I read Other
Plans (McFori Ink, 2023) by Caimh
McDonnell last year and added it to my favorite books of the year list (https://happinessisabook.com/best-reads-of-2023/).
What with one thing and another, and another and another, I did not get around
to writing about it. Having quelled a few of the alligators gnawing on my
ankles, I had a bit of breathing room last weekend and re-read this fourth book
about former Garda Bunny McGarry’s adventures in the United States. His life in
Ireland is chronicled in the intriguingly named Dublin Trilogy
which consists so far of 7 books, a novella, and several short stories.
McGarry has
come to the United States in search of a former girlfriend. He has determined
that Sister Bernadette of the Sisters of the Saint has information about her
location. Unfortunately Sister Bernadette and Sister Assumpta have been
kidnapped and are being held for ransom. The required payment is Carlos Breida,
a tall neurodivergent young man whose simplicity of manner conceals a brilliant
mind that holds information important to multiple criminal organizations. So
with an admirable single-mindedness, McGarry enlists two of his friends in
breaking Carlos out of a high-security prison and driving him to a delivery
point for exchange with the two sisters.
All of this
activity takes place in earlier books, creating many questions. Like, how did
McGarry learn of all this? Why was
Carlos in prison? Why were the sisters kidnapped? And which saint are they the
sisters of? (Once you know more about the sisters, you will have the same
question.) While normally reading books out of sequence does not pose much of
an issue for me, as I pick up enough of the back story to fill in the important
missing pieces, I cannot recommend that approach for this series. McGarry leads
such an event-filled life that reading the books in order and taking careful
notes seems to be called for.
Anyway, the
book opens with McGarry and his friends taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the
recapture of Carlos by the Ratenda Cartel, who objected fervently to his
removal from the prison. They are in Oregon in a desolate area and make a short
pit stop at a small bar. They quickly learn that the Huntsman’s Lodge is the
headquarters of a white supremacist faction and motorcycle gang, where
strangers are definitely not welcome. Moreover, the heretofore inconsequential
group is about to hit the big time, as they have taken delivery of a large arms
shipment they expect to hand off the day after our hapless crew wanders into
their lair.
Tensions are
high, IQs are at an all-time low, and common sense is conspicuous by its
absence. The resulting mayhem is amazingly violent, screamingly funny, and
colorfully narrated, which pretty much sums up the rest of the book. I found it
just as hilarious on the second read as I did on the first.
McDonnell has
a strikingly original mind. If he had been around in the 1970s, I would assume
that he had experimented liberally with pharmaceuticals but I see that he is
too young for that freewheeling time. Whatever its genesis, his startling creativity
results in inventive characters and unexpected action-filled scenarios that
would film well. He has a razor-keen sense of comedic timing and his writing is
crisp and flowing. I sincerely hope he is hard at work on another installment
of McGarry Stateside, as I am eager to know what happens next.
The most
entertaining book I have read in months. I loved it. Highly recommended.
·
Publisher: McFori Ink (October 13,
2023)
·
Language: English
·
Paperback: 328 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1912897512
·
ISBN-13: 978-1912897513
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3wp7INt
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2024
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
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