The Sound of Trumpets

Nov 26, 2025 11:17 AM

Author:John Mortimer

When a Tory MP is found dead in a swimming-pool wearing a leopardskin bikini, the embittered Leslie (now Lord) Titmuss sees the ideal opportunity to re-enter the political arena. All he needs is a puppet, and Terry Flitton - inoffensive New Labourite - is perfect. Along with his beautiful, very PC wife, Terry heads blindly for the Hartscombe and Worsfield South by-election. But is he too busy listening for the sound of victory trumpets to notice that the Tory dinosaur is not quite extinct?

John Mortimer's brilliant follow-up to Paradise Postponed and Titmuss Regained, The Sound of Trumpets is a devilishly witty satire on political ambition, spin and sleaze, and the culmination of a masterly trilogy.

Reviews

Sometimes you find a book which you just can't stop reading... With this novel, Tamaro confirms her role as one of Italy's most loved writers...this book is eloquent in its simplicity, at once enjoyable and heartbreaking

—— What's On

Answer Me demands engagement...entertainingly grotesque

—— Times Literary Supplement

It's easy to see why Tamaro's bleakly atmospheric tales of life by the auto-strada, and her portentous pronouncements on love, life and Catholicism became such a runaway bestseller

—— Independent

a sexy and scandalous treat ****

—— Heat Magazine

It's sassy, it's smart... Go girl!

—— Jeanette Winterson

An extraordinary, irreducible fantasy

—— Observer

Burgess's ambitious study of 20th-century history centers on the stormy relationship between an effete, popular novelist and a Faustian priest

—— Publishers Weekly

It is glitzy, glamorous, page-turning stuff with bite

—— Sarah Broadhurst

Chilling...will keep you guessing until the end

—— Psychologies

Chilling psychological thriller... Fact and fiction are cleverly blurred, and the intricately plotted spins and turns will keep you guessing till the end

—— Glamour

Intriguing... Real life tangles with his fantasy online world to create a heart-stopping page-turner

—— Good Housekeeping

Blueeyedboy is unquestionably a masterpiece of deception and fantasy

—— Oxford Times

A dark exploration into the mind of an internet-obsessed would-be killer

—— Red

Creepy psychodrama...BB's voice soon takes on the seductive cadences of her Gallic creations. Harris's triumph is to incorporate email-speak into this tale of rural nasties without frightening the horses

—— Independent

Previous Article：Answer Me Next Article：A Distant Shore

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.