BLACK WIDOW is a remarkable book. We have come to expect no less from author Christopher Brookmyre, who combines memorable protagonists and sharp-elbowed antagonists with twists and turns, dark humor and pathos. Oh, and I nearly forgot, he also can and does manufacture a heck of a mystery.

Brookmyre’s latest effort is also the newest installment in his much-revered Jack Parlabane series. Jack is a once-honored investigative reporter who has been held up to ridicule for doing his job just a bit too well. His failure has cost him his marriage; indeed, we get to look over his shoulder in the book’s opening pages as he receives his divorce decree. The proceedings are already dark enough, though presented in a unique manner. BLACK WIDOW begins at its conclusion, with the accused on the docket rueing the day that they met Jack. We learn why over the course of the story as it flashes back to the past and ever so slowly moves its way into the future. The narrative alternates primarily among three perspectives: Jack; Diana Jager, a flinty surgeon; and Ali Kazmi and Ruben Rodriguez, a pair of police detectives (whose perspective counts as one). It is Diana who is the most interesting of the three. Her story is told in the third person and is unforgettable.

"Brookmyre’s intricacy and willingness to experiment with the basic format of the mystery novel make this one yet another winner for him --- and particularly for the reader."

Diana had been writing a popular anonymous blog under the name “Scalpelgirl” that complained of the difficulties women experienced in the medical profession. Scalpelgirl eventually acquired the nickname “Bladebitch,” and her true identity was unmasked, much to her embarrassment. However, she did subsequently meet a hospital IT tech named Peter Elphinstone. After an improbable whirlwind romance, the two even more improbably got married. Diana was a bride for only a few months when tragically she became a widow. Her husband’s car was found submerged in a river near a dangerous highway curve, with his body missing in the strong current. The aforementioned Ali and Ruben are assigned to investigate the case, and almost immediately suspect Diana of being complicit in Peter’s death, even though it appears to be an accident or even a suicide.

Meanwhile, Jack is approached by Lucy Elphinstone, Peter’s sister, who also believes that Diana is responsible for her brother’s death. Jack sees the story as a possible cause for resurrection and resumption of his reporting career. Interestingly enough, as he begins digging, he finds that Diana has a bit of a suspicious history, one that makes it at least possible that she had the wherewithal to do away with her husband, their on-the-surface storybook romance notwithstanding. However, the departed Peter is not all that he appeared to be either, and Jack eventually uncovers some evidence, to his regret, that takes him into some unexpected places where he nonetheless must explore. Justice demands it.

Brookmyre has created an extensive bibliography, but as BLACK WIDOW demonstrates, he is going into his third decade with no sign of slowing down or becoming repetitive. While the book doesn’t have quite as much dark humor as some of his other works, Brookmyre’s intricacy and willingness to experiment with the basic format of the mystery novel make this one yet another winner for him --- and particularly for the reader.