Criticalmick rated a book liked it Murder in the Monto : A tense thriller set in the aftermath of the 1916 Irish rebellion by Tony O'Reilly	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Murder in the Monto is now dead and buried (by that I mean, "finished, digested, and resting in its treasured spot on my heaving bookshelves of Irish Crime Fiction"). After a very promising start, I have to report that Tony O'Reilly's debut novel lef ...more
Mar 20, 2024 03:57PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Murder in the Monto by Tony O'Reilly. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Murder in the Monto by Tony O'Reilly <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Criticalmick rated a book it was amazing On The Fiddle!: The Music Shop Mysteries Book 1 by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Author of the Caroline Jordan series about a Public Relations insider whose job exposes her to crimes in desperate need of exposing, Geraldine Moorkens Byrne has turned her hand to composing a clever cozy mystery with equally as much character and ch ...more
Feb 03, 2024 02:24PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of On The Fiddle! by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — On The Fiddle! by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Criticalmick rated a book it was ok The Watched (CSI Reilly Steel, #4) by Casey Hill	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
C S Why? This Reilly Steele CSI serial killer thrilla is set against the tropical backdrop of a Tampa film festival. So, here is how the Villain would have pitched the idea for The Watched in Hollywood: Hey baby, loves ya! You're looking fabulous, come ...more
Nov 02, 2023 01:18AM · 2 likes · like · see review

Criticalmick rated a book liked it

Murder in the Monto : A tense thriller set in the aftermath of the 1916 Irish rebellion
by Tony O'Reilly

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Murder in the Monto is now dead and buried (by that I mean, "finished, digested, and resting in its treasured spot on my heaving bookshelves of Irish Crime Fiction"). After a very promising start, I have to report that Tony O'Reilly's debut novel lef Murder in the Monto is now dead and buried (by that I mean, "finished, digested, and resting in its treasured spot on my heaving bookshelves of Irish Crime Fiction"). After a very promising start, I have to report that Tony O'Reilly's debut novel left me disappointed.

No spoilers! Just explaining my gripes. The anonymous serial-killing baddie hiding in Europe's largest red light district, in a half-destroyed city reeling from the chaos of its Easter Rising, was handed up on a silver platter that also offered more ham, lobster and roast beef than our main character had ever seen. The setting, characters and premise itself held a lot of promise, but there wasn't a new perspective to engage or excite readers who were already familiar with that time and place. (Hope this does not sound unkind- the bar for 1916 has been set very high between Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry and Kevin McCarthy's Peeler and Irregulars).

The most baffling thing that put me off, though, was an editing error I can't believe was let through by a publisher like Poolbeg. The main character's name changes in two chapters. OK, there was a lot of confusion with all the bullets and shells being chucked around and distracting courtesans dancing to music from the victrola, but after the Love Interest started calling our This-is-my-first-day-as-a-detective-but-I'd-rather-give-it-a-go-than-get-blasted-to-gory-wee-bits-by-firing-squad protagonist by the wrong name, and neither he nor anyone else in the proofreading department raised an eyebrow... it was impossible to get back into the story. Were these chapters swapped in at the last minute, after Undercover Joe had dropped his fake identity and admitted who he really was? Or...? That was the real mystery. I spent the rest of the novel on the hunt for clues. I spotted typos (a bizarre one where "race" and "face" spoiled a moment) but no solution to what the hell happened.

My fave parts: an authentic reaction to the first time an impoverished Irish boy from the Liberties ever encountered a food as foreign as spaghetti, and the fact that at least one of the colorful Monto characters was a real historical figure. There were also two good twists in the final chapters (including one I should have seen coming, but didn't).

Sorry, but I can't recommend this novel in its current form. Looking forward to Tony O'Reilly's future works! ...more

Criticalmick rated a book it was amazing

On The Fiddle! by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne

On The Fiddle!: The Music Shop Mysteries Book 1
by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Author of the Caroline Jordan series about a Public Relations insider whose job exposes her to crimes in desperate need of exposing, Geraldine Moorkens Byrne has turned her hand to composing a clever cozy mystery with equally as much character and ch ...more

Criticalmick rated a book it was ok

The Watched (CSI Reilly Steel, #4)
by Casey Hill

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

C S Why?

This Reilly Steele CSI serial killer thrilla is set against the tropical backdrop of a Tampa film festival. So, here is how the Villain would have pitched the idea for The Watched in Hollywood:

Hey baby, loves ya! You're looking fabulous, come C S Why?

This Reilly Steele CSI serial killer thrilla is set against the tropical backdrop of a Tampa film festival. So, here is how the Villain would have pitched the idea for The Watched in Hollywood:

Hey baby, loves ya! You're looking fabulous, come by my beach house and I'll do the cooking. We'll kick back some Coronas and you can call me your old mentor. Now everybody loves gory slasher stories, ami right? Of course! If you're into forensics you wanna see guts strewn everywhere in technicolor. Yeah Scorcese!! With a bit of McG. I know just the thing.

Take that up and coming blonde Reilly Steele who's getting so popular but imagine her out of gloomy provincial Ireland. Set her up for an American audience! Solves a bunch of grusome murders and gets a steamy pretty love interest off on her holiday. Maybe with some science and emotional backstory shit, you know, people love that stuff. Build some tension, throw in FBI obstacles, a redhead, an aspiring stuntbabe, lesbians. And hey! Even if it's a bomb we can write the whole trip to Florida off as an expense.

Did I mention plenty of young beautiful people in bikinis? And wacky incredibly unlikely, sophisticted killings, some involving buckets of acid and kinky costumes? A Whodunit with Microscopes. Loadsa repetition in case attention lapsed and people didn't catch something impotant. Oo! and sexual tension!? It's set in Clearwater but don't worry: there won't be a single negative reference to Scientology. Maybe Tom Cruise would-? No-? OK I haven't thrown you the best bit yet.

Time travel! Readers are ready for-? no-? Well ok I was just joking. Ha ha! We'll overlook the reality that even the simplest of successful murders or films requires a lot of groundwork and preparation. We'll throw some Reilly slo-mo ten mile jogs on beach sand, no one will notice that one bad guy can never pull off all these incredibly contrived scenes within hours of one another, getting them all perfect on the first take. Without raising any suspicion! But how? Oh erm. Give him an unusual weapon. Maybe a cattle prod? Yeah! Like that Guadalcanal Diary song! I've got a cattle prod! Got a cattle prod! Daddy I'm a man who loves his work! With scientific shit and glamor and a love interest. Ha ha!

Hey, where are you going? You think it's a fun idea but it'll never hang together? Thanks for the beer? What do you mean thanks for the laughs? No! Don't go! I was actually serious that this- grrrr.

Foey.

I'll show them. ...more

rssCriticalmick’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Murder in the Monto by Tony O'Reilly

See a Problem?

Preview — On The Fiddle! by Geraldine Moorkens Byrne

rss
Criticalmick’s Recent Updates