Meantime by Frankie Boyle

Meantime is a dark, funny, and thought-provoking debut fiction novel from comedian Frankie Boyle.

The story follows Felix McAveety, a currently-unemployed Glaswegian of Irish descent with a bit of a drug problem. When his friend Marina is found strangled in Kelvingrove Park, Felix sets out to investigate the murder along the way, he encounters a cast of colourful characters, including a Chinese drug dealer, a radical political activist, and a former Scottish spy.

It's set in 2015, not long after the Scottish Independence Referendum where Felix is "between jobs" and hops about in a haze of uppers and downers. When he's initially suspected of the murder, he decides to solve it himself, as the police don't seem to be that capable, and manages to enlist the aid of an ex-police/crime novelist and his somewhat unstable downstairs neighbour.

Boyle's writing is sharp and witty and, as anyone that knows his stand-up or TV work will be aware, he doesn't shy away from tackling difficult subjects. The novel explores themes of loss, grief, addiction, and political corruption. However, it is also full of dark humour, and Boyle's trademark wit shines through - so much so that I immediately imagined Felix's character as being Frankie, accent and all.

I found it a bit of a difficult read as it's so laden with Frankie's off-hand commentary on everything. If you're familiar with his stand-up act or his TV shows Tramadol Nights or New World Order, then you'll know what I mean - nothing is sacred or untouchable. Being a Glaswegian, I enjoyed recognizing the places and locations in the book and have almost certainly walked past the murder scene in Kelvingrove Park many times back in the 70s and 80s.

Meantime is not a traditional crime novel, it's certainly not a "whodunnit" in the traditional sense and the body count doesn't stop at just one, but it is a compelling and thought-provoking read once you get into it a bit and I found myself chuckling fairly often. Frankie's fans will find much to enjoy in this darkly funny and thought-provoking debut.

Overall, despite it not being a cheery an uplifting story, I enjoyed reading Meantime and I would recommend it to fans of dark humour and crime fiction. However, I would also warn them that the book is not for the faint of heart. 8/10 😅