A SNOWBALL IN HELL

If society has the B-list celebrities it deserves, it now has a killer to match. Except that Simon Darcourt is a great deal more successful in his career choice than the average talent show contestant. He''s also got the media taped - by the simple expedient of by-passing them completely and posting real-time coverage of his killings on the internet. He''s got viewing figures to make the world''s TV executives gasp in envy, and he''s pulling the voyeuristic strings of every viewer by getting them to ''vote'' to keep his captives alive. Angelique De Xavier, his previous nemesis, is drafted onto the police team trying to bring this one-man celebrity hate-fest to an end. But she can''t do it alone, she needs the magical skills of her lover, only she doesn''t know where Zal is and meanwhile a whole load of celebs are, literarly, dying to be famous. An intelligent satire, a thriller with exhilarating pace - Christopher Brookmyre at his best.