Dead Man’s Sins – Caimh McDonnel

Welcome back Bunny.

Well, this is a tale of two thirds, for sure. Bunny McGarry started life as a Dublin copper in A Man With One of Those Faces, which was, to say the least, very raw technically, but a great story for all of that. The tale continued, novels full of technical issues, typos, grammatical faux pas, but great stories. And then Bunny went to The States…

Where the writing became a good deal cleaner, not perfect but better, and the stories lost their edge. It was as if the author had changed his editorial team, or hired one. Suddenly, there were fewer mistakes but the heart had gone out of the writing…

Now Bunny has retuned to Dublin. The faux pas are back: at one point we have a head and shoulders hopping over a wall, a gruesome image even for October, women visiting their gynaecologist when they needed their obstetrician, detectives investigating first degree murder on the wrong side of the Atlantic, and on, ad infinitum. But with the faux pas, so too has the story telling skill returned.

I know some would find the editorial issues grating. I for one have received bad reviews for a single typo. But for me, the story is just too good for it to be dismissed out of hand. The wit is welcome; the imagery captivating; and the story kept me hooked from start to finish. If you are familiar with Bunny or just enjoy a good caper, then you could do worse than read Dead Man’s Sins.

Recommendation

I gave Dead Man’s Sins four stars. Had the author managed to include an edit without losing his edge, it would have been five. Highly recommended.

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