momankara's review against another edition
3.0
The writing is very good, the atmosphere amazing. There is no plotting. That is purposeful by the author, but it is hard to get a crackle out of noir if there are no drivers to the story.
devilstatedan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beaut new take on the hardboiled crime novel, very readable and an intriguing plot.
Set in modern New York, we follow a disenfranchised lawyer as he turns his back on corporate crime and instead makes a living taking civil cases here and there and serving at he odd shift as a night-lawyer - for out-of-hours misdemeanors...
He unwittingly get caught up in a case involving rare books, a divorce, and eventually a death, working his way through it all with clouded judgement and a niggling feeling that these events are not all they appear.
There's all the tropes of the hardboiled novel but these characters are more rounded, the plot more tempered, and language a little more descriptive. All-in-all I had a great time with it and will read more books featuring this character.
Set in modern New York, we follow a disenfranchised lawyer as he turns his back on corporate crime and instead makes a living taking civil cases here and there and serving at he odd shift as a night-lawyer - for out-of-hours misdemeanors...
He unwittingly get caught up in a case involving rare books, a divorce, and eventually a death, working his way through it all with clouded judgement and a niggling feeling that these events are not all they appear.
There's all the tropes of the hardboiled novel but these characters are more rounded, the plot more tempered, and language a little more descriptive. All-in-all I had a great time with it and will read more books featuring this character.
ncataldo's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lonestarwords's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
Young people are always going to move to New York. People in their 20s from all over the goddamn world want to meet one another. They want to drink and fight and ... pick up coffee and the paper on the way to work. They want roof decks and balconies and they'll take fire escapes to start, same as we did.
An Honest Living
Dwyer Murphy
•
Ok so this is what kept me reading this very strange book - that it does NYC very well. It is also a bookish story - we have a former attorney turned private investigator who is hired to track down a missing antiquarian bookseller. He becomes embroiled in what I would call a caper, a "who done it" between two women, one who is prize winning novelist, one the wife of the bookseller.
•
This was one wonky book, but I was lured in by both the setting and the fact that the narrator is the same person who read Wellness and The Nix, both of which were August favorites.
•
Had I read this on the page, I would probably not have understood the intended tone - this is a noir spoof (how's that for niche) and listening to it was like watching an old black and white movie- it just felt campy. The dialogue is awkward (probably by design) and the story reads like a scene out of Rear Window, which makes sense because the author references it many times.
•
This definitely needs to find its proper audience and I will say, for something light and offbeat, it wasn't terrible. But you have to be in the mood for a book like this. I will say that the bookish theme is well done, with abundant references to book collecting, old New York libraries, Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Dickens... it's the main story. So, combine that with a very well executed NYC vibe and it kept me interested.
•
Thank you @prhaudio for my copy!
An Honest Living
Dwyer Murphy
•
Ok so this is what kept me reading this very strange book - that it does NYC very well. It is also a bookish story - we have a former attorney turned private investigator who is hired to track down a missing antiquarian bookseller. He becomes embroiled in what I would call a caper, a "who done it" between two women, one who is prize winning novelist, one the wife of the bookseller.
•
This was one wonky book, but I was lured in by both the setting and the fact that the narrator is the same person who read Wellness and The Nix, both of which were August favorites.
•
Had I read this on the page, I would probably not have understood the intended tone - this is a noir spoof (how's that for niche) and listening to it was like watching an old black and white movie- it just felt campy. The dialogue is awkward (probably by design) and the story reads like a scene out of Rear Window, which makes sense because the author references it many times.
•
This definitely needs to find its proper audience and I will say, for something light and offbeat, it wasn't terrible. But you have to be in the mood for a book like this. I will say that the bookish theme is well done, with abundant references to book collecting, old New York libraries, Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Dickens... it's the main story. So, combine that with a very well executed NYC vibe and it kept me interested.
•
Thank you @prhaudio for my copy!
dredfish's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
abroadwell's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this novel about a slightly sketchy lawyer involved in crimes connected with the world of rare-book collectors in New York. It's very literary, as befits a book about books.
Many of the characters will stay in my memory, and the plot is clever.
The end of the novel, though, felt abrupt to me; possibly I was drifting for a second as I listened to the audio, but when I listened to the last lines again, I still felt that the book does not have a proper sign-off.
Many of the characters will stay in my memory, and the plot is clever.
The end of the novel, though, felt abrupt to me; possibly I was drifting for a second as I listened to the audio, but when I listened to the last lines again, I still felt that the book does not have a proper sign-off.
chrispyschaller's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
jakobitz's review against another edition
4.0
There was nobody at the coat check and the doormen didn’t seem too concerned, so I kept the blazer they’d lent me when I first arrived. It had a crest on the lapel, and it fit me fine.
The above quote, in isolation, lands a bit nondescript. But in the context of this meandering noir set in a mid-2000s Brooklyn, it played like poetry to my ears. This tale of a lawyer/detective is full of witty discursive descriptions, and a plot thread that barely stuck with me after I closed the book, yet that didn’t matter. This book’s strength is in its aura and feel, and less the story it tells. I’m not really a noir reader, and perhaps I need to delve further into the genre to improve my critical toolset for it, but this story harkened me back to my favorite noir, A Wild Sheep Chase, and a comparison to Murakami is high praise in my book.
The above quote, in isolation, lands a bit nondescript. But in the context of this meandering noir set in a mid-2000s Brooklyn, it played like poetry to my ears. This tale of a lawyer/detective is full of witty discursive descriptions, and a plot thread that barely stuck with me after I closed the book, yet that didn’t matter. This book’s strength is in its aura and feel, and less the story it tells. I’m not really a noir reader, and perhaps I need to delve further into the genre to improve my critical toolset for it, but this story harkened me back to my favorite noir, A Wild Sheep Chase, and a comparison to Murakami is high praise in my book.