John Cooper

Pimpinan John Cooper

"I really liked this ... there's a lot of information packed in ... this works because the language is simple and there's a strong narrative hook. James Joyce used the same technique in his short stories. It comes down to a confidence of tone, a prose style that jumps straight into the story" - Louise Doughty, The Daily Telegraph A killer is loose on the streets of London, and the general public secretly hopes the Metropolitan Police don't catch him. Meanwhile, Special Commander Bryant is struggling to finish the novel he has spent thirty years writing, on Force time. What could possibly go wrong? 'Pimpinan' is a satirical novel with absurdist themes, about the lives of people connected to a Metropolitan Police operation hunting for a serial killer, who himself preys on violent, predatory criminals. While the plot is ostensibly about the hunt for a killer, it frequently becomes secondary to the aspirations and personal drivers of the characters seeking unsuccessfully to catch him. The investigation takes place in present-day London, and in Jakarta where culture-shock and misunderstandings lead to hilarious, blundering mistakes and wrong turns. 'Pimpinan' veers between dry, dark humour; terrifying accounts of the work of the target of the operation; the personal lives, idiosyncrasies and ambitions of the protagonists that often contrast and clash with the work required of them, and the frustration and hopelessness of failure. The characters and the relationships between them are caricatures of the incompetent bosses, insecure yet ambitious peers, razor-sharp go-getters and average Joes found at any corporation or large work organisation, in stark contrast to those found in typical crime novels.