Take a photo of a barcode or cover
choosehappy's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love The Stranger Times series by the same author, but didn’t like this book as much. Without that expectation I might have given this 5 stars
Content Warnings
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
scully362's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kahn_johnson's review
5.0
As anyone who has even attempted it will tell you, writing a book is a real skill. Granted that may sound like stating the obvious, but as someone who has still not managed to get past stitching together 1,000 words on anything I can really appreciate what it takes to put together enough sentences to make an entire novel.
Now imagine effectively trying to write two books - only not in words, but in tone, in style, in genre.
This is the trick Caimh McDonnell has pulled off with more aplomb than a man has a right to when producing his debut work.
A stand-up by trade, Caimh (it's pronounced exactly as it sounds) has created something of a health and safety risk as A Man With One Of Those Faces will have you on the edge of your seat until you fall off it laughing.
The story is a simple one.
Paul spends his time helping other people by pretending to be someone he's not, only for him to be mistaken for someone he didn't even know he was being.
This leads to a police investigation, being hunted by people who thinks he knows stuff that he doesn't, going on the run with a nurse he barely knows and trying to solve the whole mystery before he's killed for being someone he wasn't and knowing things he didn't know before he started having to find out.
Got that?
Good.
In turn hilarious and gripping, Caimh takes you on a rollercoaster ride that is pure entertainment.
I laughed out loud as much as I ever have at peak-time Pratchett - to the point I was banned from reading in bed after my girlfriend had fallen asleep as I kept waking her up - and I was gripped as I've been by any Jack Reacher outing.
We're talking late for things/resenting interruptions levels of being grabbed.
Did I mention it's the talented bastard's debut novel?
It is said everyone has a book inside them. Caimh, I suspect, has several and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Now imagine effectively trying to write two books - only not in words, but in tone, in style, in genre.
This is the trick Caimh McDonnell has pulled off with more aplomb than a man has a right to when producing his debut work.
A stand-up by trade, Caimh (it's pronounced exactly as it sounds) has created something of a health and safety risk as A Man With One Of Those Faces will have you on the edge of your seat until you fall off it laughing.
The story is a simple one.
Paul spends his time helping other people by pretending to be someone he's not, only for him to be mistaken for someone he didn't even know he was being.
This leads to a police investigation, being hunted by people who thinks he knows stuff that he doesn't, going on the run with a nurse he barely knows and trying to solve the whole mystery before he's killed for being someone he wasn't and knowing things he didn't know before he started having to find out.
Got that?
Good.
In turn hilarious and gripping, Caimh takes you on a rollercoaster ride that is pure entertainment.
I laughed out loud as much as I ever have at peak-time Pratchett - to the point I was banned from reading in bed after my girlfriend had fallen asleep as I kept waking her up - and I was gripped as I've been by any Jack Reacher outing.
We're talking late for things/resenting interruptions levels of being grabbed.
Did I mention it's the talented bastard's debut novel?
It is said everyone has a book inside them. Caimh, I suspect, has several and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
gene_poole's review against another edition
4.0
Like watching a movie on a warm afternoon. A movie with a large amount of violence. And plenty of jokes.
stelaw's review against another edition
4.0
Just a bit too grim & gruesome at times for me though very entertaining in parts. Bunny McGarry has a mouth and pair of fists on him reminiscent of an Irish Arnie !
sofiavee's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
rowingrabbit's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Oh ye Gods, where to start…….genre? Um, suspense/police procedural/hilarious barely controlled Irish mayhem. Box ticked.
Meet Paul Mulchrone. He’s a 28 year old Dubliner dedicated to being a permanent thorn in the side of his dead great aunt’s lawyer (the aunt is dead, the lawyer is just irritated). After ignoring him all her life, she left a provision in her will for him to receive 500 GBP a month until he found a job. Oh, and he has to do 6 hours/week charity work & stay out of trouble. It was all going so well.
Paul has one of those faces. Everyone thinks they know him from somewhere. So he spends 6 hours each week visiting an old folks home where residents mistake him for their long lost brother, neighbour or grandchild. RN Brigit Conroy signs off his hours which he gleefully presents to Auntie Fidelma’s lawyer in exchange for another month’s keep.
He has his regulars but one night Brigit asks him to visit Martin Brown, a cantankerous old man who is dying. Hopefully he’ll mistake Paul for a family member & anyhoo, what could go wrong?
Well….a lot actually. By the time the dust settles Paul is in the local A&E, a hitman has been hired to kill him and the Gardai have a few questions about the body he left behind.
What follows is a mad tale of mistaken identity, gangsters, bent cops, murder & a decades old kidnapping. There’s even a kitchen sink. It’s an entertaining combination of hair raising encounters & hilarious observations sure to appeal to fans of the Coen brothers. Think “Fargo” but with Irish accents.
Chapters alternate between several characters’ POV so we’re kept up on side stories that tie in to the overall plot. The dialogue is sharp & full of vernacular that is frequently laugh out loud funny if not downright inappropriate in some scenes. Only a people who spent years enduring the Troubles could face impending death with a shrug. The peripheral cast is large & there’s not a dud in the bunch. Standouts include the deadpan DI Jimmy Stewart, uber pregnant lawyer Nora Stokes & the unintentionally funny Dr. Sinha.
It’s a fast paced story that keeps you giggling on the edge of your seat while you cheer on Paul & Brigit in their quest to keep breathing. Recommended for fans of Carl Hiaasen, Stuart MacBride, Jay Stringer & Tim Dorsey.
Oh ye Gods, where to start…….genre? Um, suspense/police procedural/hilarious barely controlled Irish mayhem. Box ticked.
Meet Paul Mulchrone. He’s a 28 year old Dubliner dedicated to being a permanent thorn in the side of his dead great aunt’s lawyer (the aunt is dead, the lawyer is just irritated). After ignoring him all her life, she left a provision in her will for him to receive 500 GBP a month until he found a job. Oh, and he has to do 6 hours/week charity work & stay out of trouble. It was all going so well.
Paul has one of those faces. Everyone thinks they know him from somewhere. So he spends 6 hours each week visiting an old folks home where residents mistake him for their long lost brother, neighbour or grandchild. RN Brigit Conroy signs off his hours which he gleefully presents to Auntie Fidelma’s lawyer in exchange for another month’s keep.
He has his regulars but one night Brigit asks him to visit Martin Brown, a cantankerous old man who is dying. Hopefully he’ll mistake Paul for a family member & anyhoo, what could go wrong?
Well….a lot actually. By the time the dust settles Paul is in the local A&E, a hitman has been hired to kill him and the Gardai have a few questions about the body he left behind.
What follows is a mad tale of mistaken identity, gangsters, bent cops, murder & a decades old kidnapping. There’s even a kitchen sink. It’s an entertaining combination of hair raising encounters & hilarious observations sure to appeal to fans of the Coen brothers. Think “Fargo” but with Irish accents.
Chapters alternate between several characters’ POV so we’re kept up on side stories that tie in to the overall plot. The dialogue is sharp & full of vernacular that is frequently laugh out loud funny if not downright inappropriate in some scenes. Only a people who spent years enduring the Troubles could face impending death with a shrug. The peripheral cast is large & there’s not a dud in the bunch. Standouts include the deadpan DI Jimmy Stewart, uber pregnant lawyer Nora Stokes & the unintentionally funny Dr. Sinha.
It’s a fast paced story that keeps you giggling on the edge of your seat while you cheer on Paul & Brigit in their quest to keep breathing. Recommended for fans of Carl Hiaasen, Stuart MacBride, Jay Stringer & Tim Dorsey.