Imagine if Frank from the British tv series "Shameless" were a down- on-his-luck private eye. In "The Gumshoe," Brazill offers up a full helping of classic private eye fiction meets modern British punk-fueled humor. "The gumshoe" is actually a series of vignettes rather than one long novella about a poor guy who wakes up on New Year's Day with "a horrifying wail that skewered its way deep into [his] unconscious brain." Of course, it was "Some twat, somewhere, was playing a U2 song over and over again." And, then there's the doorbell that doesn't stop ringing "like a stiletto grinding through my brain," our hero explains. This is truly the essence of a hangover. Because, well, you know, "In the real dark night of the soul, there was always some twat talking bollocks at three o'clock in the morning." These are vignettes fueled by booze and violence and solid British noir humor. Amidst the hoods and the drunks and the fishnet stockings and the bloody lifeless bodies, there is some damn good writing. Filled with references to rock music like Keith Moon drum solos, this is a story that has to be read. There are other stories here displaying this British sense of noir and punk and thuggery, but the title piece is the one that really captures your attention as you read this. ( )