle Mystery Club!
Excellent read, well written with an intriguing mystery plot. I found in this, as in the first in the series, that the Jasmine story line is more compelling but overall I enjoyed the book in its entirety. Recommended read, but I’d definitely start with the first in the series, Where the Bodies are Buried, which by the way, is a read this month over at the English Kindle Mystery Club!
March 19, 2017
I seem to have come up with a longer list of niggles about this book than is fair, so I want to start with very clearly saying that the book was very readable (or in my case listenable to) and I enjoyed it. Moreover, I would like to read more in the series, so overall my rating seems a bit mean.
Having read the first book in the series, and quite a few of Brookmyre's other books, my niggles and positives are as follows:
* The level of repetition of back story from the first novel was excessive for my taste - I don't have a good memory for these things, so I normally appreciate a few reminders, but there was too much even for me. If I had been reading rather than listening I think that I would have been tempted to skim read these bits.
* With the knowledge that I am perhaps judging more harshly in the context of some of Brookmyre's other books, this feels much more middle of the road, which makes it a good read, but I miss Brookmyre's black humour and edginess; however, I don't miss some of the political lecturing.
* I do tend to like to focus on the positive (normally!), but I was not keen on the repetition of emphasising Jasmine's mistakes - sometimes it seems really harsh self criticism, especially as she is very new to the game.
* I found that the parallel police and private investigations work well as a way of presenting the story, and am looking forward to reading more about how this develops in future novels.
* Overall, the characters and plot were not quite as convincing as I would like, but I still enjoyed the book.
Having read the first book in the series, and quite a few of Brookmyre's other books, my niggles and positives are as follows:
* The level of repetition of back story from the first novel was excessive for my taste - I don't have a good memory for these things, so I normally appreciate a few reminders, but there was too much even for me. If I had been reading rather than listening I think that I would have been tempted to skim read these bits.
* With the knowledge that I am perhaps judging more harshly in the context of some of Brookmyre's other books, this feels much more middle of the road, which makes it a good read, but I miss Brookmyre's black humour and edginess; however, I don't miss some of the political lecturing.
* I do tend to like to focus on the positive (normally!), but I was not keen on the repetition of emphasising Jasmine's mistakes - sometimes it seems really harsh self criticism, especially as she is very new to the game.
* I found that the parallel police and private investigations work well as a way of presenting the story, and am looking forward to reading more about how this develops in future novels.
* Overall, the characters and plot were not quite as convincing as I would like, but I still enjoyed the book.
June 26, 2017
Brookmyre's second thriller featuring actress-turned PI Jasmine Sharp and Detective Superintendent Catherine McCleod is another enjoyable read. Not so much for its plot - which is serviceable in all the right ways - but for the lead characters. Jasmine is a delight to read, her tendency to underestimate herself providing a stark and enjoyable contrast with her actual ability and quick thinking. D.S. McCleod has far less page time, but her presence in the novel still provides readerly comfort.
"When the Devil Drives" does suffer from feeling somewhat perfunctory. But I enjoyed the book greatly, and certain seeds sown in the novel are definitely whetting my appetite for the next book in the series.
"When the Devil Drives" does suffer from feeling somewhat perfunctory. But I enjoyed the book greatly, and certain seeds sown in the novel are definitely whetting my appetite for the next book in the series.
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