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wendyonthemove's review against another edition
3.0
Really like 3.5. The main character makes some really dumb choices but great narration.
timol's review against another edition
1.0
For me, this one of the most bring books I've read/listened to in a long time! It just kept dragging on forever. Nothing ever happened! The only part of the book I enjoyed even remotely was the part set in Mexico but aside from that is is just going on and on and on without any real plot. The narrator was decent, though.
kchisholm's review against another edition
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. 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)
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. 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)
kieranhanlon's review against another edition
3.75
Really great ending pushed this one over to a 4 for me. It’s different from what I usually read, and the lack of quotation marks was a bit jarring but easy to get used to. Definitely slow at parts, but really well written. I’m not much of a series person but I think I might pick up the next one.
dave_peticolas's review against another edition
3.0
A well-written if thoroughly implausible book about betrayal and revenge in the Irish Mafia of New York circa 1990.
emilyob1972's review against another edition
3.0
I love the Sean Duffy series so much, but this series is not great. These characters are very flat and hard to care about. The book is full of dream/hallucination sequences, which I can’t stand. Do not recommend.
tove_reads's review against another edition
4.0
First I was a bit annoyed about the massive cliches about an Irish lad escaping the old country to stay in NYC. Then I grew to like the story on all its bitterness and hopelessness. Those were the days of N Ireland and the NY connection. Who can you trust? Not many. Gangs, killings, not expecting to survive. Kill or get killed.
jdarnold's review against another edition
4.0
[re-post from my old blog]
From the Audible.com 20 Most Addictive Series list, I read the first book in the Michael Forsythe series, written by Adrian McKinty. Called Dead I Well May Be, it was a really great start to the "Dead" trilogy.
The Dead trilogy tells the story of Michael Forsythe, an unwilling Irish immigrant, forced to come to the United States to work for a shady relative in New York City after being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Forsyth is a study in contrasts - well read, but prone to violence.
He crosses the wrong guy at the wrong time and gets send on a fool's mission, only to get locked up in a Mexican jail. Left for dead, he comes back to wreak his revenge, which only reinforces the old saw "Revenge is a dish best served cold".
I really enjoyed Dead I Well May Be. Tauntly written, with nary a quotation mark, Michael Forsyth was a multi-faceted, believable character. The action was well scripted and the journey back from the dead impressive, if perhaps a tad overlong. I also didn't really understand how he knew who, where and what to revenge, but it mostly got satisfactorly explained. Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to getting the second book in the trilogy, [b:The Dead Yard|21283|The Dead Yard (Michael Forsythe #2)|Adrian McKinty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308954091s/21283.jpg|22464]. While my library didn't have that one available, I took out another McKinty book called [b:Hidden River|21281|Hidden River|Adrian McKinty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167321279s/21281.jpg|22462], a straight dectective novel written between Dead I Well May Be and The Dead Yard.
From the Audible.com 20 Most Addictive Series list, I read the first book in the Michael Forsythe series, written by Adrian McKinty. Called Dead I Well May Be, it was a really great start to the "Dead" trilogy.
The Dead trilogy tells the story of Michael Forsythe, an unwilling Irish immigrant, forced to come to the United States to work for a shady relative in New York City after being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Forsyth is a study in contrasts - well read, but prone to violence.
He crosses the wrong guy at the wrong time and gets send on a fool's mission, only to get locked up in a Mexican jail. Left for dead, he comes back to wreak his revenge, which only reinforces the old saw "Revenge is a dish best served cold".
I really enjoyed Dead I Well May Be. Tauntly written, with nary a quotation mark, Michael Forsyth was a multi-faceted, believable character. The action was well scripted and the journey back from the dead impressive, if perhaps a tad overlong. I also didn't really understand how he knew who, where and what to revenge, but it mostly got satisfactorly explained. Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to getting the second book in the trilogy, [b:The Dead Yard|21283|The Dead Yard (Michael Forsythe #2)|Adrian McKinty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308954091s/21283.jpg|22464]. While my library didn't have that one available, I took out another McKinty book called [b:Hidden River|21281|Hidden River|Adrian McKinty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167321279s/21281.jpg|22462], a straight dectective novel written between Dead I Well May Be and The Dead Yard.