This is probably Bateman's most comedic novel to date, with practically a laugh a paragraph guaranteed. Some of the humour can make you feel a little guilty for laughing. To Bateman, political correctness is something that happens to other people, it would seem. It's actually quite refreshing. The rest of the humour is of the semi-self-aware, self-deprecating variety that comes from the small revelations of the narrator's personality. Each little nugget of information gradually builds to form one of the finest protagonists I've ever read. Yes, he even gives Dan Starkey a run for his money.

In the early chapters, you could well believe that Bateman has chosen to have a go at writing a modern-day cosy; a slightly bumbling detective logically solves a few minor mysteries. Then the dead bodies start to show up. In abundance. And as Dan Starkey has said more than once, "The jigsaw thickens!" Bateman looks beyond the Troubles (well, apart from a few political wisecracks - it's set in Belfast, after all) and brings a different evil into the Northern Irish mix. Even at his most light-hearted and funniest, Bateman can't resist dragging the reader over to his dark side. And, you know, it wouldn't be half the experience it is if he didn't.

So, accompanied by a dreadful shop assistant, a beautiful and quirky sidekick and a personality defect or three, Bateman's latest protagonist really spins a terrific yarn. And it's possible that he's taking on Starkey's torch as the new Bateman series character. In fact, Bateman has announced on his blog that he's already halfway through the follow up, Day of the Jack Russell. If anybody is going to replace Belfast's most infamous reporter and anti-hero, let it be the Mystery Man.