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A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell - I should start out by explaining why I decided to read listen to this book. One of the readers in the 52 Book Club shared a photo of a hilarious dedication in a novel, and many of us commented wanting to know the title and author because it was so clever. (Of course, I cannot now remember what the dedication was, or which novel it came from.) Upon learning the title and that it was by Caimh McDonnell, I declared that I wanted to read his work based only on that dedication. A search at Amazon and at my library didn't turn up that title, but did turn up this one, which happens to take place in Dublin, fulfilling one of the 52 prompts, so I borrowed the audiobook version and hoped for the best. Not only have I not been disappointed, I have been thoroughly delighted with this story!
Many questions about Paul Mulchrone arise right from the start of the story, and nurse Brigit Conroy asks a lot of them. What we find out early is that he has that 'familiar' kind of face, and one of the things he does is allow elderly hospital patients who are alone to believe he is the son or nephew or grandson or whatever, in order to provide some companionship to them. It's not entirely altruistic though. Brigit asks Paul to look in on an elderly man without much time left, and it leads to a very odd conversation and the man attempting to murder Paul. It's a case of mistaken identity, but the old man dies during the scuffle and Paul is left to try to explain what happened even though he doesn't know who the man really was or why he wanted to kill whoever he thought Paul was.
Later, someone tries to attack Paul back at his apartment, and he reluctantly teams up with Brigit to try and figure out why. They find themselves in a bizarre race to stay ahead of the would-be killers, trying to figure out how the few pieces they have connect before they can even speculate what the missing pieces might be. An old copper friend of Paul's, an aging detective and his upstart partner, an elderly woman who thinks Paul is her grandson, Paul's lawyer, and several other characters take part in the chase, but Paul and Bridget really don't know who is on their side or who can be trusted.
The result is a narrative that is full of suspense and intrigue, but is also full of sardonic wit and comedy. It's a somehow twisted version of detective noir with dark humor. I laughed out loud plenty of times - sometimes even during tense scenes - because the descriptions, reactions, and dialog was so funny. Narrator Morgan C. Jones is fabulous and his voice characterizations and accents added so much to the atmosphere and my enjoyment of the story. This is the kind of book that is best enjoyed in audio format, in my opinion! And I enjoyed it so much I will plan on listening to the following books in the series.
One important caveat - it is also full of very colorful language and there are some gratuitously violent scenes. If f-bombs and similar profanity or vulgarity of language will offend you, steer clear.
From the publisher:
The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.
The second time was deliberate.
Now Paul Mulchrone finds himself on the run with nobody to turn to except a nurse who has read one-too-many crime novels and a renegade copper with a penchant for violence. Together they must solve one of the most notorious crimes in Irish history . . .
. . . or else they'll be history.
A Man With One of Those Faces is the first book in Caimh McDonnell's Dublin Trilogy, which melds fast-paced action with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit.
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This is a book set in the city for the Summer Reading Challenge.
This is a book set in the city of Dublin (#47) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge
#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023
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