Complicity

Whitley Bay Book Group discussed Complicity in January 2026

The group member who suggested this described it as a vicious nasty little book, which they liked when they read it ages ago, and still loved now. Many of us agreed.

The main character Cameron is a journalist whose main interests seem to be computer games, alcohol, sex, and illicit substances with alternate chapters of the book written in the first person by Cameron, and in the second person by a serial killer whose murders are described in detail and who may or may not be Cameron.

Most of us liked the writing style and found it funny, including most of us who are usually uncomfortable with scenes of extreme violence and graphic sex scenes. Some of us found it a bleak anti-capitalist rant, and didn’t find any redeeming features in any of the characters. It was first published in 1993, and although it is about morality, loyalty, lying, and the futility of war, it is clear to the reader of today that it’s also about toxic masculinity, although that might not have been apparent at the time. Anyway, it led to a good discussion.

We awarded the book between 1 and 4.5 stars, with an average of 3.