Quite Ugly One Evening
by Chris Brookmyre· 2026
Journalist Jack Parlabane returns in his ninth investigation, as bodies start piling up on an Atlantic cruise celebrating a contentious 1960s TV series.
An Atlantic voyage. A family at war. A secret worth killing over.
Reporter Jack Parlabane thrives on chasing stories in unlikely places, and where could be less likely than a fan convention on a cruise liner celebrating a contentious Sixties TV series? But unlike the media family exploiting their show's renewed relevance, he's not there to stoke controversy: he's there to solve a murder.
Already in deep water with his employer, Jack desperately needs a win, and solving this decades-old mystery could be it. Problem is, he's in the middle of the Atlantic, and someone onboard has already killed once to keep their secret.
And that's not even the tricky part. No, the tricky part is definitely the dead body locked in a stateroom with him, covered in his blood. Now Jack has to solve two murders, otherwise the only way he's getting off this ship is in handcuffs - or in a body bag.
Quite Ugly One Evening is a locked-room mystery that sees the return of journalist Jack Parlabane thirty years after his first appearance in Quite Ugly One Morning.
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Journalist Jack Parlabane returns in his ninth investigation, as bodies start piling up on an Atlantic cruise celebrating a contentious 1960s TV series. An Atlantic voyage. A family at war. A secret worth killing over. Reporter Jack Parlabane thrives on chasing stories in unlikely places, and where could be less likely than a fan convention on a cruise liner celebrating a contentious Sixties TV series? But unlike the media family exploiting their show's renewed relevance, he's not there to stoke controversy: he's there to solve a murder. Already in deep water with his employer, Jack desperately needs a win, and solving this decades-old mystery could be it. Problem is, he's in the middle of the Atlantic, and someone onboard has already killed once to keep their secret. And that's not even the tricky part. No, the tricky part is definitely the dead body locked in a stateroom with him, covered in his blood. Now Jack has to solve two murders, otherwise the only way he's getting off this ship is in handcuffs - or in a body bag. Quite Ugly One Evening is a locked-room mystery that sees the return of journalist Jack Parlabane thirty years after his first appearance in Quite Ugly One Morning.