A Blether O' Books With Chris Brookmyre | Destination South Ayrshire

A Blether O’ Books with Chris Brookmyre

Chris Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman discuss Brookmyre’s crime-writing career in Thirty Years of Crime, and their collaborative writing as Ambrose Parry.

Chris Brookmyre marks three decades of his iconic journalist-detective Jack Parlabane as he discusses his debut novel Quite Ugly One Morning and its legacy, alongside his latest Parlabane outing, Quite Ugly One Evening. Joined by his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, the couple will also explore their collaboration writing historical crime fiction under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.

Chris Brookmyre’s first novel, Quite Ugly One Morning, was published in 1996 and won the First Blood Award for the Best First Crime Novel of the Year. He has since written over thirty novels, including All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye (winner of the Wodehouse Prize); Black Widow (winner of both the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year); and The Cracked Mirror, winner of the 2024 McIlvanney Prize. His work has been adapted for television, stage, radio, and videogames — including Bedlam, for which he also wrote the script. His latest novel is Quite Ugly One Evening.

Dr Marisa Haetzman was a consultant anaesthetist for twenty years before completing a Master’s degree in the History of Medicine. Her research into James Young Simpson and the discovery of chloroform led to her collaboration with Chris Brookmyre on the historical crime series written as Ambrose Parry. Their novels The Way of All Flesh, The Art of Dying and A Corruption of Blood were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, with A Corruption of Blood and Voices of the Dead also shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. Ambrose Parry’s latest novel is The Death of Shame.

Check out the A Blether O’ Books: Scotland Through Literature collection for other events in this series.

Refunds will only be given in the event of cancellation by the organisers.