2 out of 5 stars
A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.
We have probably all had those moments when the person in front in front of you in a queue is doing something really annoying or the exasperation of some people who fail spectacularly to wear a simple face mask properly. You could be just that tiny bit happier if you could somehow get rid of them.
In an alternative Britain, set in 2021, the new British Prime Minister Frank Oakface has been elected just with the policy and mandate; to remove each county’s most annoying person and deport them for a period of time to the Hotel Diabolique, a one-star hotel in Jersey. But who will they send, and how long will their exile be for?
The crimes that these characters have supposedly committed vary from Verbal Uxoricede committed by a Craig Scowly of Northumberland, Zydeco Awaking by Sim Triple from Staffordshire to the MP for Wiltshire who had been found guilty of the unbelievable crime of Blabberoonification. Then there is the slightly more believably crime of YouTube comment history by a certain Frank Fitch from East Sussex and Polly Toddle who was incarcerated and the reason given is ‘because she knows why’.
This is one of the strangest books I have read in a while. It ranges from the absurd at times to the ridiculous fairly often. There are some amusing parts every now and again and Nicholls has a broad and warped sense of humour. I did struggle with it a little; I felt it was trying too hard to be funny at certain points. Not really one for me.
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