Past Mortem

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Ben Elton

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Pages: 359 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 0593050959

Pub: Bantam Press

Pub date: 2004-11-01

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 148441

Reader Reviews:

Captivating (0/0 people found this helpful)

A very good book. Captivating, intrigueing, sexy, with strong characters. A great read. It's not gritty reality and yes, I did guess the killer before the end, but stories are for escaping and I could not put this one down.

Predictable (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is the 1st book by Ben Elton that I have read and from the begining it appears to be a well writen piece of work. However from the middle on the story became predictable and a little rushed. At the end it was if the author was in a rush to finish the book like a kid late with his homework. All the details were nicely tidied up Mr. Newson and the stoeryline became totally unrealistic and predictable.

However I still enjoyed the book and kept reading it obviously but just disappointed with the final couple of chapters.

You cannot be serious!! (0/0 people found this helpful)

I must say before the rest of this review that I listened to this on audio whilst I was at work and had no alternative - to all of you who enjoyed this book, please read Mark Billingham or Christopher Brookmyre they are good! The 'twist' was pretty obvious from the off, and the poor friend from years ago was well, probably a twisted ex of old bens, I used to think he was funny when I was 12, and that was the 80's, when I was at school, maybe he should have written about the 60's when he was there!

Fantastic (1/1 people found this helpful)

I would give this more than 5 stars if I could! This was one of the best books I have ever read - it has humour, romance, and lots of tension. The plot and characterisation are spot on and the ending was completely unexpected - (I usually spot twists a mile off). The encounter between Ed and Helen was hilariously graphic, Ed and Natasha's relationship was brilliantly written. I'm currently working my way through all of Ben Elton's books - all are excellent (particularly Inconceivable), but Past Mortem just has the edge - a brilliant book.

Top Read (3/3 people found this helpful)

Ben Elton is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors, by quite simply writing highly, highly entertaining material such as this. I have never been an avid reader, but I bought this book on the off-chance that it might be amusing. And it was.

The storyline itself revolves around a very "Seven"-esque murder and the subsequent investigation. This is a very compelling read that kept me up for several nights, unable to put it down until the very end.

A very well thought-out plot, loads out-loud guffaws (the kind that get people staring at you on the bus) and many of those oh-so-poignant social observations that Elton is famous for; all the while actually managing to tackle a serious social problem without detracting from the importance of it.

I've never been over-enamoured with Ben Elton as a comedian, but he sure knows how to write!

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