This was a really unusual read, at first I felt like I was reading two seperate stories in the same book but this book really turns genres on its head. A really clever book that uses all the crime tropes we are familiar with, the elderly nosy Scottish woman that relies on her intuition to solve crimes and the Hollywood law enforcement officer that is a maverick that braves the rules to catch the criminals. It lulls us into a false sense of security where the reader follows all the literary crumbs into a corner with unexpected results. I really enjoyed this fast paced novel that is crying out for a cinematic adaptation.

'This is not that crime novel', says the publisher's blurb for The Cracked Mirror, and they're not wrong; perhaps the least strange thing about this book is the fact that it involves a mash-up between a Miss Marple-type amateur sleuth and an LA cop with a flexible approach to the rules.
This feels like a bit of a risky book in a few places. There are the opening chapters, alternating between the two detectives in their respective locations, with Penny Coyne solving murders in a Scottish village and Johnny Hawke being assigned the case of an apparent suicide of a promising young screenwriter in LA. It takes a bit of time before the plot throws the characters together and the story begins to take shape, but it's worth sticking with this part.
Then there are the aspects that I won't say much about, because this really is a book that you need to read without spoilers, but any reader expecting the straightforward solving of a central crime may begin to feel challenged as the cast and the complexity build.
I've never read anything quite like The Cracked Mirror, and I'm glad I did read it. It's a complicated read that made me feel genuinely perplexed and wrong-footed at every turn, and not only in terms of the story itself.

The book starts with two parallel stories: one with a hard bitten LAPD detective, the other with a cosy Scottish amateur lady sleuth. These two opposite ends of the crime genre crash into each other and go on a wild adventure together, with a steadily increasing body count, car chases and intrigue.

A thoroughly enjoyable caper with a mind-bending ending - read it immediately!

I’m always a bit wary of books being overhyped before I read them, and a quick skim of the reviews for this book all seem to lean into the “mind-bending” description, which I found intriguing.

I am a huge fan of Christopher Brookmyre and have been for years now, but one of the things that I particularly like about him is his ability to shift between genres with ease, from crime fiction to historical fiction and everything in between. This sounded like an interesting premise which drew me in - two separate stories, with no crossover initially. Penny Coyne is the Miss Marple of her quaint Scottish village of Glen Cluthar, solving mysteries in between shifts at the library, whereas Johnny Hawk is the hard boiled LA noir-ish detective, a bit of a maverick, causing chaos while getting the job done.

Ashley the separate takes progress, they suddenly cross over and the unlikely partners team up to solve their mysteries, which seem to be bleeding into each other. This actually works really well and I feel like the book is very good at demonstrating how each character brings a different skill set to solving mysteries which actually end up complementing each other. I don’t want to go too far into the ins and outs of the story as it’s well worth reading it to see it unspooling in front of you.

It’s a great story and it’s well told, with lots of twists and turns along the way. It feels very of the moment as well and I found it really interesting with the themes of technological advances and the potential offered by these. The question that always follows is - just because you can, does that mean that you should? So it poses some interesting philosophical questions along the way.

I really enjoyed it - an interesting story with well-defined characters, acknowledging the potential stereotypes of the genre. Well worth a read!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read several books by Chris Brookmyre and those he’s co-written with his wife, Marisa Haetzman under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry and thoroughly enjoyed each one. The Cracked Mirror is not like any of his other books and it took me quite a while to get into it.

First of all there’s the title – as the publishers’ description alludes to, it’s not another version of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, but it is a cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly. I’ve read all of Christie’s crime fiction novels and none of Michael Connelly’s books, so I didn’t know quite what to expect. Maybe a mash-up of British/American crime fiction/thriller, and that is what it is, with plenty of twists and turns, complications and rollercoaster fast action chases, most of it unbelievable. It’s brutal, violent, with quite a bit of dark humour thrown in. It’s also tense and full of suspense.

At first I was happily reading about Penny Coyne – think a sort of Miss Marple like character, a Scottish elderly spinster with a successful record of solving murder mysteries in her home village. The book begins as a body is found in the confessional booth of the chapel of Saint Bride’s in Glen Cluthar, where Ms Penelope Coyle lives. And then I was suddenly confused when I came to read a completely different story about Johnny Hawke, an LAPD homicide detective, not bothered about sticking to the rules. He’s investigating an apparent suicide of a screen writer in LA. But, as their cases came together I settled into this bizarre book and it became a unified whole. It has a very clever plot (maybe just too clever for me) that kept me guessing right to the end.

This started with a cozy British crime vibe, switched to a gritty US cop thriller vibe, and ended (no spoilers) in a whole different place. This was it’s strength and made it different to anything I have read before.. It has many layers and surprises.
To read a book that had friendship at its core (particularly a friendship between a man and a woman that was not romantic in anyway) gave the book a charming and unexpected heart. This worked really well. I liked both Penny and Johnny very much.
I am glad I read it and would recommend The Cracked Mirror. It has a lot of characters and I almost gave up a couple of times (this was almost certainly more about me not having the headspace to totally invest) . I am pleased I persevered.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

oh my goodness me what have i just read....

a miss marple copy cat but its something more as well as two people one a detective and the other a little old lady somehow and work a murder case

theres a lot more involved and without giving out any clues its best you read it yourselves

though there are quite a few characters to get to know but it all comes together with answers that are stranger than fiction....

but its an interesting play on an agatha christie character...

FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW
THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

Ok so no spoilers, which makes this difficult to summarise; this is essentially multiple stories in one book, so we have the typical older lady sleuth detective who solves murders in a sleepy Scottish town: Penny Coyne and then we have the LAPD homicide detective Johnny Hawke who does what's necessary to get results, regardless of the trouble he gets in.

So our usual tropes, but this is not what you expect, yes their paths cross, but what happens then is not what you expect.

This is such a clever book, with so many layers, crossing multiple genres, but still has a lot of heart. Sometimes you're not sure who to trust or like, but I always had a soft spot for Penny and Johnny.

I absolutely loved that this was a fast paced book, and the way the story was told and unfolded. From the concept of the book to the execution this is a one of a kind book, that I'm still processing.

Yes there are a lot of characters, which would usually put me off, but they are so cleverly written, you only need to focus on the main characters and the plot.

This is my first time reading a Brookmyre book, but I'm certain it won't be the last.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I haven’t read this author before but what a belter of a book to start with. A standalone crime thriller which mixes a hardened LA detective & a wee biddy in a Scottish village. Yes, really, but it works.

Penelope Coyne is aware that another murder has been committed in her small village. She has solved some before & takes it in her stride. Johnny Hawke, our intrepid American, wakes next to a woman whom he can’t remember but is soon embroiled in the apparent suicide of a writer. That’s all I’m going to say on the plot.

How the author managed to weave these polar opposite threads together I’m not sure; I’ve just read it & I'm still unclear but he does. There is a large cast (focus on the main ones) & don’t worry about following the chapter headings, just go with the flow. An unusual & cleverly constructed read. Recommended.

Really thought I'd love this one, sorry to say I didn't. Found it a bit overwhelming with lots of characters and jumping between locations. I have had to leave it for now, but may go back to it in the future.
Thank you netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This thriller moves at a cracking pace. I initially found the alternating chapters between Scotland and the USA quite confusing, it felt like I was reading two completely different books. Once these characters come together the story flows but there are a lot of characters to keep track of.

The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre is an imaginative and original crime thriller that briefly confused me, then won me over, and thoroughly entertained me.
It features possibly the most unlikely crime duo of all time in a genre-busting tale that will leave you breathless and perhaps a little emotional.
The Cracked Mirror is clever, inventive, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
It’s hard to say anything about it without giving away too much and as I didn’t see the twist coming, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.
So all I can do is recommend it, tell you that I read it in just two days, and predict that you’re in for a treat.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

A story within a story within a story that has an LA cop teamed with an elderly lady amateur detective. The pace is fast, the bodies fall, the blood flows and the twists are unexpected. A cracking tale, funny, shocking and with a satisfying ending.

Another excellent offering from Chris Brookmyre, it felt a little different to his usual offerings but still with his usual flair and interesting twists to the tale.

I love how Brookmyre pairs characters in his books that are so different but manage to find a way to balance each other through the story. My favourite example of this was in The Cut and this felt similar by just how different the main characters were to each other.

The main story was a fun detective story and the seemingly unconnected becomes a full tale. I felt there were some loose ends not fully addressed and while the twist to the plot line was fun and certainly a thought provoking element in our modern times, I felt more could have been done to explore that theme. That being said I still enjoyed its use to put a new dimension in the story.

Is this my favourite Brookmyre book? No. Would I still recommend it? Yes. Did I find it an entertaining and enjoyable read? Absolutely. So much so I’m looking forward on getting the audiobook as well.

This is only the second book by this author so unsure whether this is typical of his writing. I found there to be too many characters for me to keep tabs on. Felt like at least two books mashed up with a rather tedious middle section and an extremely convoluted ending. I wanted Poirot to appear, gather everyone into the drawing room and explain.

I was expecting this to be Miss Marple meets Die Hard, and I feel we all lulled into this thinking….I was wondering how on Earth this was going to work, how on Earth we’re these two lives going to fit together, it’s like two completely different books at the start.

Then…. I genuinely don’t know where to start…I’ve been repeatedly shocked to be honest, and at one point quite upset and frightened.

This is a wild ride and I honestly can’t describe it. I’m reeling.

My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Penny Coyne a modern Miss Marple and Jonny Hawke a LA detective thier worlds collide in this riveting mystery. Lots of twists along the way. Kept me guessing till the end. Loved the plot and characters. Thanks to Little Brown Books and Netgalley for this review ARC.

I have read every Chris Brookmyre that has been published, including those he has written with his wife as Ambrose Parry, so I think it is fair to say that I am a big fan of his. So I was delighted to find that he had a new book out and couldn’t wait to start reading.
The thing I think I like most about his books is that you have to really concentrate on them, as there are always a lot of different elements that he somehow manages to bring together convincingly at the end of the story. This book is no different in that respect. However, it is not like anything I have read before, and at one point I was not sure if I liked it, as I thought I could see where the plot was going and it seemed a little contrived. But I should have had more faith in the master. By the end of the book I was totally convinced, and once again in awe of how Chris Brookmyre manages to write such different but satisfying stories, over and over again. I loved the characters of Johnny and Penny, and I really enjoyed the denouement where everything was explained. And as usual there were lots of thrills and excitement along the way - which is only to be expected when you are reading a book by Brookmyre!
If you are new to Brookmyre, then I would not start with this book. Quite Ugly One Morning is probably the best one to read first, and my personal favourites are One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night and All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye. But they are all brilliant!

This is my first read by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect, being drawn in by the sideways reference to Agatha Christie in the title.

I felt like the book started in traditional Agatha Christie territory in an English village and a little old lady who solved murders. Just settling into that when we are transported to Los Angeles and a homicide detective called Johnny Hawke who has trouble keeping his partners alive.

The story then switched between these two places and it was as if I was reading two totally separate books. What was happening here? How are these two opposite people going to end up being involved in the same story. Slowly it began to come together when suddenly a new person was introduced with their own agenda and story. I was now totally flummoxed with three threads and a shed load of characters, but I read on, hoping it was all going to become clear.

Without totally ruining the book there isn't much else I can say, other than I have never read anything like it before. So very clever, at times maybe too clever for the reader who is having to grasp all the information wondering when it will be needed.

With this book, Chris Brookmyre has not just rewritten the rules about crime novels, he has completely smashed them, torn them up, not even bothering to rewrite them, and what he has delivered is, for me anyway, total genius.
Ok I am a bit biased, I love all things Brookmyre. Stand-alones, Parlabane, and the Will Raven ones he writes with his wife. But that said, this book is still genius...
So we start off with what actually feels like reading two books. Each having their own chapter numbering system (nice touch) and featuring completely different storylines. This theme continues throughout, several times.
In one we meet Penny Coyne (more genius) who is a Marplesque little old lady who lives in a sleepy village and solves crimes. The other features Johnny Hawke, hard boiled LAPD cop who does the job but not always within the law.
Quite how these two polar opposite crime fighters get together is something I will leave you to discover for yourself. In fact, if you want my opinion, you'll probably do yourself a favour if you just stopped reading reviews for this book, go in as cold as you can and just discover how clever this author is. Just put your trust in him and it will all come together.
This is one of those books that I am gutted I have finished. It's one that I had so much fun throughout my time reading it, discovering all of what happens, that I am actually well jealous of anyone who gets to discover this for the first time. It's also one that I am definitely going to revisit in a few months or so to see what I missed, if anything... It is, I suspect, a great book to re-read with hindsight...
I spent a good deal of this book wondering where in the heck we were going. Holding on to a fair few things that I wasn't sure about. Until... oh my days - we are really going THERE... Oh My! And now it makes sense... Not that I ever thought it wouldn't as I trust this author implicitly. But yeah... wow! Standing Ovation... And with THE best ending...
I could probably bang on and on about how great I think this book is forever, and will probably do so liberally over all the social media platforms but yeah, I say again... genius.
In Brookmyre we most definitely trust.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.