finished this last night - it was thoroughly enjoyable, loads of really funny bits, and tailor made to appeal to someone like me; although I'm not sure how it would read to someone who has no idea about British comics as it is stuffed with in-jokes and thinly-veiled parodies - some more heavy-handed than others (now who could Fab Keen be based on I wonder?)
Both the main character Dave and his frenemy Greg are pretty unlikable - okay, they're both utter shits, but in a very amusing way.I found myself wondering which character was Pat or John Wagner, or the Kevins O'Neill or Gosnell, but came to the conclusion that there's a mash-up of them all spread between the major characters.
Structurally, the novel has little narrative structure, just things happening one after another. I thought the main narrative device driving the plot was a bit lazy - Dave's dead mother keeps popping up in his head to prompt him to "unlock" buried memories. Also, I think it's a bit of a cheat to write a whodunnit that doesn't tell you whodunnit. I wouldn't mind seeing further books in the series, but I think this one plot should be resolved in one novel, even if it has to be longer. As is so often the case, Pat needs a strong editor
