Blincoe, Nicholas

(British, 1965– )

Highly regarded among the younger British talents, Blincoe's fast-paced, blackly comic crime novels are noted for their bizarre narratives. Begin with Jello Salad (1997), in which the wife of a major criminal plans a restaurant after helping herself to his money. On opening night a corpse turns up on the premises, adding to the disorder prevailing among the highly irregular staff. In Manchester Slingback (1998; CWA Silver Dagger award) a London gambler returns to his old haunts in Manchester after the 1996 IRA bombing. A killing fifteen years earlier makes him the subject of attention from an unscrupulous police officer he knew in his drug-dealing past. Set chiefly in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, The Dope Priest (1999) follows the predicament of a hashish smuggler whose relations with Palestinian factions and Israeli officials become increasingly troublesome.

Irvine Welsh, Iain Banks, Will Self  DH