Wonderful. As ever, Coe nails contemporary life and politics in a light, informed and hilarious way. My only slight reservation is the vast cast of characters lost me at times but never for long.

A new Jonathan Coe novel is always a treat and ‘The Proof of My Innocence’ is no exception. Whilst it is another superbly written state of the nation tale, Coe also has a lot of fun with literary and cinematic references, subverting genres, and playing with the reader’s expectations. Appropriately, for our times, there are many versions of the truth in this novel.
The story begins during the battle between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak for leader of the Conservative party and Coe clearly enjoys exploring this absurd drama and its aftermath. The right of the party appears to be growing more powerful and, to explore this, Coe takes us back to a time when these politicians were student members of a clandestine right wing club in 1980s Cambridge.
The central link between the 80s and the present is the character of Christopher Swann; he writes a left-wing blog and is clearly intent on uncovering the unscrupulous behaviour of those who are influencing government policies. As part of his investigation, he attends a conference in the Cotswolds. However, almost as soon as it has begun, it’s over. A guest has been murdered and an investigation is underway. So far, so Agatha Christie!
Over to the younger generation. Chris’s daughter, Rashida, and her friend Phyl, who would like to write a novel if she wasn’t so knackered from her dead-end job at a sushi bar at Heathrow, become involved in Chris’s investigation. Also on the case is a hilariously over-the-top female detective who approaches every dining opportunity with gusto – why drink two bottles when you can down three?
Those who enjoy Coe’s incisive satire, alongside his very real affection for many British idiosyncrasies, will enjoy this novel. My only quibble is that there’s not much deep dive characterisation, a literary skill that shines through in his other novels. Without wishing to give away a key trick of the tale, maybe there’s a reason for this!
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I'm not sure there is a writer alive today who can capture the essence of Britishness better than Jonathan Coe. Set in recent years, this combines his eccentric British humour with a murder mystery. What's not to love?

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business | Viking for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hilarious, compelling and highly thought-provoking, 'The Proof of my Innocence' is a novel that plays with 'truth', writing, family and contemporary life. Using the (let's face it) ridiculous few weeks of Liz Truss' Prime Ministership, and playing with notions of politics, Coe tells the story of Phyl, a discontented 'sushi bar' worker and her desire to drop her boring job and write a 'cosy crime' novel. He plays with the trop of 'crime fiction' as well as implicitly commenting not the state of the nation. I laughed aloud and often thought he'd put into words my exact thoughts - I'm talking about the words said by Phyl here, not the grumbling conservatives at the conference. Honestly, highly recommended. Another winner. Thanks to Netgalley and to the publishers for the privilege of the ARC.

This is an interesting read. it weaves different points of view and times into one narrative and makes it work. There is the view of the university leaver, the parents, the friends and the politicians all with a different background d and knowledge. The plot is underpinned by a death from the past, that allowed one man to flourish perhaps at the expense of another. The view points are clever, giving tidbits of info and more colouring in of the facts as each saw them, the backdrop for most of the book is PM Liz Truss’ premiership and the movement in the Conservative Party along this time, the conferences, the back room deals and the agreements made in the shadows. All a fascinating new lens on recent history although a little clunky at times meeting it all, .

I am normally a fan of Jonathan Coe and was delighted when I got the opportunity, via Penguin and NetGalley, to read an advance copy. Unfortunately though this turned out to be a most disappointing read.

As you’d expect with a novel by this author, there is a state of the nation/current political backdrop which runs throughout (set during the brief time of Liz Truss’s leadership) and featuring a gathering of a political group obviously based on UKIP/Reform. But the main story is the sudden death of someone who disapproves of this group and its leader. We switch to the past (some of the characters were at Cambridge together) as this is where the political group had their roots.

There is a novel within a novel here – one of the main characters (Phyl) decides to write a cosy crime novel and this forms the majority of the text. But for once in a Coe novel I felt the characterisation was lacking – none of the characters came alive for me and so whether it was part of the actual novel, or the novel within a novel, I didn’t really care at all what happened. I was also deeply underwhelmed by the character of Peter Cockerell – so much of him was made in the cosy crime part of the book and yet I couldn’t understand why anyone would care that much about the thoughts of a pretty much unknown and supposedly dead author, or what happened to the bound proofs of his book.
There is a twist at the end too, but I didn’t believe in that either I’m afraid.

I will definitely still want to read Jonathan Coe’s next book – hopefully this is a one off drop in form for him.

3.5 ⭐

I've yet to read a Coe book I didnt enjoy.
His wit and humour always make the story something worth reading.
This felt a bit different to his usual, the mixed style of writing didn't always work for me.
I enjoyed Phyl as a character, and was glad when she showed up .
Overall enjoyable, and an interesting book.

An interesting meta story within a story. Does it describe what is happening or the imagination of the protagonist fledgling writer.

Describes two deaths - one today and one thirty years ago

Amongst the plot is a fictional description of the ascent of the right in the US and UK, and how that has affected the country. As a counterpoint, it is set at the time of Liz Triss’s premiership, to show the folly of such thinking.

Jonathan Coe is a remarkably consistent writer, as well as a subtle and relatively undervalued one. The Proof of My Innocence is his latest state of the nation novel, following Bourneville and Middle England in recent times, which conceals the bite of its satire in likeability and diversion. Like many of its books, it also pulls off the trick of being much more experimental than it appears (and writes some of that trickery into its own playing with form and writerliness). It's also a murder mystery (and a parody of cosy crime novels), a subversion of auto fiction, a powerful satire (that word again) of Ango-American conservatism, and a history of Britain in the last 45 years or so. His writing and dialogue are as powerful as ever, and there are lots of very good jokes, often at his own expense, which make The Proof of My Innocence a joy to read, like all Coe's novels. One character's encounter with a bishop at Cambridge made me laugh loudly more than once. It might not quite have the charm of Mr Wilder and Me, but The Proof of My Innocence compensates for that with more bite. Remarkable.

Clever mash up of traditional murder mystery and a biting and very up-to-date political commentary which feels refreshing to read so soon in fiction.
Some characters more likeable than others making it easy to relate to particular threads of the story as you feel an empathy - and shared frustration - for them.

I suspect there are quite a few different ways to enjoy A Proof of My Innocence, and I think I failed to grasp some of the cunning literary tricks that Jonathan Coe used to tell this story. However I still enjoyed it on the level I that read it, even though I was left slightly confused at the ending. A Very readable, entertaining and clever novel.

Many thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read and review this book. It deserves to be a big success when it is released.

In the UK, the "crime, thrillers, and mystery" genre reigns supreme among adult readers, according to surveys. In Jonathan Coe's novel 'The Proof of My Innocence', he ingeniously blends his usual biting political satire with the classic country house murder mystery. Coe's writing is always incisive and entertaining, regardless of whether readers share his political perspective. His latest offering is another wonderful display of skill from a very talented author. Coe is as at home writing about contemporary Britain of the 2020s as he was writing about the Britain of the 1970s. Special thank you to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for a no obligation advance digital review copy.

Jonathan Coe has always been so talented at interweaving social commentary, modern history and political satire with a great and often very moving plot. Whether that be a critique of the Tory government in What a Carve Up, or a history of modern Britain and also of Cadbury’s, seen through the lens of the personal history of one midlands family in Bourneville. As well as interweaving stories, Coe interweaves genres, and The Proof of my Innocence is no exception. The book is part political satire and part murder mystery. Initially it focuses on Phyl, a recent graduate who finds herself living back with her parents, doing a dead-end job in a sushi restaurant at Heathrow airport. The monotony of life at home is disrupted by the arrival of an old friend of her moths, Christopher Swann, whose left-wing blog is currently focused on uncovering and revealing the plans of a right-wing think tank that he came across during his time at Cambridge University in the 80s.

His arrival coincides with the appointment of Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister, and with a right-wing conference taking place in the Cotswolds. Christopher heads off to investigate, though not before bringing his daughter Rashida to stay with Phyl’s family, and contributing to Phyl’s slow realisation that she too would like to become a writer.

Things soon go awry as the conference progresses, not just because of the policies implemented by the new PM and her Cancellow, but because delegates wake one morning to find that a murder has taken place. The rest of the novel - which it would be unfair to describe in much detail, for fear of risking spoilers - expertly and cleverly combines both an ongoing, satirical look at the politics of those in the Conservative party and to the right of it, and a murder investigation in which both Phyl and Rashida become active participants.
An engrossing and clever book!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy.

It is such a pleasure to read a new Jonathan Coe ‘state of the nation’ novel, especially to have the privilege of an ARC so that the many social and cultural references are still quite fresh. Liz Truss’ 50 days as Prime Minister were a gift for him and he has had great fun with them. My own student days were during the late 1970s, including visits to Cambridge, so his character Brian’s experiences resonated with me as well.

He plays about here with different styles of writing and to those readers familiar with cosy crime or dark academia conspiracy stories there are nods to authors in those styles. I enjoyed the murder mystery element in particular. JC is terrific at making me feel I’m a little bit smart, picking up on his film, book or social references, though I wonder how many passed me by. There is another theme here too, probably more personal to him - how an author’s legacy is created, managed and sometimes lost as years go by and books go out of print.

Endlessly entertaining, as JC’s books always are, and best enjoyed hot from the press.

With thanks to Penguin via NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I hadn’t read anything else by Coe though I’d been meaning to and found this interesting. The plot concerns the mysterious death of Christopher, a political blogger critical of the far right of the Conservatives.. A shadowy right-wing thinktank is involved and there’s flashbacks to his time at Cambridge when he knew some of its members. I can’t give away too much of the plot but there’s an odd elderly detective and a pair of young women trying to investigate his death.
I found some of it very funny particularly at the start but the memoir section by one of the characters I thought was a bit long. Structurally it’s interesting though. There’s some very good satire of the absurdities of the Tories and their policies especially the brief disastrous Truss premiership. Thanks to the publisher Penguin and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Jonathan Coe is my favourite contemporary British novelist. I love how his state of the nation novels go beyond satire and draw out the human costs of political actions. His characters are very well drawn - we care what happens to them and we share in their tragedies and disappointments.
‘The Proof of My Innocence’ focuses on those surreal few weeks in 2022 when Liz Truss crashed the economy. It incorporates a cosy crime mystery, a college memoir and a work of autofiction. There’s shadowy right wing conspiracies at play that can be traced back to Cambridge in the 1980s and popular conservative forces at work that seem willing to resort to murder to protect their interests. Such things may have sounded far fetched a few years ago, but not in this conspiracy obsessed age. It’s ambitious and multi layered but very readable. The involvement of an obscure 80s novelist in the plot even allows for some authorial self reflection.

Jonathan Coe tackles a number of targets both big and small, in this, his fifteenth novel.
Amongst the small targets are: 1) the irritating nature of the British Transport Police's oft-repeated "See it. Say it. Sorted' slogan. 2) Men who unnecessarily insist on pressing the button to activate the lift doors in Heathrow Terminal 5, even though the doors always open and close without any human assistance anyway. 3) The current trend for cosy crime novels with titles like Death in a Thatched Cottage, The Beach Hut Murders and The Flapjack Poisonings.
Coe even finds time to satirise Piers Capon author of the novel, 'Lilliput Rising,' a novel celebrated as "destined to become a future classic" on its publication in 1993, but now, like its author completely forgotten. In reality, of course, neither Capon or the book ever existed. Coe's own breakthrough novel, What A Carve Up! was published to widespread acclaim around that time though. I can't work out the relationship between the names, 'Piers Capon' and 'Jonathan Coe' is (any ideas, anyone?) But it seems clear, Coe is having a little dig at himself.
If so, he shouldn't be worried. While it is true neither Coe or What A Carve Up! are exactly household names today (whatever that means), he and his output are hardly forgotten, not least because he keeps producing books and remains one of the sharpest writers of political fiction around. And, more to the point, The Proof of My Innocence is one of his better ones.
It begins as the story of Phyl, a recent graduate reduced to living at home with her nice but stifling middle-aged parents while working long hours for the Japanese fast food chain, Hey! Teriyaki (yo - you see?) and watching endless episodes of Friends, a show already old enough to be set in a nostalgic mobile phone free world which she as a twenty-something can no longer remember. The year is 2022 and this is the time of the short and disastrous premiership of Liz Truss. The effects of Truss's brief and calamitous spell in Downing Street are still being felt. If nothing else, the period helps explain why today there are only about a third as many Conservative MPs today as there were two months ago.
The book then changes into a sort of cosy murder mystery of the sort Phyl is slightly cynically considering writing herself before becoming the sort of dark academic novel she actually prefers to read.
Along the way we are introduced to food-loving police women, dark shadowy right-wing societies, rumours of witchcraft and even one or two brief encounters with characters from What A Carve Up! although this is in no sense a sequel or even a spin-off.
In short, it's lots of fun.

I do love Coe’s work but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as usual. Though the setting was exquisite, Phyl was pure character study and the book was a good read.

It’s not possible to recommend this book to any one type of reader. There isn’t anyone that wouldn’t enjoy a great deal of this book.

There’s always a thread of state-of-the-nation running through Jonathan Coe’s fiction, sometimes more overt than others. This one opens in early September 2022 as Phyl Maidstone, freshly graduated and back in the family home, contemplates what to do with her future, distracted by notifications about the newly elected Conservative Party leader and slightly resentful at the prospect of an old family friend dropping in on his way to the TrueCon conference. Christopher’s a long-term critic of the increasingly extreme antics of some members of the Party. He and Joanna were at Cambridge, allies against the braying likes of Roger Wagstaff, now a TrueCon leading light. News of Christopher’s sudden, violent death shakes the Maidstones. It’s through writing that Phyl tries to make sense of it, first by adopting Britain’s favourite cosy crime genre, then exploring dark academia before turning her hand to autofiction. The drama of Liz Truss’ premiership plays out in the background, survived by the lettuce livestreamed by a tabloid alongside her picture.
Coe frames Phyl’s three attempts to write the story of Christopher’s death with a lengthy prologue setting the scene and a catch-up epilogue set in 2024. It’s a complicated structure which didn’t entirely work for me but the plotting is pleasingly intricate with some enjoyable lightbulb moments. He picks up familiar themes from his previous novels – entitlement, privilege, a particularly British nostalgia – none of which have served the country well, particularly over the last decade and a half. No prizes for subtlety but then I wouldn’t expect that from Coe’s brand of slapstick political satire. Fun is also poked at the literary world, in awe, as it often is, of a handful of names. Coe’s trademark filmic references run through the novel together with some clever word play. Not my favourite novel by him but enjoyably entertaining in a very British way.

Set amongst a Cotswold's backdrop, a country house hewn from oolitic limestone, exuding charm in honey coloured hues, becomes the scene for a murder most foul. Whilst the country pile is slipping in to noble rot, rather like the Sauternes dessert wine it serves, there are plans to secure funding to have it transformed from a crumbling hotel in to a stately home. Will the discovery of an old slave ship painting scupper that? Yes, something that the unwitting Christopher Swann brought to light whilst tagging along with a small group who were being shown around Weatherby Hall (now hosting a TrueCon conference). I say unwitting because the poor chap ended up dead, but was this about the painting or maybe one of a number of other possibilities?
I am afraid that the serenity of the Hall was drowned out by the grinding of political axes by the author, The murder mystery had a touch of the Miss Marple and the hunt for the murderer saved the day by going continental. However, it was a novel within a novel set in the old stomping ground of the late Sir Gerald Nabarro MP. It mentions Broadway and even Fish Hill as an automotive way to force someone to their death. Why it didn't go the whole hog and introduce Broadway Tower and Snowshill I don't know.
This novel is more for those interested in the allies and enemies forged at university and how this impacts future events, especially political ones.