"This is quite simply short, sharp, smirky storytelling at its very best."
A seriously fabulous, gritty, and whip-cracking humour filled read. Mary Shields is a menopausal probation officer on the edge, when a murderer is released into her care events soon spiral out of control. The first line smacked me in the face, I half flinched, half blurted with laughter. Just a note of warning, while I discovered a smirk lurking on nearly every page, some may see the humour as warped. It is the type of dark humour typical of anyone who has worked in some seriously difficult situations, where if you didn’t laugh you’d cry. Helen Fitzgerald is the author of the BBC TV series The Cry, and previously worked as a criminal justice social worker. Her knowledge shines through, I didn’t stop, I didn’t question, I simply sank into the deep murky depths of the story and believed. When I reached the oh so beautiful end I wanted to leap to my feet and give Helen Fitzgerald a standing ovation. I absolutely adored Worst Case Scenario, this is short, sharp storytelling at its very best, which has earned it a place as one of my picks of the month and a LoveReading star book.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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A deliciously dark, unapologetically funny, and nail-bitingly tense psychological thriller by the international bestselling author of The CryNUMBER ONE BESTSELLER***Guardian, Telegraph, Herald Scotland AND The Week BOOK OF THE YEAR******Sunday Times TOP 40 Crime Novels in the Last 5 Years******Longlisted for Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2020***'Shocking, gripping and laugh-out-loud hilarious from the first line to the last. Brilliant' Erin Kelly'This frenetic novel's strongest assets are its sheer verbal energy and the acerbic views of its heroine, who resembles a female Frankie Boyle' Sunday Times'The main character is one of the most extraordinary you'll meet between the pages of a book' Ian Rankin'A scandalously rude comic masterpiece' Daily Telegraph'Sublime' Guardian_________________Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow's worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he's published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero - and a poster boy for Men's Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary's care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam's daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice with devastating consequences. A heart-pounding, relentless and chilling psychological thriller, rich with deliciously dark and unapologetic humour, Worst Case Scenario is also a perceptive, tragic and hugely relevant book by one of the most exciting names in crime fiction. _________________'Laced with pitch-dark acerbic humour, the classic thriller gets a hell of a twist' Heat'This darkly, funny, shocking and surprisingly emotional thriller is unlike anything you've ever read before' Fabulous Magazine'This novel is a funny, agonising account of one good woman's battle with rage, guilt, fear, duty and disaster' Literary Review'Absolutely compelling company from start to finish in this wonderful, energetic, hard-hitting and deeply funny novel' Big Issue'Simply stunning. Dark, uncompromising, funny, and almost impossible to put down' Luca Veste'Outrageous, extremely funny and ultimately devastating' Ambrose Parry'Dark humour and darker truths permeate a thrilling crime novel that is fabulously transgressive and completely unique nobody writes like Helen Fitzgerald' Mark Billingham'Helen Fitzgerald is one of a kind, and a welcome breath of fresh air in the world of off-beat but achingly relatable crime fiction' SJI Holliday'A dark, comic masterpiece which manages to be both excruciatingly tense and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time. Great stuff!' Mark Edwards
Worst Case Scenario features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Books of the Month, Humorous Fiction, Liz Robinson's Picks of the Month, Star Books, Fiction, Recommendations
Worst Case Scenario is available in Paperback, Ebook
Worst Case Scenario was written by Helen FitzGerald and published by Orenda Books
£5.99