Martin, a hapless journalist on a weekly financial magazine, sees his life take a nosedive with the arrival of Tom de Lacy, a well-heeled reporter who grabs the limelight, not to mention the well-paid industrial correspondent’s job that he has his eye on.
He does his level best to sabotage Tom’s career, only to see his rival land a plum job in television.
But watching his rival’s success while his life disintegrates makes Martin a desperate fellow. Falling on hard times can be murder, and in certain circumstances could even give rise to it.
So when Martin gets a scoop on a major corporate scandal, he just has to grab the opportunity with both hands. He sees it as not only his turn to shine, but his duty.
What did I think?
Well this was a surprising hidden gem. You can tell from the cover that it has a slightly comic feel to it, but it's more satirical than laugh out loud funny; think Drop the Dead Donkey rather than Bottom. It's a fascinating insight into the newsroom and the cutthroat world of journalism but also a parody on life, and work-life in particular.
I didn't like Martin at all when I first encountered him in the book; he thinks the world owes him a favour, so I was surprised to find myself rooting for him as the book went on. Martin is so envious of his co-worker, Tom, that he sabotages his work but in typical comedy fashion, it spectacularly backfires and Tom is promoted from print to TV. Martin's envy knows no bounds and he fixates on Tom rather than trying to work hard and better himself.
When Martin loses his job and faces challenges in his personal life, it felt like he spiralled out of control. Enter hit-man, Jebb. Now this would be funny on its own but then Jebb sets his sights on Martin's sister, Caroline. They are so afraid of Jebb that they don't want to hurt his feelings and Caroline finds herself in hilarious situations from which she cannot escape.
Just when Martin is about to hit rock-bottom, the light at the end of the tunnel comes from a most surprising source. Martin has been given an absolute gem of a story to investigate but in true Martin-style, this story comes with a price. Can Martin put aside his selfishness and get the story, whatever it costs?
Scoop of the Year is written in such a way that, although he's annoying as hell, you find that you really root for Martin and hope things turn out ok for him in the end. All joking aside, there are some serious subjects to mull over in Scoop of the Year as we encounter the multi-million dollar pharmaceutical business. Although it is fiction, you can easily believe that it could be true and it gives me a shiver just thinking about it. Absolutely anything can happen, and often does, in the murder and mayhem of Scoop of the Year.
Cynical, witty and gripping, Scoop of the Year is a slick, humorous thriller. It's written as vividly as a TV script and it would be amazing to see it on our TV screens sometime soon.
I chose to read an ARC and I am thrilled to open the tour by sharing my honest and unbiased opinion.
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