Changes

Helen Fitzgerald writes exuberantly, the humour turned up to full. Krissie is wry, cynical, yet warm-hearted and makes an engaging narrator. The story is perhaps a little too sunshiny, until you begin to understand the personalities involved. It recalled for me Nick Hornby's talent for bringing out the comedy in the tragedies that overtake people, though his style is much more understated and literary. I did baulk at some scenes of horror that were nevertheless presented as funny: a dying man's face splodging down into a plateful of mashed potatoes is a case in point. One hardly knows whether to laugh or cry. When it comes to the crunch, however, this strangely charming murder story ''is'' bright, ''not'' light and takes the genre into largely uncharted territory, as Krissie decides she will solve the puzzle of who really murdered Amanda's mother.

Further Reading: if you haven't already read it, try [[Dead Lovely by Helen Fitzgerald|Dead Lovely]], the first of the Krissie Donald novels. You might also like [[When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson]]. For a slightly more politically loaded thriller/comedy, try Will Ashon's [[The Heritage by Will Ashon|The Heritage]].