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Jonathon Fairfax #2
Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed
"It’s funny, it’s daft-yet-relatable, it’s still a nerve-jangly thriller and it moves at a cracking pace. In fact, if you’re stuck in a bit of a reading rut, it’s just the palate cleanser you need.”
Emerald Street
Longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2017
Jonathon Fairfax, the world’s most socially awkward hero, works for a giant corporation where he specialises in muttering ‘um’ and tripping over bins. When he accidentally discovers a colossal corporate conspiracy, it soon becomes clear that someone will do anything to keep it secret – including murder.
Read the book on its own or as a follow-up to The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax – an Amazon UK #1 bestseller that was shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2014. Stylist called it ‘a comic gem’ and The Guardian said, ‘you can’t help being tickled’ .
"This one is even better than the one before. Buy!”
John Lenahan (bestselling author, magician and voice of the toaster in Red Dwarf )
“A cross between PG Wodehouse and Tom Sharpe.”
"Christopher Shevlin writes the funniest dialogue you'll ever read so you may need to find a private space with this book unless you don't mind laughing out loud in public places.”
“Laugh out loud funny and thought provoking at the same time."
"This is the funniest book I have read in years.”
"Shevlin is a modern English Kurt Vonnegut.”
Emerald Street
Longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2017
Jonathon Fairfax, the world’s most socially awkward hero, works for a giant corporation where he specialises in muttering ‘um’ and tripping over bins. When he accidentally discovers a colossal corporate conspiracy, it soon becomes clear that someone will do anything to keep it secret – including murder.
Read the book on its own or as a follow-up to The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax – an Amazon UK #1 bestseller that was shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2014. Stylist called it ‘a comic gem’ and The Guardian said, ‘you can’t help being tickled’ .
"This one is even better than the one before. Buy!”
John Lenahan (bestselling author, magician and voice of the toaster in Red Dwarf )
“A cross between PG Wodehouse and Tom Sharpe.”
"Christopher Shevlin writes the funniest dialogue you'll ever read so you may need to find a private space with this book unless you don't mind laughing out loud in public places.”
“Laugh out loud funny and thought provoking at the same time."
"This is the funniest book I have read in years.”
"Shevlin is a modern English Kurt Vonnegut.”
364 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2017
446 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Shevlin
8 books126 followersChristopher Shevlin is, essentially, an older, bearded and slightly shorter version of Jonathon Fairfax. He grew up in Yorkshire and spent his whole adult life in London, before going to Berlin to write his second novel, Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed. The book is set in London.
When life is hard, he has always turned to books for comfort. His favourites include his battered old Jeeves Omnibus, Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently books, 1066 And All That, the Molesworth books, and Augustus Carp By Himself. His ambition is to write books that are even a tenth as comfortingly odd.
To find out more about Christopher Shevlin, his books, and the disturbingly assertive squirrels of Helsinki, please visit www.christophershevlin.com
(Author photo by Matthias Gottwald: der-gottwald.de)
When life is hard, he has always turned to books for comfort. His favourites include his battered old Jeeves Omnibus, Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently books, 1066 And All That, the Molesworth books, and Augustus Carp By Himself. His ambition is to write books that are even a tenth as comfortingly odd.
To find out more about Christopher Shevlin, his books, and the disturbingly assertive squirrels of Helsinki, please visit www.christophershevlin.com
(Author photo by Matthias Gottwald: der-gottwald.de)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
August 19, 2024
As good as the first. Maybe better.
Here’s a quote to go some way towards demonstrating that and explaining what it’s all about..
“After all, she was by some way the greatest and most beautiful being in the history of the universe, and he was an amateur beggar who lived with a mouse.”
See? Told you.
Here’s a quote to go some way towards demonstrating that and explaining what it’s all about..
“After all, she was by some way the greatest and most beautiful being in the history of the universe, and he was an amateur beggar who lived with a mouse.”
See? Told you.
January 14, 2018
I think this is better than 'Perpetual Astonishment', the author's "hit his stride" with just the right mix of madness and humour, supremely enjoyable and uplifting. I really didn't want it to finish. A great book especially on dark winter evenings. I am sure comic writing is difficult and to maintain it consistently over two books is brilliant. I hope Christopher Shevlin can do it a third time in the future.
December 25, 2017
Don't you just love Jonathon? You simply HAVE to
August 9, 2024
This book is far more enjoyable and riveting than its precursor; a solid 4 star read.
February 11, 2019
Jonathon Fairfax must be read!
Hilarity ensued! I don't know how to begin describing how much I enjoyed reading this book. I was in tears and gasping( yes, gasping is real!) for breath because it was the only way I could keep from rolling on the floor! You can read the publisher's blurb to understand the premise and plot. But only by reading the book will will you get to roar with laughter as Jonathon winds his way through the labyrinth of working at a company which is not a company, producing a product that only exists as an illusion, loving a woman he only bumped into on a train, while living with a woman he only accidentally rescued. The funniest moments for me were the attempts at murder, and actual murders made by his power hungry boss. They left me in tears again and again. This is a great read. Extremely well written and plotted. There are even semi-spying, dare-devil escapes, and sawing off an ear attempts ... using a ruler! READ THIS!
Hilarity ensued! I don't know how to begin describing how much I enjoyed reading this book. I was in tears and gasping( yes, gasping is real!) for breath because it was the only way I could keep from rolling on the floor! You can read the publisher's blurb to understand the premise and plot. But only by reading the book will will you get to roar with laughter as Jonathon winds his way through the labyrinth of working at a company which is not a company, producing a product that only exists as an illusion, loving a woman he only bumped into on a train, while living with a woman he only accidentally rescued. The funniest moments for me were the attempts at murder, and actual murders made by his power hungry boss. They left me in tears again and again. This is a great read. Extremely well written and plotted. There are even semi-spying, dare-devil escapes, and sawing off an ear attempts ... using a ruler! READ THIS!
June 1, 2019
I love Johnathon Fairfax and the wild and wacky situations he gets himself into. The supporting cast is just as quirky and unlikely as you'd expect. The way it sends up the corporate gibberish of certain executive types is great. If you want a laugh out loud read with a satisfying conclusion this is for you. I hope Christopher Shevlin carries on with this series.
October 13, 2020
I picked this up after a month-long hiatus from reading as I felt it would be the perfect thing to get me started again and I wasn't disappointed. It's everything you could want from a comedic corporate-espionage thriller.
Equal parts ear-to-ear-grinningly funny and nail-biting-ly exciting, it delivers just as much as the first Jonathon Fairfax book but with an added layer of polish.
Equal parts ear-to-ear-grinningly funny and nail-biting-ly exciting, it delivers just as much as the first Jonathon Fairfax book but with an added layer of polish.
June 30, 2018
Very entertaining.
A perfect holiday read/romp.
Fun and frivolous, light hearted and witty. I recommend to anyone who enjoys a fast paced page turner. Read the first book first tho so it all makes sense.
A perfect holiday read/romp.
Fun and frivolous, light hearted and witty. I recommend to anyone who enjoys a fast paced page turner. Read the first book first tho so it all makes sense.
June 4, 2019
Good story, funny and smart. Daft, but in a very enjoyable way. It doesn't require any further dissection.
September 26, 2019
I think this book was even funnier than The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax! I wish the language was cleaner, though. I would have enjoyed it even more.
May 24, 2024
Finding a perfect book is THE WORST. Because I have to write a review that contains sentences. A running joke between reviewers is ‘buk gud, buy buk’ – well, I have much more (two letters) to say than that, at least. Buk great. Buy buk.
Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed is basically Douglas Adams writing a thriller. You know thrillers. You, hopefully, know Douglas Adams. Your first choice, or even your hundredth, of the most natural author of thrillers is probably not going to be Douglas Adams. If it is, you weirdo, you might actually suspect that the protagonist is going to be the clumsiest man who’s ever lived, also you might have read the first Jonathon Fairfax book (this is the second in the series). Now also make it a 90s action movie (in form of a book) including 90s Zip disks, a 90s office, someone who has so many muscles that his muscles have muscles (see: 90s action movies) (in form of books), and British bureaucracy.
Haven’t we all (if we’re British, which is luckily one of the few curses I have avoided) found ourselves in relationships with people we barely know just because both of us were too polite to point it out? Well, probably not all of us (unless we’re British). Haven’t we all taken a high-risk mortgage the chances of ever paying out depend on high-risk insecurities follow this with many banking and trading words you don’t understand but your financial advisor is really nice? Oh? Just me and everyone else who remembers the financial crisis? The last one and the one before, and the one before that? Or bitcoins? Well, if you STILL can’t relate, you’re probably that guy who can’t stop himself from killing people, and then his son acts like this is some sort of a PROBLEM, and does not support you at all even though you told him you found Patrick Swayze rather handsome, so he’d know you’re OKAY with his gayness. No wonder you keep murdering people if your own son won’t even say that’s fine.
Or, worse, you are Livia, who is basically Anna Wintour, sorry, Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada, but with databases rather than ~*feshun*~, because this is a British book through and through. So is the humour. By now, my husband is used to me producing very odd sounds while reading (those sounds are me laughing before I prepared to laugh by, say, opening my mouth). It was the frequency that made him alarmed.
Like the first book, Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed is not only funny. It’s grim. Because it’s top class satire.Six years before Elon Six years before Trumpf Social In 2017, Shevlin has predicted that companies would keep firing their staff, selling their buildings, buying other companies and firing their staff, and the only thing that would matter would be the share prices. Which nobody understands, including the people who came up with the idea in the first place. They’re invisible (the shares, not the people, although that, too), their value is ?????, their purpose is ????? (actually it’s “making those people rich”), and the companies’ value as measured in shares has nothing to do with, uh, anything. But you can manipulate those prices, using easily explained methods such as *ahem* the illiquid risk-return profile of the stock and in particular whether it has a two-notch positive spread in terms of contrapuntal exogenous capital outflows within tightly delineated floor value constraints going forward.
(Bitcons: you ain’t seen’ nothin’ yet.)
ANYWAY, because I haven’t digressed, the point is that the shareholders must be happier, and happier, and if the prices go down, the shareholders will be unhappy, and then sell the shares, which will not be manipulation but sudden realisation that they can use the money earned from ????? using ????? for philanthropy and happiness of the entire humanki– LOLOLOL I told you it was funny.
Frankly, the only good review for this book is reading it – as you can see from the bumbling above, I don’t even know where to start. AND Shevlin ruined everything. I had a really good legit criticism saved for this review: the disappearance of a female character who is aware of being a token female character and points it out. Perhaps, I thought, that was the joke – the token character declaring herself to be a token character, never to be seen again. Still, I could have complained about her disappearance in case it wasn’t a joke.
Then I immediately started on book three.
*facepalm*
10/10 rounded to 5/5 for Goodreads. Apparently, book four is out very soon. I generally don’t re-read books three weeks after I’ve last read them, but I care about the muscular muscles’ father/son issues that drive the father to murdering people he knows (I mean, murdering people he doesn’t know would be WEIRD) and shareholders being pushed off stairs (does that happen? who knows?). Also, I have very short memo– what was I saying? Ah. Buk great. Buy buk.
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader*
Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed is basically Douglas Adams writing a thriller. You know thrillers. You, hopefully, know Douglas Adams. Your first choice, or even your hundredth, of the most natural author of thrillers is probably not going to be Douglas Adams. If it is, you weirdo, you might actually suspect that the protagonist is going to be the clumsiest man who’s ever lived, also you might have read the first Jonathon Fairfax book (this is the second in the series). Now also make it a 90s action movie (in form of a book) including 90s Zip disks, a 90s office, someone who has so many muscles that his muscles have muscles (see: 90s action movies) (in form of books), and British bureaucracy.
Haven’t we all (if we’re British, which is luckily one of the few curses I have avoided) found ourselves in relationships with people we barely know just because both of us were too polite to point it out? Well, probably not all of us (unless we’re British). Haven’t we all taken a high-risk mortgage the chances of ever paying out depend on high-risk insecurities follow this with many banking and trading words you don’t understand but your financial advisor is really nice? Oh? Just me and everyone else who remembers the financial crisis? The last one and the one before, and the one before that? Or bitcoins? Well, if you STILL can’t relate, you’re probably that guy who can’t stop himself from killing people, and then his son acts like this is some sort of a PROBLEM, and does not support you at all even though you told him you found Patrick Swayze rather handsome, so he’d know you’re OKAY with his gayness. No wonder you keep murdering people if your own son won’t even say that’s fine.
Or, worse, you are Livia, who is basically Anna Wintour, sorry, Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada, but with databases rather than ~*feshun*~, because this is a British book through and through. So is the humour. By now, my husband is used to me producing very odd sounds while reading (those sounds are me laughing before I prepared to laugh by, say, opening my mouth). It was the frequency that made him alarmed.
Like the first book, Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed is not only funny. It’s grim. Because it’s top class satire.
(Bitcons: you ain’t seen’ nothin’ yet.)
ANYWAY, because I haven’t digressed, the point is that the shareholders must be happier, and happier, and if the prices go down, the shareholders will be unhappy, and then sell the shares, which will not be manipulation but sudden realisation that they can use the money earned from ????? using ????? for philanthropy and happiness of the entire humanki– LOLOLOL I told you it was funny.
Frankly, the only good review for this book is reading it – as you can see from the bumbling above, I don’t even know where to start. AND Shevlin ruined everything. I had a really good legit criticism saved for this review: the disappearance of a female character who is aware of being a token female character and points it out. Perhaps, I thought, that was the joke – the token character declaring herself to be a token character, never to be seen again. Still, I could have complained about her disappearance in case it wasn’t a joke.
Then I immediately started on book three.
*facepalm*
10/10 rounded to 5/5 for Goodreads. Apparently, book four is out very soon. I generally don’t re-read books three weeks after I’ve last read them, but I care about the muscular muscles’ father/son issues that drive the father to murdering people he knows (I mean, murdering people he doesn’t know would be WEIRD) and shareholders being pushed off stairs (does that happen? who knows?). Also, I have very short memo– what was I saying? Ah. Buk great. Buy buk.
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader*
February 15, 2025
10/10! I couldn't put it down, and it made me laugh out loud. Really loved the storyline and all the eccentric characters as with the previous book. On to the next!
May 2, 2019
Very English...in a good way
I came upon this after I had been reading lots of intense crimis and spy stuff so it took a while before the style worked it's magic on me. But it did and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Delightfully shallow and frankly absurd, it would make a great Hugh Grant movie but with Simon Pegg taking Hugh's role. It left me wanting more character development and more scenes, more of everything really ...so while it would be easy to sneer, the overall book works nicely and leaves you wanting...um oops, more.
It owes a lot to Douglas Adams but he is no longer with us to give it, so why not Mr Shevlin.
4* not 5*... because it is a nice fun read rather than a classic. But well worth that fun read.
I came upon this after I had been reading lots of intense crimis and spy stuff so it took a while before the style worked it's magic on me. But it did and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Delightfully shallow and frankly absurd, it would make a great Hugh Grant movie but with Simon Pegg taking Hugh's role. It left me wanting more character development and more scenes, more of everything really ...so while it would be easy to sneer, the overall book works nicely and leaves you wanting...um oops, more.
It owes a lot to Douglas Adams but he is no longer with us to give it, so why not Mr Shevlin.
4* not 5*... because it is a nice fun read rather than a classic. But well worth that fun read.
July 21, 2019
Wish I could remember how I came by this book, but it was a happy happenstance in any event. It has all the charm of a British mystery with the additional attraction of being mildly hilarious. Okay, argue with me about "mildly hilarious." I stand by my characterization.
The love interest is so gentle, kept in the background, that it adds perhaps half a teaspoon of sugar to the cuppa, which is one of the things in its favor IMHO. We get to concentrate on the quirks of the characters, while the storyline moves us along at an enviable gait; not every writer can accomplish this. All this while also being funny .. can you dig it? Earn yourself several hours of enjoyment and procure a copy, eh, what?
The love interest is so gentle, kept in the background, that it adds perhaps half a teaspoon of sugar to the cuppa, which is one of the things in its favor IMHO. We get to concentrate on the quirks of the characters, while the storyline moves us along at an enviable gait; not every writer can accomplish this. All this while also being funny .. can you dig it? Earn yourself several hours of enjoyment and procure a copy, eh, what?
September 27, 2025
Amusing, clever and gripping!
February 13, 2022
Better than the first book
Really enjoyed this book, full of twists and turns in the story. Funny and observant of human nature. Would recommend
Really enjoyed this book, full of twists and turns in the story. Funny and observant of human nature. Would recommend
November 5, 2022
Eh. I must be missing what everyone else is seeing in this book.
December 29, 2018
For some, Jonathon's biggest talent is being himself, ie, ridiculous
If you believe that the world is a little wacky, then Jonathon Fairfax might be your proof that you're correct. Shevlin's characters are definitely wacky, intuitive, funny and in good clean fun, sometimes sarcastic. Their interplay is mostly platonic but the bad guys can get snarky. Murder, international fraud, altruistic endeavors and street begging, all demonstrate Shevlin's genius in high comedy, and for him (& Jonathon, of course) it couldn't have happened to two better guys. Or that may be one guy disguised as two. Enjoy this refreshing romp and, oh, it's high tea, bottoms up!
If you believe that the world is a little wacky, then Jonathon Fairfax might be your proof that you're correct. Shevlin's characters are definitely wacky, intuitive, funny and in good clean fun, sometimes sarcastic. Their interplay is mostly platonic but the bad guys can get snarky. Murder, international fraud, altruistic endeavors and street begging, all demonstrate Shevlin's genius in high comedy, and for him (& Jonathon, of course) it couldn't have happened to two better guys. Or that may be one guy disguised as two. Enjoy this refreshing romp and, oh, it's high tea, bottoms up!
October 12, 2017
Read this book!
I've really enjoyed reading the next instalment of Jonathons life. I love the wacky names of some of the characters- if I ever get a dog i shall make him Kendrick Buttercorn. But I digress. The book is full of action, comedy, romance and mortal danger. Mr Shevlin is very good at creating villains who have a human side under all the evil. Read this, have a good laugh, and hope the author writes some more books.
I've really enjoyed reading the next instalment of Jonathons life. I love the wacky names of some of the characters- if I ever get a dog i shall make him Kendrick Buttercorn. But I digress. The book is full of action, comedy, romance and mortal danger. Mr Shevlin is very good at creating villains who have a human side under all the evil. Read this, have a good laugh, and hope the author writes some more books.
April 3, 2018
Buy the book and then actually read it
Have a couple of hours to spend on helplessly laughing your way through a couple of chapters? This book is most assuredly for you (and very much also its predecessor) I detest cliffhangers and authors who bully you into multiple purchases just to get the hang of what you are reading. Jonathon's adventures can be read as standalones and are both original, witty and very funny.
Have a couple of hours to spend on helplessly laughing your way through a couple of chapters? This book is most assuredly for you (and very much also its predecessor) I detest cliffhangers and authors who bully you into multiple purchases just to get the hang of what you are reading. Jonathon's adventures can be read as standalones and are both original, witty and very funny.
December 4, 2018
Funny but tense
The main character is silly in a Monty Python English fashion. All the people that he encounters, add to the bizarre feel of the book. It moves quickly and takes every available opportunity from beginning to end to mock modern business and corporate, capitalist culture.
The story features the clueless corporation drone, excessive English politeness, ridiculous love stories and accidental corporate espionage. What more can I ask of it.
The main character is silly in a Monty Python English fashion. All the people that he encounters, add to the bizarre feel of the book. It moves quickly and takes every available opportunity from beginning to end to mock modern business and corporate, capitalist culture.
The story features the clueless corporation drone, excessive English politeness, ridiculous love stories and accidental corporate espionage. What more can I ask of it.
December 25, 2024
A brilliant read. Full of coincides and awkwardness
I read the previous book and loved Johnathon so naturally had to read this next one, as I was desperate to know why he needed to be destroyed. Loved it, his awkwardness is totally believable and the humorous ness of this book is just perfect, I grinned my way through it .
I read the previous book and loved Johnathon so naturally had to read this next one, as I was desperate to know why he needed to be destroyed. Loved it, his awkwardness is totally believable and the humorous ness of this book is just perfect, I grinned my way through it .
June 5, 2023
A charming and delightful tale of corporate espionage, sprinkled generously with doses of "what, Er!, Er what." However, I must confess that the charm wears thin after the first few encounters, leaving you with an overwhelming sense of tedium, what? Our hapless hero, the aspiring illustrator Jonathon Fairfax, careens from one ludicrous situation to the next, resembling a modern-day Inspector Clouseau as he delves into the shadowy dealings of a multinational conglomerate. Er, what? While we're well aware of Jonathan's penchant for stumbling, bumbling, and general social ineptitude, the incessant stream of "what's" and "ers" becomes positively exasperating. I cannot help but wonder if the author intentionally seeks to elicit such a reaction from readers, effectively capturing Jonathan's awkwardness. If that was the mission, well, my friend, consider it accomplished!
Nevertheless, despite the occasional absurdity, the story and plot manage to provide a modicum of amusement and entertainment. They may teeter on the edge of incredulity at times, but isn't that part of the charm? So, go ahead and indulge in this mildly amusing and entertaining escapade. Just brace yourself for the rollercoaster of "what's" and "ers" along the way!
Nevertheless, despite the occasional absurdity, the story and plot manage to provide a modicum of amusement and entertainment. They may teeter on the edge of incredulity at times, but isn't that part of the charm? So, go ahead and indulge in this mildly amusing and entertaining escapade. Just brace yourself for the rollercoaster of "what's" and "ers" along the way!
May 31, 2020
“Did I ever mention that the economy and everything to do with it, and thus all modern life, is entirely irrational?” This question, asked by Augustus, an entrepreneur of ideas, encapsulates the underlying theme of one of the best books I've read for a very long time. It’s beautifully written, made me laugh, and confirms many of my opinions about civilization and high finance.
Christopher Shevlin has a sharply observant eye, a strong sense of the ridiculous, and the talent to write a brilliant, witty, always amusing satirical tale about corporate finance and human idiocy that is difficult to put down. He is a master of the unexpected and often excruciatingly funny description, while his well-drawn characters epitomise the absurdities of human behaviour in a deceptively easy style that perfectly evokes the confusions of life and the insane busyness of the corporate world, while providing nail-biting tension as the eponymous hero, a somewhat autistic young man with an eidetic memory struggles to escape the murderous intents of his erstwhile boss.
September 12, 2020
Well Done Mr. Shevlin
What exactly is that name anyway? At any rate these two Jonathon Fairfax books have been a welcome relief. I read approximately 6 or 7 books per week. Mostly crime fiction, legal thrillers, whodunits, and the off best suits me best. I feel like my own attempts at Gonzo journalism are worthy after all. Seriously these books are full of intrigue and more likely true to life than anything on the MY Times bestseller lists. If you can, imagine Serge Storms as an anonymous bloke in the UK, minus his homicidal tendencies combined with an Elmore Leonard character of good faith;-)
What exactly is that name anyway? At any rate these two Jonathon Fairfax books have been a welcome relief. I read approximately 6 or 7 books per week. Mostly crime fiction, legal thrillers, whodunits, and the off best suits me best. I feel like my own attempts at Gonzo journalism are worthy after all. Seriously these books are full of intrigue and more likely true to life than anything on the MY Times bestseller lists. If you can, imagine Serge Storms as an anonymous bloke in the UK, minus his homicidal tendencies combined with an Elmore Leonard character of good faith;-)
December 24, 2023
The action scenes at the end were particularly effective and surprisingly tense, actively keeping me up when I was looking for a bedtime story.
Still want to ring the neck of anyone who starts every sentence with "Um...".
The disappearance of Rachel should really have been explained much earlier, as the weird jump from the end of the first book where they seemed set to live happily ever after to a good first third of this one mainly kept me distractedly wondering what closet she'd been stuffed into.
3.5 stars and an improvement on the first one when it came to writing. (The commerce plot in this one vs. the political plot in the first were about on par.)
Still want to ring the neck of anyone who starts every sentence with "Um...".
The disappearance of Rachel should really have been explained much earlier, as the weird jump from the end of the first book where they seemed set to live happily ever after to a good first third of this one mainly kept me distractedly wondering what closet she'd been stuffed into.
3.5 stars and an improvement on the first one when it came to writing. (The commerce plot in this one vs. the political plot in the first were about on par.)
September 17, 2018
British dark humour
Jonathon Fairfax is a man who seems to just stumble and trip into things almost daily, his friend is good looking but vain Lance just back from America due to his show being cancelled so just floating through life!
2 men who end up tied to psychotic Tod Stuckers at Farynx where Jonathon works as a temp. Due to confusion and misdirection we see Jonathon trying to find his place in the world after being fired, dumped and left homeless.
Took quite a while to get into and for the puzzle pieces to slot together
Jonathon Fairfax is a man who seems to just stumble and trip into things almost daily, his friend is good looking but vain Lance just back from America due to his show being cancelled so just floating through life!
2 men who end up tied to psychotic Tod Stuckers at Farynx where Jonathon works as a temp. Due to confusion and misdirection we see Jonathon trying to find his place in the world after being fired, dumped and left homeless.
Took quite a while to get into and for the puzzle pieces to slot together
January 11, 2020
Bravo!
I didn't think it was possible to surpass the first book, bit you managed it. All while maintaining Johnathon's neurotically insecure persona and boyish charm. The story finds our hero ensconced in a dreary life with a woman that's all wrong for him.
Luckily for him (and us), fate has other plans, and before you know it, he's embroiled in another caper that only someone with his peculiar abilities can master.
It's a great story and a great read -- well done.
I didn't think it was possible to surpass the first book, bit you managed it. All while maintaining Johnathon's neurotically insecure persona and boyish charm. The story finds our hero ensconced in a dreary life with a woman that's all wrong for him.
Luckily for him (and us), fate has other plans, and before you know it, he's embroiled in another caper that only someone with his peculiar abilities can master.
It's a great story and a great read -- well done.
April 21, 2021
Another must read by Mr Shevlin
This is even better than the first book (that's a compliment Mr Shevlin).
A great story with more than a passing hint at modern life, fairness etc.
For me it moves at just the right pace, it never feels as though there is any padding.
The characters are very well written - vile, pathetic, sad, funny - delete as appropriate.
I'm just about to get book 3.
This is even better than the first book (that's a compliment Mr Shevlin).
A great story with more than a passing hint at modern life, fairness etc.
For me it moves at just the right pace, it never feels as though there is any padding.
The characters are very well written - vile, pathetic, sad, funny - delete as appropriate.
I'm just about to get book 3.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews