Review: A Limey/Paddy Crime Noir Style Writer Wannabe...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2013
The author of BOURBON & BLOOD, Garrard Hayes, does mention one of my favorite Hibernian noir writers, Adrian McKinty, whom I like very much, as maybe someone's style he hoped to emulate, but that was as far it went. Mr Hayes is no McKinty, or Ken Bruen, or Ian Rankin, or any other Bog-Trotter who happens to pen a crime noir mystery from the Emerald Isle. He tries, but doesn't make it, in my opinion.The pace of this debut novel is definitely fast and while the character of Bill Conlin finds himself deep in trouble in just about every chapter, he's totally oblivious as to why. Conlin's two-dimensional and not a character the reader gets to like or care about. Neither Bill nor the reader has any idea where he's going as he stumbles into dangerous situations or why he's even headed there. I mean, the guy's an ex-army Special Forces vet with no future, no real sense of what's right or wrong, and has no control over the predicaments he finds himself in. He just seems confused most of the time and walks blindly into every life-threatening situation where he is either ducking for cover, getting smacked upside-the-head, or screwing up his relationship with the one woman he seems to care about (it was hard for me to believe he actually did care for her, considering his libido was usually in hyper-drive whenever he was near another hot babe).After reading the ebooks by a far better writer from Scotland named Douglas Lindsay, I suggest you skip BOURBON & BLOOD and try THE UNBURIED DEAD: THE FIRST DS THOMAS HUTTON THRILLER. 2 and 1/4 stars.