In the middle of a modern jazz session, Tony (the interruptor of the title) stands up and proclaims, ‘Is this honest? Are we all being honest here?’

That’s something a lot of readers will have wondered while sitting through events where you honestly wonder whether anyone is enjoying what is going on, or are they pretending to enjoy it in a slightly pseudo-way, or are they just too timid to walk out? Modern jazz is quite an easy target!

Anyway, the book is about the repercussions of this event, locally in the lives of those who view it or play the instruments, and globally in social media. It is fair to say that a lot of things fall apart as a consequence.

The comedy lies in the way in which this is described so it turns out that even the supporting musicians think that the interruptor has a point! Their trumpet playing leader, Sasha Keyes, does not take kindly to this at first!

Lambert Shore and his daughter India, both members of the audience, are caught up in the debate as is his wife Mallory. They are a buttoned up, slightly arty middle-class family but … are they being honest?

The book is written in an easy comic style with plenty of witty asides. You could easily imagine it being adapted by Radio Four and it may have a serious point about the easy acceptance of the status quo, about literary, artistic and musical snobbery, and possibly even about how we sustain lived reality. It’s not a belly laugh but it is amusing in the way that it exposes the characters and their foibles, revealing the reality beneath.

You’re likely to find yourself in quite a few TonyInterruptor situations after reading this book and that is a recommendation in itself but would you stand up and say so? That’s another issue altogether!