Occasionally I run across a book that reminds me what non-Christians must experience when they attempt to read a conventional Christian Booksellers’ Association novel. That was my response, at least, to The Detective Wakes, by Jim McGhee. It’s the start of a series, but I’m not taking it further. I did, however, finish it. I wanted to know whether it would surprise me. No such luck.

Barney Mains is an Edinburgh police detective with a moribund career. He isn’t sure why he’s never gotten on with the department. Then (for some reason) he’s assigned to nursemaid a young female detective, Ffiona (two f’s) McLusky, whose star is rising in the department. Their assignment is assumed to be routine – go to the French Riviera to check on an expatriate Scot – Dot-com billionaire Shona Gladstone, who has been reported missing by her assistant. Everyone assumes the woman has just taken an impromptu holiday. But soon they know it’s kidnapping, and the race begins to figure out why she was taken, and to get her back.

The plot sketch above is in fact misleading. This is actually a political drama, about a plan by young international billionaires to change the world through getting all the governments to adopt social democracy – guaranteed minimum income, wealth tax, green policies – to save civilization in the wake of the Covid epidemic. There are few nuances here – the good guys wear white hats, the bad guys are either corrupt or fascists. No real consideration is given to the possibility that the plan might be counterproductive, as so many socialist schemes have proven in the past. The good guys don’t always use legal means, but hey, everything’s cool when you’re fighting fascism, right?

There were moments of comedy, but they were mostly unintentional – as when the author assures us that the media are almost totally controlled by the right wing.

Thanks, I needed a laugh.