For Detective Bunny McGarry, life is complicated, and it is about to get more so.
It’s 1999 and his hard won reputation amongst Dublin’s criminal fraternity, for being a massive pain the backside, is unfortunately shared by his bosses. His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny's finally been given a crack at the big time. He’s set the task of bringing down the most skilled and ruthless armed robbery gang in Irish history. So the last thing he needs in his life is yet another complication.
Her name is Simone. She is smart, funny, talented and, well, complicated. When her shocking past turns up to threaten her and Bunny’s chance at a future, things get very complicated indeed. If the choice is upholding the law or protecting those he loves, which way will the big fella turn?
Fortunate Son, Caimh McDonnell
I've been hoovering these books up as soon as they are released in audio format because I do love the narrator Morgan C Jones (I've mentioned that before...) but the problem that created was I got behind with reviews and then couldn't work out whether I should do that in publication order or chronological order, and then caught up and then let things lag again, and anyway, FORTUNATE SON, aka book 8 in publication order, chronological order 5 of the misnamed (we've been down this path already) Dublin (not a) Trilogy, has Bunny McGarry preparing for a nice holiday. Somewhere hot with cold drinks with little umbrellas. Which of course is something that a certain nun is having none of (bad pun intended).
Instead of his nice holiday, Bunny finds himself dispatched to not at all warm London on the hunt for a runaway teenager who doesn't know his mother hasn't got long to live. The search for Sean Malone begins with sod all to go on - a deadbeat dad that Sean was supposedly looking for, and a picture with the current heavyweight champion of the world - sends Bunny down some really dark rabbit holes (sorry - the bad puns are catching), in a city he doesn't know, doesn't like, and bloody well doesn't want to be in.
As is always the case with these books Bunny McGarry is part super human, part lunatic, and the search for Sean is something he's committed to, if only because of that certain nun's insistence and the link that she has to his now in hiding lady love. And if none of that makes any sense then you really need to read this series because frankly I'm not sure I could explain it, even if I could begin to explain the convoluted connections between the Dublin (not a) Trilogy, MCM Investigations and McGarry Stateside.
To cut to the chase, which is probably what I need to do with all reviews of this series now:
Manic
Hilarious
Really silly
Seriously good fun
Seriously engaging characters
Delightfully convoluted plots and interconnections
More Please
The Dublin Trilogy (books 3 - 7), Caimh McDonnell
The Dublin Trilogy by Caimh McDonnell is now made up of 9 entries, two of which are novellas. Bear with me:
In Order of Publication:
A Man with One of Those Faces
The Day That Never Comes
Angels in the Moonlight
Last Orders
Bloody Christmas (novella)
Dead Man's Sins
Firewater Blues
The Family Jewels
Escape from Victory (novella)
In chronological order according to the events in the books:
Angels in the Moonlight
Dead Man's Sins
Firewater Blues
The Family Jewels
A Man With One of Those Faces
Bloody Christmas (novella)
The Day that Never Comes
Last Orders
Escape From Victory
So, given how bloody confusing all that got, I ended up listening to them in publication order (except for the two novellas which aren't available on Audible) and spent the few opening chapters of each story working out where the hell I was in terms of the past, present and probably future events.
Which given the nature of this series felt right, proper and fair play. Some people, after all, have an appreciation for the fundamentals of the game (in joke / you'll need to read / listen to this series yourself to get it).
And listen to it is something I'd highly recommend. Particularly with the narrator that was used on all the ones I listened to - Morgan C. Jones - who had an array of voices / accents and mannerisms that instantly identified all the myriad of lunatic characters in these books, whilst adding to the fun in a big way (although there was a character buried in there somewhere that I would have sworn was Dylan Moran talking).
Anyway, the stories are based around Bunny McGarry / sometime active / sometime on sabbatical / sometime freelancing member of the Garda Síochána (Irish Police) who is part cop, part vigilante, part mentor to young folk, mostly menace to all and sundry who don't do the right thing. He's a sort of one man mission designed to bully, threaten, terrify or talk somebody intent on wrong to the right side of the tracks. And talk he most definitely can. He can also see what's happening, react and frankly, is a bit on the superhuman side of the equation - if you're of a mind to pay attention and aren't laughing too loudly.
As I listened to this entire series, the Irish accents were both a soothing influence and a worry. I did wonder if I'd end up muttering "fair play to you" just a bit too often and can confidently report that it's not taken too strong a hold, although I'm not making any promises on "some people have no appreciation for the fundamentals of....". I'm also looking at nuns in a whole new way.