'The premier satirist of great British crapness is on killer form in this gag-a-minute mystery' Observer
'A new Jonathan Coe is always a treat... Coe is a master at exploring the pains of modern life' The Times
---
Post-university life doesn't suit Phyl. Time passes slowly living back home with her parents, working a zero-hour contract serving Japanese food to holidaymakers at Heathrow's Terminal 5. As for her budding plans of becoming a writer, those are going nowhere.
That is, until family friend Chris comes to stay. He's been on the path to uncover a sinister think-tank, founded at Cambridge University in the 1980s, that's been scheming to push the British government in a more extreme direction. One that's finally poised to put their plans into action.
But speaking truth to power can be dangerous - and power will stop at nothing to stay on top.
As Britain finds itself under the leadership of a new Prime Minister whose tenure will only last for seven weeks, Chris pursues his story to a conference being held deep in the Cotswolds, where events take a sinister turn and a murder enquiry is soon in progress. But will the solution to the mystery lie in contemporary politics, or in a literary enigma that is almost forty years old?
Darting between decades and genres, THE PROOF OF MY INNOCENCE is a wickedly funny and razor-sharp new novel from one of Britain's most beloved novelists, showing how the key to understanding the present can often be found in the murkiest corners of the past.
---
'Full of energy... a madcap caper, a sideways memoir, a tricky jeu d'esprit that is also a quiet defence of fiction in a post-truth age, and enormous fun to read' Guardian
'Deeply pleasurable, and a lot of fun. You emerge from it glowing' iPaper
'Fantastic, wickedly funny and gripping. Coe has written a beautifully crafted mystery that dovetails as a sharp, smart, state of the nation' Simon McCleave
'I was delighted... it's clever and political - while also being very funny' John Self



![Foden, Giles BARGAIN FICTION HARDBACK New Giles Foden: Thirst [2024]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/foden-giles-giles-foden-thirst-2024-9780297869290-1207800916_{width}x.jpg?v=1763678730)
![Severin, Tim FICTION PAPERBACK Tim Severin: Sea Robber [2009] trade paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/severin-tim-tim-severin-sea-robber-2009-trade-paperback-1207800931_{width}x.jpg?v=1763678721)
![Crimp, Imogen FICTION PAPERBACK Very Good Imogen Crimp: A Very Nice Girl [2023]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/crimp-imogen-imogen-crimp-a-very-nice-girl-2023-xv81526628916-1207776842_{width}x.jpg?v=1763657850)
![Colgan, Jenny FICTION HARDBACK Jenny Colgan: The Christmas Surprise [2014] hardback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/colgan-jenny-jenny-colgan-the-christmas-surprise-2014-hardback-1207800943_{width}x.jpg?v=1763679432)
