All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye

Their eyes met across a crowded room. She was just a poor servant girl, and he was the son of a rich industrialist. Er, no, this is a Christopher Brookmyre novel, although the eyes meeting across a crowded room part is true. Where it differs from the fairy tales is that the room in question was crowded with hostages and armed bank robbers, and his eyes were the only part of him she could see behind the mask....

We could tell you about the bodies. We could tell you their names, where they were found, the states they were in. We could tell you about the suspects, too, the evidence, the investigators; join a few dots, even throw you a motive. But what would be the point? After all, you know these people. You went to school with them. We all did. So if you really knew them then, you’ll already have all the answers....

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.

Gavin is creating a unique 'holiday experience’ - every facility any tourist who hates going abroad will ever want will all be available on a converted North Sea oil rig. To test the facilities he's hosting a reunion for his old school friends. He is so busy showing off that he doesn't notice that another group have invited themselves along - a collection of terrorist mercenaries who are occasionally of more danger to themselves than to the public.

The crew of an oceanic research vessel goes missing in the Pacific along with their mini submarine. An evangelical media star holds a rally next door to a cinematic convention in LA. The cops know there's going to be trouble, but what they didn't foresee was the presence of a Glaswegian photographer with an indecipherable accent and a strong dislike of hypocrisy or of a terrorist who seems to have access to plutonium as well as Semtex.

Jack Parlabane is an investigative journalist who is not averse to breaking the law for a good story. Scottish parliament is in catatonic shock after experiencing its first dose of Westminster sleaze and the Catholic Church of Scotland is taking advantage of the politicians' discomfort. Behind the scenes the truth is obscured. Aware he's missing out on a great story; Parlabane discovers that contacts and a way with words is no defence against people he has helped to put away.

The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer...not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons and as much partying as they can get away with. Not so far away, the commanders of a top-secret military experiment, long-since spiralled out of control, fear they may have literally unleashed the forces of Hell.

Do we really live on in some conscious form after we die, and is that form capable of communicating with the world of the living? “Aye, right…” was journalist Jack Parlabane’s stance on the matter. But this was before he found himself in the compromising position of being not only dead himself but dead with an exclusive still to file. One thing he knows for certain: death is not the end - it’s the ultimate undercover assignment.

The murder of a media moghul in his country mansion appears to be the result of him disturbing a gang of would-be thieves. The robbers are swiftly caught, but when they are unexpectedly moved to a different prison they escape. Back in Edinburgh, a young solicitor reveals to the press that one of the subjects had left a letter with her some time before the break-in which proves his innocence.

Private investigator Jasmine Shar has been hired to find Tessa Garrion, a young woman who has vanished without trace. What begins as a simple search awakens a malevolence that has lain dormant for three decades. As Jasmine uncovers a hidden history of sex, drugs, ritualism, and murder, she realises she may need a little help from the dark side herself if she's going to get to the truth.

Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things. Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it's not the corpse, what is that awful smell?

From Chris Brookmyre, winner of the Theakstons and McIllvanney awards for Black Widow, comes a standalone psychological thriller full of twists, lies and betrayal. One family, two holidays, one devastating secret. To new nanny Amanda, the Temple family seem to have it all: the former actress; the famous professor; their three successful grown-up children. But like any family, beneath the smiles and hugs there lurks far darker emotions. Sixteen years earlier, little Niamh Temple died while they were on holiday in Portugal.

In Glasgow, aspiring actress Jasmine Sharp is reluctantly - and incompetently - earning a crust working for her Uncle Jim's private investigation business. When Jim goes missing, Jasmine has to take on the investigator mantle for real. Soon she stumbles into a web of corruption and decades-hidden secrets that could tear apart an entire police force - if she can stay alive long enough to tell the tale...

Sam Morpeth is left to fend for her younger sister when their mother goes to prison. But when a stranger begins to blackmail her online, she's drawn her into a trap she may not escape alive. Reporter Jack Parlabane is indebted to a volatile source, and now that debt is being called in, it could cost him everything. Thrown together by a common enemy, Sam and Jack are about to discover they have more in common than they realise - and might be each other's only hope.

Famous, beautiful, and talented, Heike Gunn has the world at her feet. Then one day she simply vanishes. Jack Parlabane has lost everything. A call from an old friend offers a chance for redemption--but only if he can find out what happened to Heike. From Berlin to Barcelona, from the streets of Milan to remote Scottish islands, Parlabane must find out what happened before it's too late, all while the walls are closing in...