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A review by johnmarlowe
Black Irish by Stephan Talty
3.0
You know how there are books which you like within the first few pages? There are others where it takes 50-100 pages to get into the book and enjoy it. Stephen Talty’s is an “I like this right away” book. Firstly, his writing is appealing to me; it’s easy and interesting and fresh feeling. Secondly, this book is based in the Buffalo, NY area where my wife is from, so I recognized a few of the things he references. I knew he was authentic as soon as he referred to I-90 as “the 90”. I love that slight weirdness about Buffalo people. I’ve been on “the 90” many times. My wife knew all of his Buffalo references that I didn’t know. The author was also right on with the Western New York obsession with Tim Horton’s and I loved that he mentioned my favorite pastry there, the French Cruller.
This was a very enjoyable first book, although I thought some of the plot at the end was slightly unbelievable. Stephen Talty reminds me of Harlan Coben somewhat, which is a good thing. This book is a 3 ½ for me.
This was a very enjoyable first book, although I thought some of the plot at the end was slightly unbelievable. Stephen Talty reminds me of Harlan Coben somewhat, which is a good thing. This book is a 3 ½ for me.