Bad Things Happen

By: Harry Dolan

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping novel about a man trying to escape his violent past and soon becomes a murder suspect when a publisher - and the husband of the woman he's having an affair with - turns up dead.

The man who calls himself David Loogan is hoping to escape a violent past by living a quiet, anonymous life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But when he's hired as an editor at a mystery magazine, he is drawn into an affair with the sleek blonde wife of the publisher, Tom Kristoll - a man who soon turns up dead.

Elizabeth Waishkey is the most talented detective in the Ann Arbor Police Department, but even she doesn't know if Loogan is a killer or an ally who might help her find the truth. As more deaths start mounting up - some of them echoing stories published in the magazine - it's up to Elizabeth to solve both the murders and the mystery of Loogan himself.

"Witty, sophisticated, suspenseful and endless fun...the best first novel I've read this year." (Washington Post)

"A hypnotically readable novel, with...dialog worthy of Elmore Leonard." (Douglas Preston)

"Fans of Peter Abrahams and Scott Turow will find a lot to like." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

©2009 Harry Dolan (P)2009 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Dolan's neatly symmetrical plot is tight, his dialogue is crisp, and his humor wry." (Booklist)

Amazing book. Just amazing.

And I thought Dolan’s , “The Last Dead Girl” was great, and it was, but this is one of the best books I’ve ever read or listened to!!!

Potential, but too mechanical

A clever mind at work here, but far too mechanical and complicated. It involves most of the tricks and gimmicks used by crimes writers, if not them all. Definitely the first book I have read that sprayed suspicion on each and every character in the story. May be a tongue-in-cheek effort by a professional editor or College Professor incapable of an original plot or story.
Something about it seemed off, like it was written separately by a team of people and then coalesced by the HAL 5000. It left me wanting.

Great book with solid characters

It is interesting to watch how various writers take on the "detective genre", which has been so overdone that we all recognize the various elements of these stories: the divorced detective that drinks too much; the hard nosed cop with the heart of gold; the former special forces soldier that somehow works in a small town; the "civilian" that helps the cops through a difficult case; etc. We all recognize these elements so well, that such characters do not even really have to be fully developed anymore.

In this case, the characters are interesting, fresh and the story is entertaining. Here, the main character is a mysterious guy that is working as an editor for a crime publication, as such he and the various published writers can all put forth theories - and become suspects - based on various plotlines. There is a continual refrain "if this were a story in Grey Streets...", which I think adds to the atmosphere, and really helps convey how the character is trying to deal with the facts of a murder.

I really liked this and look forward to the next one by this author.

Okay- not great

I was expecting a better story when I purchased this audiobook based on reviews I'd heard. The narration was fine, and the story was okay- but it was not as engaging or intriguing as I was hoping it would be. I liked it enough to finish it, and some parts of the story and characters were much more interesting than others.

Too drawn out

Basically a good story but way too drawn out! It should have ended long before it became tedious. And how many times did we have to hear about those glass beads for pete' s sake!

Very entertaining

If you could sum up Bad Things Happen in three words, what would they be?

Light, fast, fun

Would you recommend Bad Things Happen to your friends? Why or why not?

I would. It's a light listen. Very engaging. There are some lose threads at the end, and you have to suspend disbelief. Despite all that, it was a

What about Erik Davies’s performance did you like?

He really gets into the character.

Any additional comments?

This is not the deepest novel ever, but it's really entertaining and you will find that you can't turn your device off. You always want to know what happens next.

Curiously engaging

Dolan books have a strange allure for me. He's got great writing potential even if it's never fully realized. Still, he entertained me throughout. It feels as though it's missing something though I can't quite define what , but in an odd way, that intangible missing piece added to the books allure. It has a good plot, decent if not great character construction, and some pretty solid writing. Sometimes the dialogue seems contrived, and a few of the characters/suspects speak to the detectives as though they are ruminating on what it's like to be a detective in a novel but many of them are writers so perhaps it's intentional. The refrain is satisfying if a bit overused. All in all, it's fun, and worth a credit. I recommend it and think some of the bad reviews here are more to do with personal taste than any real lack of quality.

Slow start but sucks you in.

At first I thought I wasn't going to finish this book, but I kept listening and pretty soon I didn't want to stop until the book was done. Unusual plot, interesting slightly odd characters, and fine narration. I'm glad I kept going.

Entertaining but not stellar

Erik Davies did a respectable job on narration. The story took a bit to get into but ended up holding my attention. Not the best book I've ever written but it was entertaining.

great book

2nd time I've listened to this story. it's great & I'm going to listen to the next in the David Loogan series again as well.