# One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night

By Christopher Brookmyre

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/one-fine-day-in-the-middle-of-the-night-9be83521/

Gavin uses his converted oil-rig resort to host a school reunion and show his old classmates how well he’s done. Few remember him. His wife has a public announcement planned, and a band of mercenaries arrives with an agenda that has nothing to do with reminiscing.

## What makes it funny?

On the coach to the reunion, a discussion of exclusive holiday islands gets the Maldives confused with endives. Elsewhere on the same journey, an action-film obsessive finds a willing audience in his former English teacher, who is rather more enthusiastic about guns and explosions than he expected.

### The comedy at work

The reunion already carries enough old grievances and status anxiety for an awkward evening. Brookmyre adds action-movie danger to that social gathering, while the passengers themselves argue over the conventions of violent films. The List singles out the combination of snappy dialogue and extravagant black comedy.

### Try this if…

Broad jokes and exaggerated action share the space in this crowded crime thriller. The Scots dialogue gives the reunion its voice, and the deliberately excessive violence suits a taste for black comedy.

### Good to know

Expect frequent strong language and graphic, sometimes comic violence. The sample writes much of the dialogue in Scots and includes crude insults and references to addiction, suicide and former classmates’ deaths.

## What to expect

- Genre: Crime & thriller
- Kind of humor: Banter · Dark comedy · Farce · Parody
- Format: Novel

## A few distinguishing details

- A school reunion on a converted oil rig is gatecrashed by mercenaries.

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://groveatlantic.com/book/one-fine-day-in-the-middle-of-the-night)
- Review: [The List review](https://list.co.uk/news/christopher-brookmyre-one-fine-day-in-the-middle-of-the-night-1999-39512)
- Reading sample: [University of Glasgow excerpt](https://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document?documentid=1003)