Angels in the Moonlight
By: Caimh McDonnell
Narrated by: Morgan C Jones
Series: The Dublin Trilogy, Book 0
Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-23-19
Language: English
Publisher: McFori Ink Ltd
Book Blurb
This book is a standalone prequel to The Dublin Trilogy.
For Detective Bunny McGarry, life is complicated, and it is about to get more so.
It’s 1999 and his hard won reputation amongst Dublin’s criminal fraternity, for being a massive pain in the backside, is unfortunately shared by his bosses. His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny’s finally been given a crack at the big time. He’s set the task of bringing down the most skilled and ruthless armed robbery gang in Irish history. So the last thing he needs in his life is yet another complication.
Her name is Simone. She is smart, funny, talented and, well, complicated. When her shocking past turns up to threaten her and Bunny’s chance at a future, things get very complicated indeed. If the choice is upholding the law or protecting those he loves, which way will the big fella turn?
Angels in the Moonlight is part of Caimh McDonnell’s critically acclaimed Dublin Trilogy series, which melds fast-paced action with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit, and it is complicated.
My Review
It was OK. I wanted to love it, based on the book blurb. There’s lots of humor, a decent plot, some interesting characters, and yet it was just so-so for me. I didn’t really connect with the main character, Bunny. He’s kind of a pathetic character, and I think that was on purpose. But I found it hard to rally behind him. Instead I just followed him around as he bumbled through the mystery.
There weren’t many female characters and they are sexualized. There’s a female cop who comes off as a dominatrix (based on all the joking by her coworkers). Then there’s Simone. She’s a little more than a romantic interest and victim, but that’s still her main gig in this story. Emer, one of the bad guy’s gentle sister, was kind of a sad character without any depth. So, even though this book is set in 1999, I still expected more from the ladies.
The plot rambles a bit so picking out what threads were important to follow, or not, was fun for me. It is a mystery after all and a few red herrings are expected. I did get hung up on something probably inconsequential – Bunny’s coworker goes by Gringo. He’s of Spanish heritage and this all takes place in Dublin area… so, like most people in the area in 1999 are gringo (Caucasian). I didn’t get the nickname and couldn’t decide if it was an affectionate appellation or an insult. I live in New Mexico, and gringo can be used both ways.
Some of the humor worked for me and some of it just came off mean or like the character was trying to prove how clever they are. So I chuckled here and there. Other times, the jokes fell flat.
Anyway, for me this book was just meh. Yet I can see it’s a full story with a few detailed characters and plenty of humor. 3/5 stars.
The Narration: Morgan C. Jones was pretty good for the male character voices most of the time. I liked that he attempted various accents, which helped keep all the characters distinct. When Bunny got emotional, Jones attempted to portray those deeper emotions, but his voice would go up and I kept questioning if Bunny was male or female during those moments, sometimes wondering if I had lost track of which character was talking. So Jones’s emotional male characters could use more masculinity. His female character voices could use a bit more femininity. For the ladies, I liked his deep Southern voice for Simone the most. The pacing was good and the delivery of the humor was pretty good too. There were no technical issues with this recording. 4/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are 100% my own.