This is story of murder, corruption and sin. And that''s just the hero.

Every great story begins with something unspeakable . . . the first Jack Parlabane thriller, from multi-award-winning author Chris Brookmyre.

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?

Quite Ugly One Morning is a wickedly entertaining and vivacious thriller, full of acerbic wit, cracking dialogue and villains both reputed and shell-suited, and heralds the arrival of a crime fiction legend, journalist Jack Parlabane.

''A lean, nasty, fun little page-turner''
New York Times

''Brookmyre is always a class act''
The Observer

''A sharp, funny novel''
TLS

''A wicked satire''
Scotsman