Starred review from June 6, 2011
Irish author Colfer, best known for his middle-grade Artemis Fowl series, makes his much anticipated crime novel debut with this pitch-perfect comic noir. Daniel McEvoy, an Irish army veteran turned doorman at a sleazy New Jersey casino, lives alone in an apartment (underneath a psychotic woman with a penchant for foul-mouthed tirades) and consumes copious amounts of Jameson. Obsessed with his thinning hair, he secretly undergoes hair transplant treatments. Then Connie, a cocktail hostess with whom McEvoy once had a romantic fling, is shot dead in the casino parking lot, and he suddenly finds himself on the run from the cops, a local mob boss, and a smitten psychopath with a thing for casseroles. In a typical display of mordant wit, Colfer describes a thug with a burst kidney as "writhing on the ground like an ageing break-dancer." Outrageous characters (McEvoy's boss is "a cross between Al Pacino, P. Diddy and Elmer Fudd"), uproariously funny plot twists, and brutal, nonstop action make this a sure-fire winner. 10-city author tour.
Starred review from October 31, 2011
The mixture of Colfer’s amusing prose and narrator John Keating’s comedic timing makes this audio production a thoroughly entertaining listening experience. Bouncer Daniel McEvoy just wants to work at a shady casino, detach from his past, and tend to his newly attached hair plugs. However, a missing surgeon and a murdered dancer means McEvoy must rely on his military experience and charm to set things right. Unfortunately for McEvoy, this leads to increasingly ridiculous situations and an ever-accumulating pile of bodies and felonies. Keating’s narration is masterful. He lends McEvoy a personable tone and an authentic Irish accent. His rendition of the character is so good that listeners will feel as if McEvoy is sitting at a local bar and telling them his tale. Additionally, Keating provides the rest of the cast with a fine range of voices that, although cartoonish, represent Colfer’s extreme and goofy characters. An Overlook hardcover.