Paul Mulchrone

Created by Caimh McDonnell

Post-Celtic Tiger, the economy has gone to shit, and Dublin is bellying up to the bar for a round of  the usual misery, woe and griping.  Not a good time for private eye PAUL MULCHRONE and his struggling new detective agency, which seems to be hanging on by a thread.

The well-meaning but befuddled Paul’s particular woes come from a Dublin over-populated by loons, goons, drunks, punks and other oddballs, each more eccentric than the last. And then there’s his partners: Bridgid Conroy, former nurse and crime fiction addict, and the perennially disheveled Bunny McGarry, a retired cop, current drunk, Paul’s former hurling coach and the only one of them with enough experience to qualify for a valid Private Investigator’s License.  Then there’s Phil Lewis, his best friend, who’s arguably even more hopeless than Paul.

There’s a cheeky, eyebrow-raising sense of wickedly dark wit at work here, as well as more than a fair share of nasty to keep things pleasingly off-kilter. It’s a balance that, in lesser hands, might easily wobble off the path, but the author, an Irish stand-up comic, keeps it tight and right. Imagine a giddier Elmore Leonard, or perhaps Carl Hiaasen in a bad mood, and then trowel a layer of thick Irish slang (“Arse biscuits”?) on top, and you’re almost there.

The so-called Dublin Trilogy (there’s a fourth “standalone prequel”) seems to be doing swimmingly in Ireland, and has attracted a small but loyal cult following in this country. It should be bigger.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, Caimh McDonnell is an award-winning stand-up comedian (establishing himself as the white-haired Irishman whose name nobody can pronounce), author and TV writer. He currently lives in  Manchester.

UNDER OATH

  • “A riotous read. Flipping easily between humour and terror so that I spent most of the book sat on the edge of my seat while chuckling.”
    — Cleopatra Loves Books on A Man With One of Those Faces
  • “If you like stories by Colin Bateman, Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey and Janet Evanovich then you’ll enjoy A Man With One of Those Faces.”
    — The View from the Blue House
  • “Rip-roaringly funny and yet at the same time totally gripping. McDonnell is a force to be reckoned with.”
    — Bloomin’ Brilliiant Books on The Day That Never Comes
  • The Day That Never Comes is a fast paced caper, with a liquorice all-sorts cast of individuals who will entertain you, as you turn each page”
    — Swirl and Thread
  • “Caimh McDonnell, where have you been all my life? This is a perfect mix of crime and humor . . . I loved every minute of the book.”
    — A Bookaholic Swede

NOVELS

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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