No Good Deed

‘He’s a funny writer, John Niven. Not funny peculiar: funny ha ha. Properly funny, in a scabrous and scatological sort of way, and in his latest book he doesn’t disappoint. It’s a big, comic tableau, painted in bright, broad shades with plenty of splatter marks … Niven makes sentences beautifully – which, in whatever genre you are writing, is what matters most – and this novel clips along as enjoyably as all his others … There are two John Nivens in this novel. One provides the broad farce … But the other supplies something that’s closer to Nick Hornby territory … Niven is particularly good on how easy it is to resent our friends, how charity can be covertly aggressive, and how psychological power dynamics don’t really shift from our teenage years … There’s a poignancy here … Always worth reading. He’s a writer – or two – who still has a lot more in the tank.’ – Sam Leith * Guardian *Underneath the scabrous wit, the raucous brio, the bracing rudeness, Niven is genuinely, brilliantly warm and funny and wise about men and women and the things they do to one another and themselves. This is his best novel yet. – Stuart MaconieNo Good Deed is about the fall that waits one floor down for every male member of the chattering classes. Charles Dickens with a good strong dollop of Martin Amis and Quentin Tarantino – vintage Niven. Loved it. – Rick StroudNiven is a master at probing dark, uncomfortable areas of the male psyche that most novelists – indeed, most men – would rather not have to deal with. * Scotsman *Snort-in-public comic excellence … One darkly humorous episode after another … The fact that I had such a visceral reaction to this book is testament to Niven’s great skill as a writer. He is a master of probing the dark, uncomfortable areas of the male psyche that most novelists – and indeed, most men – would rather not have to deal with … No Good Deed always feels rooted in the real world, even in its most outrageously improbable moments. – Roger Cox * Scotland on Sunday *[A] riotous black comedy … A deliciously readable morality tale about social climbing, this bursts with off-colour gags and satire of middle-class lifestyles. – Anthony Cummins * Metro *John Niven is surely the most rollickingly outrageous novelist of his generation …emotionally satisfying, entertaining, dazzlingly written. * i News *Brimming with rumbustious, bawdy energy. * Mail on Sunday *A very entertaining read. * Daily Mail *We laughed out loud. * new! *

John Niven was born in Irvine, Ayrshire. He is the author of ten novels and has written for a wide range of publications, including a weekly column for the Scottish Sunday Mail. He lives in Buckinghamshire.

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