I love McKinty's writing, it is interesting and beautiful and witty, and it just grabs onto me. This one had a lot in common with his stand-alone novel Falling Glass, which, though written later, I read first. So I was perhaps a little less enthralled with this than I might have been if the other book hadn't been echoing similarities in the back of my brain. This also had a part in the middle, which I think had to drag a bit to emphasize a point, and was still written with some interest, but that also probably wore on me some and dampened a little of my enjoyment of the book. I do like how these two books, and the Sean Duffy series as well, are all taking place in the same world of characters. Finding the occasional overlaps are fun, and I will probably catch more of the references when I read all of these again someday. I will definitely read the next in the series soon, and probably all the rest of his books eventually. ( )

Michael Forsythe leaves Ireland for the golden shores of the U.S. when a single day job terminates permanently his unemployment benefits. Without marketable job skills, he falls into criminal ganglife in the U.S., specifically in Harlem. The book is unnecessarily and senselessly violent. For example, when a fellow gang member is hurt, Forsythe helps administer a Belfast six-pack: a bullet is each ankle, knee and elbow. Nor can Forsyth keep his willie in his pants, sleeping with the victim's wife and boss's girlfriend, the consequences of the latter being the main storyline. The writing is good, but my strong advice is to read McKinty's other series about Sean Duffy. ( )

DEAD I WELL MAY BE by Adrian McKinty is Book 1 of his Michael Forsythe series.
The book is narrated by Michael, often giving the reader a hint at what action is to come.
He has left Belfast, Northern Ireland at age 19, and is recruited by the Irish crime boss, Darkey White in New York City.
This is a thriller; very suspenseful; gritty; peppered with violent, greedy, totally amoral bad-boy thugs who daily commit acts of unimaginable cruelty and violence.
Descriptive words that come to mind include: dirty, filthy, bugs, rats, heat, humidity, sweat, wounds, deaths (often very casual) and betrayals. And these words apply to New York. I would have to add more if I was to describe the Mexican prison he finds himself in.
Michael’s childhood, background and environment - all seem to predict his current life as an amoral thug, thief, murderer and torturer, yet he does not seem unintelligent. He often muses on philosophical thoughts (reminding me of Sean Duffy) and seems (at times) to want to humanize his lifestyle and situation. Just when one thinks there is room for empathizing with or redeeming our Michael, a violent act will hurl you back into the reality of Michael’s life.
I did like the complex characters and the suspense of the plot, but one needs a strong stomach. ( )

love this author and this series ( )

A well-written book about a young Irishman who comes to America as an illegal immigrant and drifts into crime. Because of an affair with the boss's girl friend he ends up betrayed and abandoned in Mexico and struggles to survive so he can get revenge.
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