Picked this up from my community’s street library box and thought I’d give it a go as every male I knew in the 90s and early 2000s raved about Ben Elton. I missed the bus by about 25 years. Not knowing a lot about Ben Elton but loving Black Adder gave me hope going into the book and it was hope rewarded.

Great plot, great characters - someone to love, someone to hate, some to feel sorry for, etc. The protagonist’s lack of ego is both refreshing and at times a weakness; maybe a sign of the time it was written but Newson’s referral (at least inner monologue wise) to Wilkie as a girl (he refers to her maybe twice as a woman throughout the story) grates a little as the male characters in the book he refers to as men. Women are relegated to the terms girls or ladies. Again perhaps a sign of the time it was written or perhaps intentionally by the author to underscore an inherent societal gender imbalance. Or perhaps hitting a target audience?

Other than that annoyance, a bloody good page turner which steadily picked up pace and kept the thrill of suspense going to the very end. Oh and some bloody good giggles too and one unforgettable sex which also underscored some gender issues. Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry (or both).

Great holiday read

'I have sex with just two women in a trillion years, and they end up being the victim and chief suspect in the murder case I'm investigating.'

You know when you're thoroughly enjoying a book, you find any excuse to read it, even if only just a page. This is such a book.

A person is found brutally killed, naked and slowly bled to death, with his family tied up downstairs unable to help. And so Inspector Newson and Sergeant Wilkie begin their investigation. What starts off as one crime is cleverly interwoven with previous ones, upping the horrific level.

This is Ben Elton, but all grown up. Engaging writing style that grips and doesn't let go. Some narks such as the constant reference to Insp Newson's height and hair colour, but overall 10/10

Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.

Very satisfying read.

Книга увлекла и я с удовольствие прочитал ее до конца в отличие от совсем уж тупых от Устиновой - ее книги это как телевизор включить.

С книгой Бена Элтона сопереживаешь правдоподобно описанным героям, с интересом следишь за сюжетной линией.

В книге в нескольких местах есть жесткий мат и пара очень детальных порнографических сцен, но с моей точки зрения все это в меру и к месту. Мат не рассыпан по тексту, а подчеркивает жесткость нескольких сцен. Порнография несколько тошнотворна но является неотьемлимой частью сюжета и не внесена просто так.

А ну и для нежных душ - в книге есть подробные описания пыток. Они опять-таки нетьемлимы от сюжета и в общем не так тошнотворно смакуются, как например у Зюскинда, но понимаю, что есть много людей которым вообще просто не захочется эту книгу читать.

A really enjoyable tale with an empathetic and likeable main character. A grim subject tackled with sensitivity and some nice comic touches. Recommended.

It was dull for a Ben Elton book, there were no twists and the plot was obvious. Shame as I have loved the others that I've read. Not really worth the time.

Why have I read so few of Ben Elton's books? Years ago I read Two Brothers and thought it brilliant. Now I've come across Past Mortem and found it very exciting and, at times, extremely funny.
It shouldn't really be funny because the serial killer the police are hunting is inventive, sadistic, ruthless and seemingly uncatchable. So is the humour appropriate? Of course it is if you believe in the black comedy-drama genre, rather like Quentin Tarantino's movies.
The characters are fascinating; a small ginger-haired police inspector with a disproportionally large er... and his Sergeant, a gorgeous woman with beautifully legs and very large er... Read the book to find out more.
So it's funny and very erotic but most of all it's a top-class whodunnit with two very clever people trying to unravel a series of gruesome murders. Very good.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.

I struggled rating this book because I liked the main story, the creativity in the murders and the underlying lesson about bullying.
But I just couldn’t get past the lecherous protagonist. So much content of him leering at women and talking about their bodies, reminiscing about the bodies of his 14/15 year old classmates… The fact that he seems to only care about how women can satisfy him sexually and never touches much on any other aspect of a woman.
He claims to be in love with Natasha but all he ever talks about is her body, he also fails to noticed that she herself has a serious self-esteem issue and lacks self worth. He thinks Helen sleeping with Kelvin as a further form of self harm but fails to see how Natasha is belittling herself by staying with Lance even after he hits her… The difference being that he thinks Natasha is hot and Helen is not so much. Same with Christine, he can’t entertain the idea that two hot women might also have self esteem problems and they must know how much value they have, because they’re fit!
I also really don’t like the way that Natasha is portrayed. I understand that domestic violence situations can really get in someone’s head and make them unable to see things for what they are but I would have liked to see a bit more strength from her. A contrast between how strong and powerful she is in her professional life vs how different she is in her personal life when being under the thumb of a manipulative man - that would have been great and really sent a message about the effects of domestic abuse. Instead she just seemed all round pathetic and whiny, always talking about her boyfriend at work and then saying “I don’t want to talk about it” and being rude to the female medical examiner. Again, not a very likeable character at all.
Ed also clearly thinks himself superior and moral but he most definitely isn’t. I wonder if it’s because he considers himself unattractive… Unattractive men can’t possibly use women for sex
If this is intentional and you are supposed to find the narrator repugnant then he’s done a great job but for me, it really ruined it.

Great read

A good story but I correctly predicted who the murderer was about 100 pages before the end resulting in a drawn out closing.

Amazing I had to read some parts out loud to my boyfriend because they were so mind boggling and surreal.