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More copies of this ISBN:The Big Oby Declan Burke
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments: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'll be looking for his motorcycle, his gun, the sixty grand he says is his, and revenge. But he won't be expecting Ray, the new guy Karen's just met, to be in his way. No stranger to the underworld himself, Ray wants out of the kidnapping game now that some dangerous new bosses are moving in.
Meanwhile, Frank, a disgraced plastic surgeon, hires Ray to kidnap his ex-wife for the insurance money. But the ex-wife also happens to be Karen's best friend. Can Karen and Ray trust each other enough to work together on one last job? Or will love, as always, ruin everything? From a writer hailed as "Elmore Leonard with a hard Irish edge" (Irish Mail on Sunday), Declan Burke's The Big O is crime fiction at its darkest and funniest. Review:"While Irish author Burke (Eight-ball Boogie) has been compared to Elmore Leonard, this effort falls short of Leonard's superior blending of crime and dark humor. The impending parole of violent armed robber Rossi Francis Assisi Callaghan sets in motion a cascading series of events. Callaghan's ex-wife, Karen King, herself a thief, fears he'll come after her, and seeks to get herself some insurance in the form of professional kidnapper Ray Brogan. Ray, in turn, is hired to abduct Karen's friend, Madge Dolan, by her husband, Frank, a plastic surgeon who wants to cash in a lucrative insurance policy. The waters are further muddied by questions about Callaghan's parentage and the introduction of a vicious, half-blind dog named Stalin. The broadly drawn figures and situations are clearly not intended to be taken seriously, but the absence of any character a reader is likely to sympathize with is a significant drawback. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Imagine Donald Westlake and his alter ego Richard Stark moving to Ireland and collaborating on a screwball noir, and you have some idea of Burke's accomplishment." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) Review:"Burke has married hard-boiled crime with noir sensibility and seasoned it with humor and crackling dialogue. Credulity is strained throughout, but fans of comic noir will find plenty to enjoy here." Booklist Review:"The Big O is everything fans of dark, fast, tightly woven crime fiction could want....Two thumbs up, Mr. Burke." Crimespree Magazine Review:"Declan Burke's The Big O has everything you want in a crime novel: machine-gun dialogue, unforgettable characters, and a wicked plot. Think George V. Higgins in Ireland on speed." Jason Starr, author of The Follower Review:"[A] contemporary Irish crime novel that should have a broad international appeal. Burke seems to me to be working in a similar tradition to, say, Carl Hiaasen, in that there's a satirical edge to his work that gives it a real bite....Among all of the recent crop of Irish crime novelists, it seems to me that Declan Burke is ideally poised to make the transition to a larger international stage." John Connolly, bestselling author of The Unquiet About the AuthorDeclan Burke was born in Sligo, Ireland, in 1969. He is a freelance writer with the Sunday Times, Village magazine, and the Dubliner, and lives in Wicklow, Ireland. Visit his blog, Crime Always Pays, at CrimeAlwaysPays.blogspot.com. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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