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A review by dreaj
A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell
4.0
Read for 52 Book Club Challenge 2023 #47 Set in the city of Dublin.
I was struggling to find a book set in Dublin that I hadn't read already and was recommended this. Having just waded through a grim dystopian future (The Power) it was a relief to find something both gripping and very funny - I read it in two sittings!! Comparisons with Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently), Terry Pratchett, Christopher Brookmyre, Jodi Taylor, Roddy Doyle are warranted!!
There were some great one-liners:
"In the meantime, he was dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s, waiting for the S and the H to show up." was one of my favourites.
I also enjoyed the characters from hard-boiled detective Bunny McGarry, feisty nurse Brigit to hapless Paul, whose life is summed up as "a staring match with a dead woman and he was unwilling to blink first". There are also great side-characters, such as Dorothy, the board-game playing older lady with a penchant for guns, Bentley's and growing old disgracefully.
An unusual starting premise has Paul visiting hospital patients who think he is a relative because "he has one of those faces". This inevitably leads to mistaken identity and before long he and Brigit are on the run from murderous gangsters and corrupt police (Garda). It's a lot of fun - I think I will be dipping into this series whenever I feel like cheering up!!
I was struggling to find a book set in Dublin that I hadn't read already and was recommended this. Having just waded through a grim dystopian future (The Power) it was a relief to find something both gripping and very funny - I read it in two sittings!! Comparisons with Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently), Terry Pratchett, Christopher Brookmyre, Jodi Taylor, Roddy Doyle are warranted!!
There were some great one-liners:
"In the meantime, he was dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s, waiting for the S and the H to show up." was one of my favourites.
I also enjoyed the characters from hard-boiled detective Bunny McGarry, feisty nurse Brigit to hapless Paul, whose life is summed up as "a staring match with a dead woman and he was unwilling to blink first". There are also great side-characters, such as Dorothy, the board-game playing older lady with a penchant for guns, Bentley's and growing old disgracefully.
An unusual starting premise has Paul visiting hospital patients who think he is a relative because "he has one of those faces". This inevitably leads to mistaken identity and before long he and Brigit are on the run from murderous gangsters and corrupt police (Garda). It's a lot of fun - I think I will be dipping into this series whenever I feel like cheering up!!