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Every Trick in the Book
‘There’s only control, control of ourselves and others. And you have to decide what part you play in that control.’
Cast your eye over the comfortable north London home of a family of high ideals, radical politics and compassionate feelings. Julia, Paul and their two daughters, Olivia and Sophie, look to a better society, one they can effect through ORGAN:EYES, the campaigning group they fundraise for and march with, supporting various good causes.
But is it all too good to be true? When the surface has been scratched and Paul’s identity comes under the scrutiny of the press, a journey into the heart of the family begins. Who are these characters really? Are any of them the ‘real’ them at all? Every Trick in the Book is a genre-deconstructing novel that explodes the police procedural and undercover-cop story with nouveau romanish glee. Hood overturns the stone of our surveillance society to show what really lies beneath.
Cast your eye over the comfortable north London home of a family of high ideals, radical politics and compassionate feelings. Julia, Paul and their two daughters, Olivia and Sophie, look to a better society, one they can effect through ORGAN:EYES, the campaigning group they fundraise for and march with, supporting various good causes.
But is it all too good to be true? When the surface has been scratched and Paul’s identity comes under the scrutiny of the press, a journey into the heart of the family begins. Who are these characters really? Are any of them the ‘real’ them at all? Every Trick in the Book is a genre-deconstructing novel that explodes the police procedural and undercover-cop story with nouveau romanish glee. Hood overturns the stone of our surveillance society to show what really lies beneath.
224 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2022
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Iain Hood
4 books3 followersIain Hood grew up in Ayrshire. He attended the University of Glasgow and Jordanhill College, and later worked in education in Glasgow and the West Country.
After a move to Cambridge, he attended the University of Manchester. He continues to live in Cambridge with his wife and daughter. This Good Book is his first novel.
After a move to Cambridge, he attended the University of Manchester. He continues to live in Cambridge with his wife and daughter. This Good Book is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 24, 2022
Meet Julia, Paul and their two daughters Olivia and Sophie, living a comfortable upper middle-class existence in north London. They are a family of high ideals and intellectual pursuits, dedicated to radical politics and positive action. Through their campaign group ORGAN:EYES, they undertake fundraising activities to support various good causes, and partake in regular marches.
When a young journalist, keen to make a name for herself, begins to dig beneath the glossy surface of this too-good-to-be-true family, she discovers some interesting information that calls into question whether these people are quite what they appear to be, and sets in motion a bizarre series of events.
This is an unconventional novel which defies pigeonholing into a single genre. It contains elements of mystery story, left of centre police procedural, family drama, spy caper, and zany comedy. I am loath to say too much about how this story unfolds, as the magic lies in how Hood constantly keeps you on your toes by dropping reveals that completely flip your perception about what is going on both within this family, and in the world around them. The writing style flows almost organically, changing in style and pace throughout, bringing you full circle and then branching off into into unexpected directions, which is a little disorienting, but this works perfectly with the ground breaking nature of the story.
The most striking thing about the book, other than its structural and stylistic quirks, is the sheer cleverness of the way Hood explores his themes. This is all about delving beneath the surface to the layers that lie beneath, and along the way he has you mulling over so many aspects of the surveillance society in which we live, of the secrets and lies that often lie under a carefully crafted image, and whether you can every really trust anyone. It is all quite unsettling, in the best possible way.
Hood uses irony and eccentric humour to keep things light among all the darkness, and I found myself chuckling on and off from the smug colour supplement style beginning, all the way through the deliciously ironic twists, to the sharp back and forth of the innermost thoughts of the family once they have been through the unusual storyline Hood has subjected them to. He then ends the piece with a scene that really sends the chills up your spine.
There is such a lot of nostalgia lurking within this story, if you are the right age, with subtle popular culture references to stir your memories. Hood uses the absurd musical world of Captain Beefheart as a central theme in the undercover parts of the tale, which is especially hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed the name drops for Performance, even if my knowledge of the memorable quote in question actually comes via Big Audio Dynamite rather than the film itself.
This is just the kind of book that highlights exactly what a great independent publisher like Renard Press can do, by giving readers the opportunity to enjoy something bold, and genre busting, that really pushes your boundaries. Best enjoyed by unfocusing your mind and letting Hood take you for an out of the ordinary adventure that leaves you with a lot to think about.
When a young journalist, keen to make a name for herself, begins to dig beneath the glossy surface of this too-good-to-be-true family, she discovers some interesting information that calls into question whether these people are quite what they appear to be, and sets in motion a bizarre series of events.
This is an unconventional novel which defies pigeonholing into a single genre. It contains elements of mystery story, left of centre police procedural, family drama, spy caper, and zany comedy. I am loath to say too much about how this story unfolds, as the magic lies in how Hood constantly keeps you on your toes by dropping reveals that completely flip your perception about what is going on both within this family, and in the world around them. The writing style flows almost organically, changing in style and pace throughout, bringing you full circle and then branching off into into unexpected directions, which is a little disorienting, but this works perfectly with the ground breaking nature of the story.
The most striking thing about the book, other than its structural and stylistic quirks, is the sheer cleverness of the way Hood explores his themes. This is all about delving beneath the surface to the layers that lie beneath, and along the way he has you mulling over so many aspects of the surveillance society in which we live, of the secrets and lies that often lie under a carefully crafted image, and whether you can every really trust anyone. It is all quite unsettling, in the best possible way.
Hood uses irony and eccentric humour to keep things light among all the darkness, and I found myself chuckling on and off from the smug colour supplement style beginning, all the way through the deliciously ironic twists, to the sharp back and forth of the innermost thoughts of the family once they have been through the unusual storyline Hood has subjected them to. He then ends the piece with a scene that really sends the chills up your spine.
There is such a lot of nostalgia lurking within this story, if you are the right age, with subtle popular culture references to stir your memories. Hood uses the absurd musical world of Captain Beefheart as a central theme in the undercover parts of the tale, which is especially hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed the name drops for Performance, even if my knowledge of the memorable quote in question actually comes via Big Audio Dynamite rather than the film itself.
This is just the kind of book that highlights exactly what a great independent publisher like Renard Press can do, by giving readers the opportunity to enjoy something bold, and genre busting, that really pushes your boundaries. Best enjoyed by unfocusing your mind and letting Hood take you for an out of the ordinary adventure that leaves you with a lot to think about.
September 23, 2024
In a world where no-one can be trusted, how can we know the truth?
Paul is an undercover cop who, twenty years ago, married Julia in order to infiltrate and spy on left-wing activists; now he is in danger of being exposed. What effect will this have on his wife and their two children?
But this is not just the story of one exposed undercover cop. It doubles down. Just suppose that someone is spying on the spy. Hood's CCTV-stuffed London is a Kafkaesque world in which the questions are: who can we trust, what can we believe, and how can any system cope with all that information? Conspiracy theories, even though they may be justified, breed paranoia and paranoid delusions are, as Paul discovers, symptomatic of certifiable mental illness. Misinformation and disinformation may or may not result in real-life tragedies, such as a child catching measles because the parent refused the MMR vaccine. As with quantum physics, when solidity is an illusion, where can we find firm ground on which to base our beliefs?
Hood doesn't use just narrative to make his point. Sentence segments are blanked out, as if the record has been censored. Blank pages parenthesise a section whose pages become increasingly grey as the streams of consciousness of the family members become increasingly turbulent and intermixed. At one stage Paul finds himself thinking "incomplete things. He is also looking out of the." The descriptions of the first few pages are revisited in a much more sinister way. A confusing section of dialogue is 'replayed' with character tags. Even the chapter numbers are playful, counting up in the first section, down in the second, and up again in the third. It's cryptic and it's clever and it's fun.
There are some very humorous bits as well. I loved the fact that all the policemen in London seemed to be Scottish ... after all, they work in Scotland Yard. A psychiatric report on Paul consistently misspells 'etc' as "ect" (hinting at ECT: electroconvulsive therapy?) And I enjoyed the references to 'uncle' Douglas MacDougal (eg 2.17), a character who appears in Hood's first book This Good Book (and later it is suggested that Paul writes a book entitled "This Good Cop"; 2.9)
As Paul tries to explain: “Everybody knows the price of freedom is eternal surveillance.” (3.13) This, of course, is a misquote. Thomas Jefferson said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. But that's the point of this clever and convoluted book.
Paul is an undercover cop who, twenty years ago, married Julia in order to infiltrate and spy on left-wing activists; now he is in danger of being exposed. What effect will this have on his wife and their two children?
But this is not just the story of one exposed undercover cop. It doubles down. Just suppose that someone is spying on the spy. Hood's CCTV-stuffed London is a Kafkaesque world in which the questions are: who can we trust, what can we believe, and how can any system cope with all that information? Conspiracy theories, even though they may be justified, breed paranoia and paranoid delusions are, as Paul discovers, symptomatic of certifiable mental illness. Misinformation and disinformation may or may not result in real-life tragedies, such as a child catching measles because the parent refused the MMR vaccine. As with quantum physics, when solidity is an illusion, where can we find firm ground on which to base our beliefs?
Hood doesn't use just narrative to make his point. Sentence segments are blanked out, as if the record has been censored. Blank pages parenthesise a section whose pages become increasingly grey as the streams of consciousness of the family members become increasingly turbulent and intermixed. At one stage Paul finds himself thinking "incomplete things. He is also looking out of the." The descriptions of the first few pages are revisited in a much more sinister way. A confusing section of dialogue is 'replayed' with character tags. Even the chapter numbers are playful, counting up in the first section, down in the second, and up again in the third. It's cryptic and it's clever and it's fun.
There are some very humorous bits as well. I loved the fact that all the policemen in London seemed to be Scottish ... after all, they work in Scotland Yard. A psychiatric report on Paul consistently misspells 'etc' as "ect" (hinting at ECT: electroconvulsive therapy?) And I enjoyed the references to 'uncle' Douglas MacDougal (eg 2.17), a character who appears in Hood's first book This Good Book (and later it is suggested that Paul writes a book entitled "This Good Cop"; 2.9)
As Paul tries to explain: “Everybody knows the price of freedom is eternal surveillance.” (3.13) This, of course, is a misquote. Thomas Jefferson said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. But that's the point of this clever and convoluted book.
September 20, 2022
The phrase 'appearances can be deceptive' comes straight to mind after reading this book and it was another fabulous reading experience thanks to the author - if you've not picked up his previous book, This Good Book, then go grab that as well as you won't be disappointed!
It's so difficult to pin this book down to any one particular genre, and it's one of those story that resonates so clearly with the times we are living in, where all that glitters is not gold! We are fed images of people with the perfect lives, believing the perception of their happiness, but in Every Trick of the Book we see that sometimes people aren't who they say they are, and their hidden lives are much darker and this book approaches that with humour and a bit of snark, and I loved it! It doesn't shirk away from poking fun at everybody - right, left, media, police, celebs - and shows it all up for the hypocrisy that is often displays!
At the heart of the story are a 'normal' family living a very comfortable life, on the surface, following the latest causes, and then a journalist starts digging and uncovers some uncomfortable truths about their real identities, and that's where the fun and mayhem begins!
There's always that mystery about what is being hidden,and why, and that kept me turning the pages faster and faster to find out, and the redacted passages just add to the confusion and head scratching! This is a smart book and one that makes you think, makes you laugh and makes you feel that we're all just going through life just trying to make sense of it all! And even when we think we've got it figured out, we're often far from the mark!!
This, for me, was one of those books that makes you want to re-read it almost immediately so you can pick up on those hidden messages you may have missed first time round! A book that ticks every box for me entertainment wise, and as for Who Do I Trust?! Absolutely nobody!!
It's so difficult to pin this book down to any one particular genre, and it's one of those story that resonates so clearly with the times we are living in, where all that glitters is not gold! We are fed images of people with the perfect lives, believing the perception of their happiness, but in Every Trick of the Book we see that sometimes people aren't who they say they are, and their hidden lives are much darker and this book approaches that with humour and a bit of snark, and I loved it! It doesn't shirk away from poking fun at everybody - right, left, media, police, celebs - and shows it all up for the hypocrisy that is often displays!
At the heart of the story are a 'normal' family living a very comfortable life, on the surface, following the latest causes, and then a journalist starts digging and uncovers some uncomfortable truths about their real identities, and that's where the fun and mayhem begins!
There's always that mystery about what is being hidden,and why, and that kept me turning the pages faster and faster to find out, and the redacted passages just add to the confusion and head scratching! This is a smart book and one that makes you think, makes you laugh and makes you feel that we're all just going through life just trying to make sense of it all! And even when we think we've got it figured out, we're often far from the mark!!
This, for me, was one of those books that makes you want to re-read it almost immediately so you can pick up on those hidden messages you may have missed first time round! A book that ticks every box for me entertainment wise, and as for Who Do I Trust?! Absolutely nobody!!
September 15, 2022
Iain Hood’s previous novel, This Good Book, was an exploration of the role art has in society and it was a heady and unique reading experience that encapsulated elements from other aspects of the arts, namely cinema.
I’m pleased to say that not only has Iain Hood created another genre bending novel but also has written a novel that has managed to make me laugh with it’s off kilter zaniness. Once again it all culminates in a one of a kind reading experience.
Every Trick of the Book is not that easy to pinpoint. On the surface it’s a skewed espionage novel: The main protagonist, Paul, works for the secret service but on the surface he’s supposed to be seen as a Captain Beefheart fanatic trying to set up a label – incidentally his superiors test him constantly on Beefheart’s discography (as a Beefheart fan I agree totally with the opinions expressed) and these lead to the funniest sections of the novel.
However, this is also a book about family dynamics. There are a lot of descriptions about the family’s house and the suburban atmosphere that pervades and yet this supposedly unified unit also have their organisations and societies.
To add another meta element to this onion of a novel. There’s a footnote which changes one’s perspective of what the book actually is. One cannot deny that this book lives up to it’s title.
Once again Ian Hood has not only written a novel that challenges the concept of what a novel is but also created a huge artistic leap in the process.
And listen to Trout mask Replica – it is a masterpiece.
I’m pleased to say that not only has Iain Hood created another genre bending novel but also has written a novel that has managed to make me laugh with it’s off kilter zaniness. Once again it all culminates in a one of a kind reading experience.
Every Trick of the Book is not that easy to pinpoint. On the surface it’s a skewed espionage novel: The main protagonist, Paul, works for the secret service but on the surface he’s supposed to be seen as a Captain Beefheart fanatic trying to set up a label – incidentally his superiors test him constantly on Beefheart’s discography (as a Beefheart fan I agree totally with the opinions expressed) and these lead to the funniest sections of the novel.
However, this is also a book about family dynamics. There are a lot of descriptions about the family’s house and the suburban atmosphere that pervades and yet this supposedly unified unit also have their organisations and societies.
To add another meta element to this onion of a novel. There’s a footnote which changes one’s perspective of what the book actually is. One cannot deny that this book lives up to it’s title.
Once again Ian Hood has not only written a novel that challenges the concept of what a novel is but also created a huge artistic leap in the process.
And listen to Trout mask Replica – it is a masterpiece.
March 30, 2023
If you like books that literally change colour whilst you’re reading to enhance the mood, this is for you. It was certainly for me.
Some books are works of art, and this is one of them.
Some books are works of art, and this is one of them.
April 23, 2023
On reading Every Trick in the Book we enter the world of Paul, Julia and their family. They live in North London where they have a settled, comfortable lifestyle but also a desire to make things better for all of society by raising funds, marching and campaigning for ORGAN:EYES.
Is this the reality?
When Paul is confronted by a journalist we discover there is much more going on than we thought! We are entering the world of an undercover police operation! For fourteen years Paul, who it seems is not really Paul but hey it’s easier to stick with, has lived a lie or has he? Well it seems so.
What is real?
Worried that his cover will be blown he contacts his colleagues. Taking every precaution Paul meets them in what seems to be an official building talking about his undercover activities which includes setting up business in the music industry. He leaves not exactly reassured but accepting that he has to carry on for a while. His existence is a worry to them!
Fourteen years! A wife and two children! Do they know? Paul is sure they don’t. He’s as careful returning home as going. Cameras are everywhere, they have eyes everywhere!
Julia – is that her real name? Is she simply what she seems or someone, something else?
The girls, Olivia and Sophie, are well versed in the need for a better society they’ve been brought up to be mindful of the needs of others, to care about how folk are treated and to help others who are in need. Are they really who they seem?
Who is lying?
If no one is what they seem to be then who are they, what are they? Who is watching who? If you’ve lived a life for fourteen years then isn’t it real and not a sham?
This is an unnerving read were you are taken on a dizzying, mind boggling look into the world of undercover police work, a world of surveillance and seemingly endless lies.
This book is not a traditional crime fiction novel. There is no crime. No murder. Does the surveillance of people, of a group count? You know just in case they are found to be insidious? Still for fourteen years!
Who is watching who?
In this strangely bizarre but seemingly real world – Paul and his family exist in it – we have no other life for Paul. Will this one remain?
Who can Paul trust? Who can you trust?
In this tear-up-the-normal and let’s see-where-it-goes-from-there form this novel is bizarre, funny, mind boggling, unnerving – yes! – all can be used to describe this unusual yet enthralling and fascinating story. It is a book that breaks boundaries, leaves you feeling uneasy, intrigued and beguiled.
Is this the reality?
When Paul is confronted by a journalist we discover there is much more going on than we thought! We are entering the world of an undercover police operation! For fourteen years Paul, who it seems is not really Paul but hey it’s easier to stick with, has lived a lie or has he? Well it seems so.
What is real?
Worried that his cover will be blown he contacts his colleagues. Taking every precaution Paul meets them in what seems to be an official building talking about his undercover activities which includes setting up business in the music industry. He leaves not exactly reassured but accepting that he has to carry on for a while. His existence is a worry to them!
Fourteen years! A wife and two children! Do they know? Paul is sure they don’t. He’s as careful returning home as going. Cameras are everywhere, they have eyes everywhere!
Julia – is that her real name? Is she simply what she seems or someone, something else?
The girls, Olivia and Sophie, are well versed in the need for a better society they’ve been brought up to be mindful of the needs of others, to care about how folk are treated and to help others who are in need. Are they really who they seem?
Who is lying?
If no one is what they seem to be then who are they, what are they? Who is watching who? If you’ve lived a life for fourteen years then isn’t it real and not a sham?
This is an unnerving read were you are taken on a dizzying, mind boggling look into the world of undercover police work, a world of surveillance and seemingly endless lies.
This book is not a traditional crime fiction novel. There is no crime. No murder. Does the surveillance of people, of a group count? You know just in case they are found to be insidious? Still for fourteen years!
Who is watching who?
In this strangely bizarre but seemingly real world – Paul and his family exist in it – we have no other life for Paul. Will this one remain?
Who can Paul trust? Who can you trust?
In this tear-up-the-normal and let’s see-where-it-goes-from-there form this novel is bizarre, funny, mind boggling, unnerving – yes! – all can be used to describe this unusual yet enthralling and fascinating story. It is a book that breaks boundaries, leaves you feeling uneasy, intrigued and beguiled.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews