Past Mortem - Ben Elton

I found this book very enjoyable to read. Initally, I did find that the beginning of it was written in a very slow pace. But, having read the entire book now, this pace was totally appropriate and certainly gave the book a sinsiter and mysterious undertone. The ending was a bit of a let down as I found there was no real climax but, having said this, it is still one of those books to ...  Read the complete review

There have been a series of strange murders, with the dislikeable victims killed in inventive ways. Detective Inspector Edward Newson and his sidekick (and the woman he loves), Detective Sergeant Natasha Wilkie, are both stumped, until they realise that each of the victims was a bully at school, with their crimes advertised on Friends Reunited for all to see. Then Newson becomes involved with old schoolfriends Helen and Christine - Christine was the school beauty who bullied Helen by sticking a tampon in her mouth when she began her period - and then Christine ends up dead with a tampon down her throat. Even worse, Newson realizes that he must know the killer. Can he ...  Read the complete review

Having read and reviewed a lot of Ben Elton books I can say that this is one of the better books however it does not have the same level of humour that Dead Famous or Popcorn had in them. In both of those books the subject matter of reality TV and Hollywood excess provided a fertile ground for Elton biting sarcasm and ability to ridicule the absurd whereas with Past Mortem the subject matter of class reunions and Friends Reunited does not present the same opportunities other than a few references to the music of the eighties and the fact that sometimes the in crowd of our youth do not quite have the glittering futures that was predicted for them. Instead ...  Read the complete review

This is primary in the thriller genre of books, but being by Ben Elton there is some humour, although not laugh out loud moments for me in this one. After graduating in drama, Ben Elton started a career as a stand-up comic. He then got involved in writing sit-coms including The Young Ones, The Man From Auntie, Blackadder, and the Thin Blue Line. His other books include Inconceivable, which was turned into the film Maybe Baby, that he directed himself. Past Mortem starts by taking us to a gruesome murder scene, where Detective Inspector Edward Newson is trying not to puke over the evidence. However vile the situation, puking over vital ...  Read the complete review

I have read quite a few books by Ben Elton and generally find his writing very enjoyable especially when he takes his unique and cutting stance on various 'national phenomenon' such as Big Brother in 'Dead Famous' and X Factor in 'Chart Throb'. In this book 'Past Mortem' he takes a very alternative look at Friends Reunited which a few years ago was such a big thing with old school friends from all around the country contacting each other through this website. I think that most people probably found it quite an enjoyable thing to do, but Ben Elton's take on the whole thing is a lot more sinister! Also, in other books of his I have read there has been an ...  Read the complete review