Karen's easy life as a receptionist and armed robber is about to take a turn for the worse. Rossi, her ex, is getting out of prison any day now. He...
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Jan 29, 2012
Criticalmick
rated it: 
Meet Ray.
Ray lit a cigarette and cracked the window, humming along with the stereo. Wondering how it was that Bruce always got himself hooked up on these women named Mary. 'Thunder Road,' 'The River,' 'Mary's Place'… Christ, the man was obsessed.
Ray, if he was Springsteen, he'd have shot through for Mexico long ago, nabbed himself a Juanita, some shit like that. Ray had only ever met one Karen before, this Kiwi blonde in Hamburg with an oral fixation. Ray getting b
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Apr 01, 2011
Tony
rated it:
Declan Burke has been on quite a trip with his hugely-acclaimed second novel, The Big O.
After starting life on the lists of tiny Irish publisher Hag's Head Press the Sligo-born author's follow-up to Eight-Ball Bogie has recently been given an American release.
No mean feat for a book that Burke gave up his hard-earned mortgage deposit to see published, and for which he had such modest hopes as to ''recoup the costs''.
It's a trip, though, that pales by comparison to T More...
After starting life on the lists of tiny Irish publisher Hag's Head Press the Sligo-born author's follow-up to Eight-Ball Bogie has recently been given an American release.
No mean feat for a book that Burke gave up his hard-earned mortgage deposit to see published, and for which he had such modest hopes as to ''recoup the costs''.
It's a trip, though, that pales by comparison to T More...
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Nov 28, 2010
Tony
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Burke, Declan. THE BIG O. (2007). ****. Burke is an Irish writer (b. 1969) who is one of the up and coming factors in Irish crime fiction. This novel – though not his first – is the first of his that I’ve read. I will certainly look for more of his stuff. After you are into this book for just a few pages, you would swear that you are reading a caper novel by Elmore Leonard. The prose is lean and the dialogue is snappy. You are slowly introduced to all the major players. There’s Karen.
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Nov 16, 2009
Tim
rated it:
I first learned about Burke through a link to his excellent blog, Crime Always Pays. His novel is set in contemporary Ireland, where a motley band of characters are connected to each other in more ways than one as they all pine for the big score. Karen is a receptionist by day and a stick up artist at night, living in fear of her ne'er do well former beau's release from prison. Frank is deep in debt, and the only way he can think to climb out of it is to climb out of it is to arrange for the kid
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Mar 09, 2011
Johnny
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While coincidences and happenstance are usually the sign of lazy writing in crime fiction, Declan Burke takes those coincidences and makes a unique hard-boiled farce. This book is like an Ealing comedy by way of Dashiell Hammett.
I won't go into any detail about the characters or the plot, the revelations in the reading are just too much fun. The story twists and turns and the character relationships manage to retain depth even when everything around them gets crazy.
That More...
I won't go into any detail about the characters or the plot, the revelations in the reading are just too much fun. The story twists and turns and the character relationships manage to retain depth even when everything around them gets crazy.
That More...
May 30, 2010
Maddy
rated it: 
RATING: 3.25
Oftentimes a book that is attempting to be a "caper" has a bit of a complicated set-up; that is certainly the case for THE BIG O. Let's start with one of the lead characters, Karen King. Karen is a receptionist for a disgraced plastic surgeon named Frank. Being somewhat short of viable financial options, Frank decides to hire someone to kidnap his wife, Madge, in order to cash in on a sizeable insurance policy. Madge is also Karen's best friend.
I More...
Oftentimes a book that is attempting to be a "caper" has a bit of a complicated set-up; that is certainly the case for THE BIG O. Let's start with one of the lead characters, Karen King. Karen is a receptionist for a disgraced plastic surgeon named Frank. Being somewhat short of viable financial options, Frank decides to hire someone to kidnap his wife, Madge, in order to cash in on a sizeable insurance policy. Madge is also Karen's best friend.
I More...
Oct 21, 2008
Eric
rated it:
I've been reading a lot of tough guy novels lately. I'm not sure why. I'm not exactly the toughest guy on the block. Most of these books feature a lone wolf, a big gun, and a hot car. They rarely include any funny business.
THE BIG O, thank goodness, adds a big dose of humor to the template. But be forewarned, the humor here is specific to its intended crime-reading audence. For example: "Frank was startled to realize he'd been daydreaming about Margaret. Seeing her gagged, cuffe More...
THE BIG O, thank goodness, adds a big dose of humor to the template. But be forewarned, the humor here is specific to its intended crime-reading audence. For example: "Frank was startled to realize he'd been daydreaming about Margaret. Seeing her gagged, cuffe More...
Oct 13, 2008
Jen
rated it:
When Karen the armed robber runs into Ray the kidnapper in the midst of a hold-up, sparks start to fly. However, Karen comes with some rather serious baggage - an ex about to be released from prison and Anna.
Ray is not without his problems. It just so happens that he's been hired to kidnap Karen's best friend, Madge. It also isn't such a good thing when police detective Stephanie Doyle takes a shine to Ray and starts giving him more attention than he'd like. Stephanie Doyle is inves More...
Ray is not without his problems. It just so happens that he's been hired to kidnap Karen's best friend, Madge. It also isn't such a good thing when police detective Stephanie Doyle takes a shine to Ray and starts giving him more attention than he'd like. Stephanie Doyle is inves More...
Feb 23, 2011
Seana
rated it:
All you have to do is read the opening sequence in this book to know whether you'll like it or not, and if you're not blown away by it, you probably shouldn't be reading my reviews anyway. The easiest comparison is to Elmore Leonard, though with an Irish twist, but seriously, it's that good.
Burke drew the short straw when in a fit of downsizing, Houghton Mifflin not only cancelled the paperback, but cancelled the sequel. Shortsighted of you, HM, or I guess that's now HMH, because now More...
Burke drew the short straw when in a fit of downsizing, Houghton Mifflin not only cancelled the paperback, but cancelled the sequel. Shortsighted of you, HM, or I guess that's now HMH, because now More...
Feb 23, 2011
Paul
rated it:
The Big O and its follow up Crime Always Pays actually are that oxymoron
‘screwball noir'. These novels are like two cracking, fast paced, clever and very droll road movies with a top drawer cast that includes a narcoleptic called Sleeps and a wolf. Twists and turns, spicy dialogue and scenes which really make you ‘LOL’, as the young people say.
‘screwball noir'. These novels are like two cracking, fast paced, clever and very droll road movies with a top drawer cast that includes a narcoleptic called Sleeps and a wolf. Twists and turns, spicy dialogue and scenes which really make you ‘LOL’, as the young people say.
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Jun 17, 2008
Brent
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A hard-boiled crime (not detective) "caper" with taut dialog, post-modern syntax, and a break-neck pace, elements to make Chandler and Hammett proud. Highly recommended for fans of the crime genre.
Cool narrative technique used by Burke - tiny sections headed with a character's name as we switch to their POV ... Otherwise, the book is divided into chapters that correspond to days, a nice "countdown" to the crime/solution technique that I just used (*wink, wink) in More...
Cool narrative technique used by Burke - tiny sections headed with a character's name as we switch to their POV ... Otherwise, the book is divided into chapters that correspond to days, a nice "countdown" to the crime/solution technique that I just used (*wink, wink) in More...
Feb 24, 2011
Doug
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I wrote a bit about this droll book in November 2008 here (including a tangent on locale): http://douglevin.blogspot.com/2008/11/of...
Oct 11, 2008
Deborah
rated it:
Terrific! The concept of Irish crime writing in screwball comedy style was new to me, I have to confess, but I loved it. Try it once and you might well be hooked too. This is fast-paced and funny, like a rollercoaster combination of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard, with oddly lovable characters and some great lines in Irish blarney. The short - tiny - chapters, deadpan wit and multiple viewpoints put me in mind of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, and this has equal bucketloads of charm.
Dec 04, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
One of my favorite things about noir is the way that storylines twist around each other and cross in unexpected ways, and Burke accomplishes that with aplomb here. A good choice for Bruen fans who'd like a little more comedy and a little less black.
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