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Synopsis
Jeremy Underwood is a long-suffering subeditor on The Daily Beast, Britain's mightiest tabloid. Returning from holiday, he notices two burqa-clad figures lurking outside the paper's Kensington offices. Two male terrorism suspects have escaped from a mosque disguised as women; recently suspicion and fear have made everyone alert. Jeremy's casual observation sets off a chain of events that spins out of control, as the great Beast feels that it is the next target of terrorism. Alexander Starritt's darkly funny novel is a vivid anatomy of that most uncontrollable of large creatures, the British tabloid newspaper. The ferocious professionalism and manic rivalries of a newsroom have rarely been so well described. And at the heart of the newsroom is the brooding, dictatorial figure of its editor, Charles Brython, the booming voice of Middle England. His world is under threat, and he will do whatever it takes to defend it. This is a story in which comedy teeters on the edge of horror.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
'What Starritt gets vividly right, in a way I think no other fiction has managed, is the editing process that is so central to the success of any popular paper' Guardian. 'A deft descendant of Evelyn Waugh, Jonathan Coe and Ben Hecht's The Front Page ... News hounds will recognise the world of the modern Beast, in all its blood, sweat and sporadic absurdity. Civilians will relish a caper with a serious undertow' Anne McElvoy, The Economist and BBC Radio 4 presenter. 'Hugely enjoyable ... Sharp, relentless and very funny' Ned Beauman. 'Eye-wateringly funny and uncannily well observed' Richard Addiss, Former Editor of the Daily Express and FT Weekend. 'A brilliant satire ... Starritt's novel skewers its targets with a thrilling accuracy. It needs urgently to be read' Ian Jack.