Boiling a Frog is the third novel in the Jack Parlabane Series by Christopher Brookmyre. [My reviews of the other two novels here.]

Plot:
Jack Parlabane’s live has taken a turn for the worse as his illegal investigation methods have finally caught up with him and he’s now in prison. At the same time, a scandal rocks the Scottish parliament, eliciting a turn to more conservative ways – something the Catholic church takes full advantage of. But things aren’t quite as clear-cut as it seems.

This book tackles the (quite up-to-date) topic of the Catholic Church and its media representation, which is interesting by itself. But it also has a great plot, with the trademark sly humour Brookmyre is so very capable of and I just love Jack Parlabane as a character.

[I didn’t mention yet how much I love the cover design of his books, did I? Simple, yet completely recognisable – simply awesome branding.]

I’m pretty sure that, if I were ever to meet Parlabane, I’d totally hate him and think that he was an ass. But at a the safe distance of him being a fictional character, I simply love him.

In this book, Brookmyre pulls off no easy feat. Until the very ending I kept wondering how he was going to save that situation and resolve that problem. And not only was I wondering – I was doubting that it was actually possible. In these jaded times, where everybody knows how stories works, this is really exceptional.

Generally, the plot was really cool, even though it took a long time to get started (which I didn’t mind but I can imagine that other people would get a little frustrated by it). But the whole PR thing was especially awesome. It’s a very cynical world view, but one I, personally, agree with. [Which either makes me the perfect person to work in the field or the person to stay away as far as possible.]

In short, read these books.