I Have Sinned: McGarry Stateside

Anyone who enjoys reading thrillers, and mystery, with a liberal smattering of dark humor, will love Bunny McGarry, and his band of cohorts. Thank you, Caimh McDonnell.

In the first of this series ,Disaster, Inc (McGarry Stateside Book 1), a secretive faction of a U.S. security agency allied with a very powerful U.S. politician came after Bunny McGarry, an Irish cop that rides the line’s girlfriend because of a damning video tape she had of him. She escaped with his aid (leaving a couple of bodies behind) and also with the help of a deep black group of rogue and very tough nuns who perform covert operations against bad guys/governments around the world. Twenty years pass and when those bodies from the past show up, the bad guys do too and they are still looking for Bunny’s sweetie. With the help of a rival security agency faction Bunny faked his death in Ireland and absconded to New York in an attempt to track down his old girlfriend to warn her that she is in serious danger. Bunny quickly makes connections with a very tough dwarf with anger management issues and a good set of lock picks. The dwarf’s buddy, a young, black aspiring actor with an ability to charm anyone and, like the proverbial hooker, with a heart of gold underneath, also joins the team as the junior member. So ends book 1. As this book, the second in the series, opens McGarry's making contact with the rogue nuns proves to be a mixed blessing as he has to protect a mysterious and dedicated young priest against assassination attempts in order to prove his bona fides to the nuns. Things quickly escalate as multiple groups of bad guys with murderous intent converge on Bunny and friends. I won’t kid you, things look bad for our knights in dented armor. Chuckle out loud humor done with a deft touch that doesn’t let the reader forget the serious nature underlying the action. One scene in particular has our violent dwarf driving a cab and reacting to a customer that tries to run out on the fare. While he’s beating up/rolling the crooked customer a nearby homeless person makes a remark and the three of them get into a conversation that is some of the most humorous dead pan dialogue I have run across. Intriguing world building, likable well fleshed out characters and skillful writing make this a refreshing change from the same old, same old.$3.99/book price divided by Amazon typical read time of 5 hours,30 minutes=$.73/average hourly reading cost

Interesting story, a bit far fetched but filled with great characters. I love the humor and the serious message behind it all. I will continue the series and the rest of the author's works. Definitely worth it. Thanks Caimh!

I like the interchange between Gabriel, Bunny and Smithy. The Author does a good job at keeping the dialogue interesting and even comical at times. It’s not the sort of book that you can’t put down which is why I didn’t give it a five star. However I always looked forward to picking it back up again and continuing my read which meant it was the kind of book that I did want to continue reading so I could find out what was going to happen next. It was not in the category of books that I just read to finish it. If I could I would give it a four and a half star.

McGeary hits a walk off the diamond home run! Bunny trades his hurling stick for a Louisville Slugger with considerable success in this next installment of the Bunny McGeary quest to save the fair and radiant maiden Simone. McDonnell introduces us to a rich new cast of characters: a padre with a shocking personal history, a triumvirate of talented teens (a champion female boxer, a disabled artist, and an orphaned scholar), and a trio of formidable, tech savvy, endearingly militant nuns. The odd couple from Murder Inc, Smithy and his sidekick Diller, also figure prominently in the story - in fact, as a springboard into their own upcoming book (Welcome to Nowhere). Add to these a ‘family’ of requisite twisted and sadistic killers. I list the characters here because they are, the most compelling aspect of McDonnell’s work. So cleverly portrayed with both humor and compassion, I won’t soon forget them.

Caimh is really messing up some of my other reading as I have gotten to the point that I drop whatever else is in my queue as soon as one of his books drops. Almost all authors hit a dead spot now and then but this Caimh hasn't yet and this latest book is not exception. I just finished it last night and in short, found it totally engrossing. It has a great, really exciting plot with multiple sub-plots each of which could be turned into a follow-on book. One of the things I appreciate most about Caimh's writing is how well he creates characters that we really care about and want to see more of...even new characters that we will likely never see again (sadly).As always, the mix of humor and suspense is perfect. The characters are wonderful...though Bunny is showing his age and is much the worse for wear. If you're already a McDonnell fan, you'll be delighted. If you're not already a fan, what are you waiting for?

Bunny’s stateside adventures continues. He makes new friends and new enemies. Hijinks ensue. I’m rooting for Bunny and hope to God he can find his way home!

As advertised in the preface/forward, it is not a known location on any NYC map, but of the imagination and impressions of the author. Likewise warned/prefaced, the Americans do have (rare) occurrences of Irish/UK colloquialisms ... a "breeze block" rather than a "cinder block", but al harmless and maintains the author's color and wit.More fun with Smithy and Diller, and finally cont with The Sisters ... though they aren't pleased about it and it did not quite work towards Bunny's purposes ... yet.Great series, great characters, ... great craic!

Love these books. Love Bunny. All the characters grow on you as you read more of the story.Hopefully they will continue.

Caimh hat erneut abgeliefert, was soll ich sagen? ein super Lesevergnügen mit Spannung und Witz. Gerne mehr davon.

With all the world of Father Gabriel in his way Bunny !manages to firstly upset the nuns whose help he needed to find his most treasured Simone....then had to defend against the very people who plan to kill his friends and in the meantime still stay hidden from the authorities who wouldn't understand how a.dead man now be very much alive.....exciting and gripping tale.....

Been a fan of Caimh McDonnell’s books since day one – great sense of humour combined with a good crime thriller, a favourite combination in my book … well, actually in Caimh’s book, if truth be told.His lumbering, cock-eyed, wisecrack quipping anti-hero Bunny McGarry is a loveable rogue of the highest order, who first appeared in a supporting role in the earlier books, but he has taken on a life of his own in the latter tales, and his adventures are becoming increasingly epic.I just finished book two of Bunny’s New York trilogy, “I Have Sinned”, the follow-up to the highly enjoyable, “Disaster Inc., and I can only say that Caimh has managed to write the best book yet of his ever-increasing portfolio of wee literary gems.I really couldn’t put this book down (being a fellow comedian has made the temptation of a superglue “aside” so tempting, but I resisted … well, sort of)Caimh has really gone up a level in the quality of storytelling here, and he’s now producing highly cinematic passages of descriptions of the dramatic action and surprising shenanigans that really formed such a vivid picture in my mind … and that, to me, is all too rare in many of the books I read, but Caimh has totally nailed it here.I was sorry to have finished the book, and did the “classic” reading slower, and slower so it wouldn’t finish … yeah just like sex – so I’m toldPart three of this great trilogy cannot come quickly enough now – c’mon Caimh, deal with my addiction in a novel way (I know, shut up)Loved it – more, more, more, moreTen outta tenSTU

So here’s Bunny in New York hanging out with a priest who’s desperately trying to help the kids of a poor, gang ridden area but who has a very tarnished past. The opportunities for mayhem are many and Caimh takes full advantage. There’s much of the usual Irish charm and swearing, plus an angry dwarf taxi driver as a sidekick and the Secret Sisters, who have an unbelievable setup nearby with a people-resistant ex-Pakistani techwhizz security expert nun (you’re keeping up here, right?) technologically involved in the action. The main setup for the story is rather hard to believe and everything seems more amped up for US market, including the trademark humour which sometimes sounds forced. Still, it’s a Bunny McGarry story and they’re always worthwhile. If you haven’t met Bunny yet, start with the earlier books set in Ireland.