''A Shock to the System'' is a 1984

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

novel by

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett OBE FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. As an author, he is best known for his mystery s ...

. The novel was adapted into the 1990 film of the same name starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Plot

Graham Marshall, the protagonist, is a rising executive at a London-based oil conglomerate, and has always played by the rules. But Graham is passed over for promotion, losing out to a younger colleague called Robert Benham. On his way home that night, he lashes out at an aged tramp who harasses him, killing him, and dumps the body in the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. When it becomes clear that he has got away with this murder, Graham begins to feel a new power and murders his wife by booby-trapping an electric switch. Next, he sets a boating booby-trap for Robert, and fakes a suicide to dispose of a possible witness. Eventually he gets arrested for a murder he did not actually commit, as a consequence of a revenge-plot of his mother-in-law.

Critical reception

One review considered this ending to be "awfully contrived" but the novel was described as "extra-dry in its humor" and "ever so restrained in its melodrama".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shock to the System, A 1984 British novels Black comedy books Macmillan Publishers books