Past Mortem: A heart-stopping thriller and killer comic romance

Ben Elton

Nov 2012 · Random House

About this ebook

'A writer who provokes, almost as much as he entertains' Daily Mail
'Engaging and smartly plotted' Observer
___

With old friends like these, who needs enemies?

It's a question mild mannered detective Edward Newson is forced to ask himself when, in romantic desperation, he logs on to the Friends Reunited website in search of the girlfriends of his youth. Newson is not the only member of the Class of '88 who has been raking over the ashes of the past. As his old class begins to reassemble in cyberspace, the years slip away and old feuds and passions burn hot once more.

Meanwhile, back in the present, Newson's life is no less complicated. He is secretly in love with Natasha, his lovely but very attached sergeant, and failing comprehensively to solve a series of baffling and peculiarly gruesome murders. A school reunion is planned and as history begins to repeat itself, the past crashes headlong into the present. Neither will ever be the same again.
___

What readers are saying:

***** 'Fun, frightful and relentlessly gripping.'
***** 'Clever and original . . . a great read'
***** 'Darkly comic, intriguing . . . and with a real twist in the tail.'

Ratings and reviews

I have avoided Ben Elton's books, even though I know he has published A LOT I have always written him off as an author because of my own prejudices. He will always be the 1980's, sequin besuited, mouth whose politics I didn't agree with but who could still make me laugh. I fully expected his books to both tout his personal politics and have that very clear Ben Elton stage persona voice. I WAS SO WRONG! A work colleague advised me to try his books as she has read all of his output and hasn't had a bad one yet, so this one was on sale and I figured "why not?". As she would say - WHAT A BOOK! It has everything going for it. A bit of a police procedural, a bit of a thriller, a bit of a romance and a lot of grit. Edward Newson is our hero and a more self-deprecating chap you couldn't hope to meet. The humour is dark and wry; Newson certainly has few illusions about himself but he comes across as charming in an unlikely way. Couple this with his unrequited obsession with his Sergeant, Natasha and his insecurities about his appearance, his ability to do his job and, well just life really; you can't help but fall a little in love with his gingerness. When a brutal murder takes place and it is assigned to his Murder Team you know things aren't going to run smoothly for Edward and with little to go off forensically or by way of motive they appear to be at a dead end, until there is another murder just as bizarre. The investigation is also set against Newson's decision to revisit his past and he joins, the now defunct, Friends Reunited website. Oddly his secondary school years coincide with mine so all those nostalgia references really hit home. Not only does it bring back bad memories of school, it also brings back warm ones of one Christmas Disco and catapults him on to the radar of two women from his past; two women who are soon to be instrumental in the murder enquiry. This isn't a book for the squeamish as some of the murder scenes are described in lurid detail. There are also a couple of graphic "intimate" scenes - now, normally I find these a real nuisance but I have to admit as weird as the acts described are they are written exceptionally well. Unfortunately, I did figure out who did around 3/4 of the way through but I really enjoyed watching Newson and Natasha flounder about trying to get there - and they do a fair bit of floundering. Fun, frightful and relentlessly gripping. Seperate the Stand-Up from the Author and you are in for a genuine treat!

Brilliant!

An excellent read.

About the author

Ben Elton’s multi-award winning career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past thirty-five years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he was co-writer of TV hits The Young Ones and Blackadder and sole creator of The Thin Blue Line and Upstart Crow. He has written fifteen major bestsellers, including Stark, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society, Two Brothers and Time and Time Again, three West End plays and three musicals, including global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written and directed two feature films, Maybe Baby and Three Summers.

He is married and has three children.