Dead I Well May Be

By: Adrian McKinty

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

"I didn't want to go to America, I didn't want to work for Darkey White. I had my reasons. But I went."

So admits Michael Forsythe, an illegal immigrant escaping the troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But young Michael is strong and fearless and clever, just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month. Michael and his lads tumble through the streets, shaking down victims, drinking hard, and fighting for turf, block by bloody block.

Dodgy and observant, not to mention handy with a pistol, Michael is soon anointed by Darkey as his rising star. Meanwhile Michael has very inadvisably seduced Darkey's girl, Bridget, saucy, fickle, and irresistible. Michael worries that he's being followed, that his affair with Bridget will be revealed. He's right to be anxious; when Darkey discovers the affair, he plans a very hard fall for young Michael, a gambit devilish in its guile, murderous in its intent.

But Darkey fails to account for Michael's toughness and ingenuity or the possibility that he might wreak terrible vengeance upon those who would betray him.

A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent, complete with an Irish lilt.

Don't miss these other noir thrillers in the Michael Forsythe series: The Dead Yard (Unabridged) and The Bloomsday Dead (Unabridged).

©2003 Adrian McKinty (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A profoundly satisfying book from a major new talent, and one of the best crime fiction debuts of the year." (Booklist)

Dark, vivid Irish tale of revenge

I typically listen to mysteries and thrillers but this was my second McKinty. The story is very well told and the narration was just perfect. However, the story, characters and happenings are dark and the action is vivid. There are no mysteries here but I knew that going in. The whole book is built around what happens to a particular Irish man in NY and how he deals with it. McKinty can weave quite a bit of "poetry" into his writing which makes it sound very nice but does not really move things along. If you like any McKinty, you will like this.

True Grit

I've been an Audible member for about a year now and have been through roughly 30 audiobooks. More than any other that I've purchased, I had a hard time getting through Dead I Well May Be. I have read that other reviewers were appalled by the extremely coarse language. I was prepared for that and not overly put off by the high number of four-letter words. However, I found the pacing incredibly slow at times. I felt somewhat rewarded for not giving up on the book by a solid conclusion. That said -- I'm not eager to listen to the two follow-ups in the series.

Better than expected!

I expected to like this book but it was quite a bit better than I had anticipated. It was much more than just an Irish mob story. There was excellent character development, a believable story line, and wonderful writing. I really cared what happened to the main character. I certainly look forward to reading more of McKinty's books.
The narration was perfect for the character and added to the story.
Kudos to McKinty and Doyle--the perfect partnership!

5-star Narration of a 2-star story

McKinty paints very believable and realistic pictures of Belfast and New York in the last decades of the 20th century. And as well he should, because he was raised in the former and moved to the latter during that time period. He also gets high marks for Irish humor and dark irony. He gets low marks for his obvious lack of firearms knowledge and the numerous technical errors. If you are going to write stories with this much gun play, then at a minimum get a gunny to proofread your story.

The book starts strong, but begins to struggle about 1/3 of the way in. It seems that McKinty cannot decide whether he wants to write like Dashiell Hammett or Shamus Heaney; so he bounces back and forth between the two. Some of his all too often used "word association" games consisting of a long list of verbs and adjectives to describe places and events come off sounding like a creative writing homework assignment from an NYU night course. Adrian, if you're reading this, stick with going full-out Irish Noir and drop the poetic side trips. I know it's an Irish thing, but it was laid on a wee bit too thick.

The only reason I stuck with this book was the outstanding voice skills of Gerard Doyle. Not just character voices, but accents as well. I tried one other pairing of McKinty and Doyle prior to this book, but pitched it half-way through due to the writing. Again, the only reason I had stuck with that one as long as I did was also due to Gerard Doyle's narration.

I truly hope that McKinty finds his niche, because he has great promise but needs focus. In the mean time, I will be looking for more Gerard Doyle narrations of other authors.

Great series, well done all around

If you could sum up Dead I Well May Be in three words, what would they be?

great story, characters and plot

Who was your favorite character and why?

Michael Forsythe

Which character – as performed by Gerard Doyle – was your favorite?

Michael Forsythe

Any additional comments?

all of Adrian McKinty's books are well done and Gerard Doyle performs them beautifully. I have just gone back and re-listened to the Michael Forythe trilogy and every bit as good the second time

Not a great separation

Love this author's droll sense. Love his story telling. This book is a continuation of his series about constable inspector Duffy, but the main character is a thug. The patterns are the same. Good read if you have not read the Duffy series

Fantastic

The accent of the narrator coupled with the twists and turns of the story captivated me. I absolutely love it.

I Don't Think the Story Line Matters

What made the experience of listening to Dead I Well May Be the most enjoyable?

Even if the story itself was crap, which it isn't, McKinty's minimalist, enormously descriptive writing would pull you in. Call it prose, call it literature, call it what you want, it gets inside your head and not only paints a picture, but provokes the corresponding emotions. I wasn't far into this audio book when I had to drive my 90 year old mother to the doctor. She listened for awhile, and exclaimed, "I can picture exactly what he is describing. It's wonderful." Then the creative F bombs started dropping and I had to turn it off. I find myself rooting for Michael while being repulsed by the choices he makes. I like that the books are written in the first person, because it's the interesting thoughts in Michael's head that make it possible to like him.

Have you listened to any of Gerard Doyle’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and he's wonderful. Great voices, great pace. If I could hire him to come read me to sleep every night, I would.

Chilling. Subtle. Colorful.

The lead character narrates this tale. Bit by agonizing, enticing bit you come to know his true self and his situation. I have rarely seen a writer do such an excellent job of building suspense. At the same time he incidentally draws a picture of the underworld of late 20th century NYC with brief deft strokes of description. I anxiously await this author's next book.

The start of a good trilogy

He is a gifted writer and story teller - Doyle is amazing. I read this trilogy in reverse order - but enjoyed each book - the last is the best - they get progressively better!