P.S. can add its voice to the praise, rating the writer’s latest offering, The Cliff House, among his best yet. The book is his 27th in 25 years as a novelist and comes in addition to the Ambrose Parry series written with his doctor-turned-author wife, Marisa Haetzman.

My only real complaint is that, as with other Brookmyre books, I feel a bit cheated on the value for money front because I end up whipping through it so fast in eagerness to find out what happens next - but then I do usually end up reading his books again, which makes up for it. Jennifer is forty-two and getting married for the second time, but that doesn't mean she can't go all out for her bachelorette weekend. She's taking her closest friends to the kind of place that has a years-long waiting list for a booking: three days of super-exclusive luxury accommodation on a remote Scottish island. So excited by the complicated means of transport required to get to the island, no one gives much thought to the implications for getting off again, especially if the weather should turn. But why would they? They're in for a time they will never forget. Just not for the reasons they imagine.

Once it gets going, the story is what you would expect and hope for: twists, turns, a bit of gore, some Glaswegian dialect and the odd pop culture references thrown in.

I enjoyed this book and found myself caught into the storyline early on. There aren’t a huge number of characters – only the hen party and the manager of the resort – but I must admit I did find it a little difficult initially to remember who was who and how they were all connected. I didn’t particularly find any of the characters likeable and I was suspicious of each of them. They all seemed to be hiding a secret of some sort, but which one should be confessing their sins, I couldn’t work out! My opinion of who I thought it should be swapped and changed as the storyline moved on, and the plot twisted and turned throughout. The location felt dark and desolate, despite the obvious luxury of the accommodation, and it was enough to give me the chills as I read! If it’s nothing, why did you delete it? Yes, I looked. You emptied the trash too. That’s a lot of steps for nothing.’Firstly, Moira! What? For a years-ahead booked super luxurious resort, there is a crazy old lady roaming around? And why? Just.. no. I just walk and talk into my phone, or actually a wee lapel mic these days. I feel the ideas flow when I’m outdoors,” continues the writer. There will be others that’ll lap this one up but I was frankly glad to survive it and battle my way through to the end. There are some clever twists and interesting moments but overall I’m afraid it didn’t really work for me: just too complicated, too contrived and way too unlikely. Thank you to Chris Brookmyre and Scarlet Suspense for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. I don’t need perspective on us. I think we’re great. It’s just—’‘Not perspective about us, Jen. Perspective about you.’