Dead I Well May Be

Dark and funny, tough and confrontational, lyrical and even poetic in places, quintessentially Irish, DEAD I WELL MAY BE is the first in a series of books featuring Michael Forsythe, a young Irish man with a flair for danger, drinking, and fighting his way out of impossible situations.

McKinty writes in a style that's easy to associate with noir Irish writing, a sort of a stream of consciousness thing, that alternates between incredibly compelling and making the reader want to hide under the bed blankets. Michael is a young Irish man, older and wiser than his age would make you expect, at the same time incredibly naive and almost unbelievable at points, DEAD I WELL MAY BE is the story of how he get's himself into a no-win position. show more Young, fearless, clever, stupid and naive, and despite not really wanting to go, Michael heads to America to work for crime boss Darkey White. Well he professes he doesn't want to go, but the reader can easily suspect that the adventure is a great lure for a young man like Michael. In the same way that an affair with Darkey's girlfriend Bridget has that frisson of danger. Darkey, on the other hand, is more ruthless about these things, and his discovery of the affair leads to a life and death struggle in the Mexican prison system.

This is the first book in the series, and I have read a later one already, so that probably helped a little in knowing where this story is heading and finding out a lot more about how the characters tick. Michael is a tricky character to get a handle on in this book - wise and knowledgeable seemingly beyond his years and life experience, there's an awful lot of bravado about Michael which might catch some readers - as it does seem to bamboozle some of the other characters in the book. Darkey's more of a bit part in this book, working often through intermediaries, it does create a level of menace about the man that's quite disturbing. Bridget almost seems like the female version of Michael, she's as addicted to risk as Michael seems to be.

All in all, DEAD I WELL MAY BE is the start of a series of books, and you have to read it making a little allowance for ongoing character development in the following books. You may also find that the style of the prose, the internal monologues and rants of Michael, in particular, seem a little self-indulgent at points. You may even find the total lack of a supposed moral compass somewhat offputting, but then this is Irish noir at it's brutal best.

To be perfectly honest, there were points in the book where I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Didn't worry me - loved the ride.

The books in the Michael Forsythe series are:

Dead I Well May Be (2003)
The Dead Yard (2006)
The Bloomsday Dead (2007) show less

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, show more 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. show less

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, show more 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. show less

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.

It's a crime novel told from a first person point of view of a 19 year old Irish boy living in New York in the early 90s. He's had some hard luck, lives in poverty, does some small-time crime until, all at once, his life gets stepped up a notch because he has an affair with a crime-boss' woman and commits a murder in the same week.

Story goes from there to a Mexican prison, back through the States, with lots of gore and killing and getting even with those who betrayed him. Overall it's a good read, though a bit unbelievable - really, would a 19 year old be as competent as this fellow; or as lucky? Nah...

I knocked off a half star because of the annoying "rants" that usually stem from the main character being really drunk or high or show more something but which all end up in some silly violence - the point of the whole rant being simply to show how angry and violent and "grown-up" this boy can be??? show less

A very dark novel with no characters who have redeeming features, the best that could be said is that this story presents a slice of life of Irish gangs in New York and Brooklyn.

Michael Forsythe comes to New York because of the troubles in Ireland. He joins a gang where anything goes including murder.

Michael and members of the gang go to Mexico after a job and they get arrested. What happens in prison and during Michael's escape will be left for the reader to learn. However, once back in New York, retribution becomes one of his main philosophies.

I disliked Michael as a character, I did like the dialogue and setting of New York and think those interested to see how some Irish gangs spent their time might find this of interest.

I picked his second book up ([b:The Dead Yard: A Novel|2363913|The Dead Yard A Novel|Adrian McKinty|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514EASKZM1L._SL75_.jpg|22464]) just by browsing goodreads for books w/ Irish characters and as soon as I read it I knew I had to track down the rest in the trilogy. Combine a new Irish illegal immigrant fight over drug territory in 1980's NYC and you get the gist of a damn good story. Throw in a beautiful yet naive girl, a Mexican prison and one bad-a** man looking for vengeance and you get this great thriller. Definitely worth hunting down the whole lot.