Martyn Pig is swimming in an unbearable life. It's not enough that
the kids at school make pork jokes, he has to come home afterwards
and deal with his alcoholic father and the fact that his mother
left years ago. There's his awful Aunty Jean, who is out to try to
prove that Martyn's father is unfit and to get Martyn to live with
her. To add insult to injury, he has a crush on his neighbor, Alex,
who's dating a real creep named Dean. Things can't get any worse,
right?

The week before Christmas, Martyn's father dies accidentally.
Martyn could go to the police, but he also knows there's a good
chance the police will accuse him of committing foul play. On the
other hand, he can't just leave the body there to rot. He ends up
conspiring with Alex to hide the body, which leads to even more
deception, confusion, and intrigue.

Mystery fans will welcome this first offering from British author
Kevin Brooks. Martyn is believable as the unwilling introspective
loner, but by far the most interesting character is Alex, who
shields her true self from Martyn and consequently the reader. The
one complaint is that this book seems to have been unsuccessfully
doctored to make it "understandable" to Americans. The
conversations are filled with British phrases like "bloody awful,"
but money is discussed in terms of dollars rather than pounds.
Overlooking these inconsistencies, MARTYN PIG is sure to appeal to
those interested in eliminating the impossible, looking over the
improbable remains and finding the truth.

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