A Snowball in Hell

By: Christopher Brookmyre

Narrated by: Kenny Blyth

Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Simon Darcourt, an inventive killer with a sense of humour, is creating his own celebrity talent show, one that is generating more publicity than its contestants have ever had in their lives. The catch is that those lives won't be very long.

The police turn to Angelique de Xavia, a cop who has crossed his path before. However, the police are not the only people who want Darcourt. Now she's faced not only with tracking him down, but also with the task of ensuring she doesn't end up dead once she's served her purpose.

Scared and alone, Angelique knows she's got a snowball's chance of pulling this off, which is why she's going to need a little magic...

©2008 Christopher Brookmyre (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Brilliant and hilarious." ( Guardian)

More Brookmyre, Please

I have been a fan of Mr. Brookmyre since first hearing "A Tale Etched In Blood and Hard Black Pencil." I was enchanted by the dark humor, the clever phrasings, the twists, and the juxtaposed sentimentality. I have since listened to all his audio books I could lay my ears on.

Most have been narrated by Kenny Blyth, who does a spot-on job; providing a suitable range of voices (many in winsome Scot brogues), and an impeccable delivery of Christopher Brookmyre's wonderful ironies. Here again the narrator does not disappoint.

The book itself is is excellent. While I was able to suss many of the twists, that did not dim them; and there were plenty that escaped my anticipation. The characters are all engaging, and even the villain is intriguing and entertaining without becoming a sympathetic anti-hero in the end. Kudos.

I have rated this book at five within the genre, rounding it up. Audible could do worse than to add more of his books to their digital shelves.

Typical Brookmyre with a great villain

Simon is one of the most entertaining villains I've had the privilege to encounter. The "good guys" pale in comparison. I came into this without having read the earlier books, but I don't think I missed much there. Fun read, and I do enjoy a book where you're rooting for the villain, even if he is a bad, bad man.

Gory and fun, with a heart, too.

Would you listen to A Snowball in Hell again? Why?

Yes, the narrator was very good. The story compelling and if you're a music lover you will enjoy the scathing assessment of the music industry.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, there were many twists and turns and several compelling story lines to follow.

What about Kenny Blyth’s performance did you like?

Kenny Blyth's true Scottish accent helped bring the book to life. He was easy for this Yank to understand even while listening in the car.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot! I also gasped and winced at some parts. Some parts are not for the faint of heart, but the story is great wicked fun.

Any additional comments?

I visited Scotland last summer and picked up a Christopher Brookmyre book at the recommendation of a book shop owner in Elgin, where my father's family came from. I asked for some crime fiction by an author an American might not be familiar with. From our conversation she deduced I would enjoy something with black humor and she was right. If you like Carl Hiaasen or Christopher Moore this will be a fun listen for you.

Out-bleeping-standing!!!!!

Loved the story. Loved the fact of an antagonist that is deranged but also a guy you can’t help but root for. Some neat twists and turns but nothing mind-blowing. But still overall a very entertaining story chalk full of very interesting characters. This show could easily be an HBO or BBC hit drama series. Elements of 007, Now You See Me, Black Mirror, and the Ocean’s movies. Typically I would assume it’s just a try-hard looking to capitalize on other success material. But not this story. Author was excellent. And the narrator gives a five-star performance. The sample can make it sound cheesy potentially. But trust that it’s worth a credit. And an hour in you’ll already be planning your day around being able to continue listening.

Worth a second listen!

This was a fun, sinister, twisted, romance-with-a-kick, listen. I already gave this a second listen in case I missed any of the nuances that are woven throughout. Great author, excellent performance.

ridiculous

Violent, implausible, thoroughly enjoyed it! Demented take on social issues. A very warped social commentary. I don't care still found it funny, offbeat and kinda funny in a dark bleak way.

Brilliant!

This is Brookmyer at his iconoclastic best. An impossible plot is laid down and with the many twist and turns eventually comes to a satisfactory outcome, not without a few laughs, feeling of revulsion and nail-biting tension and a few sacred cows exploded on the way.

Well told and worth the sometimes excessive blood, gore and bad language - part and parcel of Brookmyer's well-crafted stories.

Better than the printed version...

I had bought this when it was first published and enjoyed it at the time so I did wonder if i was just wasting my money getting the audio as I knew the plot but the narrator in this reading is excellent and gave life to the characters in a much better way than I did in my head when first reading.

Good but too long

I like unabridged books, but as commented by another reviewer an abridged version of this novel would have probably been better, as so many of the themes concerning celebrity culture were repeated time and again. But on a more positive note an execellent story with numerous twists and turns, very well read with good characterisation. On my download there appeared to be two minor faults, what seemed a very out of place chapter early in the book, and later on a chapter that stops mid sentance, but neither really detract from what was on the whole an enjoyable listen.

Classic Brookmyre and more!!

What can I say - he gets even better. Black humour and satire, at its best. Thank you Mr Brookmyre ? once again. More please!

Wow again!

I thought the first book in this series would make a great film, and the same can be said for all 3. I like Christopher’s style of writing so much that I have put all his other titles in my wish list.

Devine

As full of twists as a plateful of spaghetti! The third in the series was well worth the wait. Great, complex storyline, fabulous characters, brilliant touches of humour and a narrator from heaven. Loved it loved it loved it. M

A Hero, Heroine and the Devil battle again

What made the experience of listening to A Snowball in Hell the most enjoyable?

Superb narration by Kenny Blyth. He brought such depth to each character, especially so for Simon Darcourt.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Snowball in Hell?

The gameshow, loosely based on the X Factor accept the prize for the winner and the means to attain it were gruesome but darkly funny.

Which character – as performed by Kenny Blyth – was your favourite?

Simon Darcourt

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Silly question, especially for a Christopher Brookmyre novel.

Any additional comments?

Brookmyre never disappoints.

Disappointing.

My expectations were high for this book, as I have long been a fan of Christopher Brookmyer, but it was a huge disappointment. The plot is extremely clever, and the story contains surprising twists, hence the two stars, but I actually found myself wishing I had bought an abridged version of the book. I felt that Brookmyer was so keen to let the reader know his views on the shallow nature of today's Celebrity culture which, I totally agree, blights our society, that he kept thumping the reader over the head with them. The smug 'yes, isn't everybody stupid?' prose eventually began to grate to such an extent that I wanted to reach for the TV remote and switch on 'X Factor'.
The excessive padding to the story line detracted from, what should have, been an entertaining read.
Perhaps Brookmyer was being paid by the word for this one?

classic

another classic yarn spun by the author very cleverly using previous characters and building into a fantastic story. full of twists throughout this book has kept me entertained from start to finish

loved it!

I love Christopher Brookmyre novels and this was no exception. Kenny blyth did an amazing job narrating and nailed all the accents perfectly - unlike some of brookmyres previous narrators. I'd just love it if they would turn the Angelique de Xavier novels into a trilogy film- can someone make this happen please?