Welcome to Nowhere

By: Caimh McDonnell

Narrated by: Morgan C. Jones

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

A little revenge never hurt anybody....

When a gambling debt puts him between a rock and a swim in the Hudson with concrete shoes, Smithy has no choice but to take the worst job imaginable. The gig - as prey in a leprechaun hunt for a bunch of Wall Street jerks - goes as badly as it sounds. He could leave it there and write it off as a harsh lesson learned, but 14 months later when Smithy comes up with a plan to take his revenge on the man behind it all, it is too good to resist.

What is it they say about best-laid plans? Instead of teaching his nemesis, Louis, a valuable lesson, Smithy ends up saving him from an assassin. From there, Smith and his friend Diller are dragged into his opponent’s messed-up world. Louis is part of "the Collectors", a group with way more money than sense dedicated to the competitive acquisition of truly one-of-a-kind items that define the secret history of the world.

When one of the group’s members loses his marbles, Smithy and Diller find themselves shanghaied to Nowhere. A well-named location in the middle of the desert, where a madman is trying to build an army from the worst of mankind.

Welcome to Nowhere is a wild ride from the author renowned for the darkly comic thrills of the Dublin Trilogy series and the McGarry Stateside books. It is a stand-alone novel that is a perfect introduction to McDonnell’s blend of comedy and compelling story that is earning him a growing legion of loyal fans.

©2020 McFori Ink (P)2021 McFori Ink

Another great one

Caimh does it again with another great story with great characters. Morgan is the best narrator

Good Fun!

I have really enjoyed Mr. McDonnell's books and newsletters. So glad he is getting the recognition he deserves with other work, although the first 3 Bunny books are the best. This one gets a little wacky, but thinking about the imagination that made this happen is mind boggling.

The usual delight

Two of Caimh’s minor characters take center stage in a romp that’s typically inventive, hilarious and exciting.

Lots of twists and turns you never see coming!

Great story made even better by the best narrator I've heard since I've started using Audible! The author crafts a step that has me continually but wanting to pause or stop the book. If you like books that don't take themselves too seriously and just live great characters. This is your book.

So silly, but entertaining

Some really great side characters from the Bunny books band together to save themselves from comic book villains. Small in stature but never short on courage or snark, (picture Tyrian Lannister as a NYC cab driver/actor) our hero Smithy teams up with the genius kid from Hunt’s Point to fight the narcissistic heir to a fortune who thinks he is emperor of a Mad Max apocalyptic empire. Certainly silly silly silly, and just the thing to read when you feel like the world has gone mad. I’ll forgive the reader his few lapses into cultural stereotype. Overall, a welcome distraction from reality.

McDonnell has an amazing talent for creating characters

If you like the Dublin Trilogy, you’ll like this story. And if you don’t like the Dublin Trilogy, we probably wouldn’t be friends. McDonnell and Jones are wonderful again.

Hahahahahha another fun one

While I adore Smithy and Diller, I feel like this one went off the rails pretty quickly. Don’t get me wrong, it was a funny, rewarding and entertaining ride, and the on-going Mel Gibson gag with smithy is a hoot. This one just lacked the depth and emotional resonance I’ve been accustomed to. In any case, totally worth your while, just don’t expect it to be perfect (which is the enemy of “good” anyway). A lot of fun.

love the spirit and humor

the clever dialogue and interesting characters were a huge win!!! plot was interesting and the story moved quickly. a pleasure

Fun listen. Had already read the Kindle version.

This was an enjoyable listen. I had already read the Kindle version a while back, but love audiobooks more, so enjoyed the story a second time even more. I hope there will be a continuation. I don't like mysterious endings.

Another Great and Funny Novel!

As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I love Caimh !(pronounced "Queeve") McDonnell's work. I've read most of his books at least twice, and they're one of my three favorite go-tos when I'm feeling down. (The other two are Jodi Taylor and Terry Pratchett.) All three share the ability to write burst-out-laughing funny prose that nonetheless speaks movingly of human behavior.

I mostly wanted to mention that McDonnell writes here a bit about chronic pain and an eventual heroin addiction. As one who also struggles with chronic pain, I can vouch for the truth of his commentary - trying to live with opioids isn't easy, and I certainly understand why some folks find themselves on that path. I'm grateful that I've been able to avoid it and go off them, but it's a struggle. McDonnell recognizes that, and sees the quiet strength of those forced to live with genuinely difficult choices. I deeply appreciate his observations, and was very touched by the innate kindness in his writing.

In fact, I'm constantly impressed with McDonnell's gentleness and his genuine care for people on life's downside. I know he give a lot to help the homeless, and he writes as someone who's been there, or at least has been a close observer. He has a very deft hand as an author - his protagonists are flawed, but always striving, always possessing a certain dignity, always eminently lovable. And so alive that I believe I'd be able to walk into the Porterhouse in NYC, where I'd find Bunny devouring a full Irish breakfast, Smithy and Diller sitting by sipping a whiskey and a lemonade.

So McDonnell is very, very funny, but more than that, he's kind. There are few writers I'd really like to meet - I think it's wise to be very cautious about meeting one's heroes - but I'd love to buy McDonnell a pint someday. I don't think he'd embrace, or even accept, the role of hero, and that's one of the things that makes him a fine writer. He's a man with a rare skill - the ability to make his readers both laugh out loud and sniffle a bit, often within a few pages. He is more a creator of heroes, elevating his characters to quiet feats of generosity and kindness. A truly fine writer. Read all his work, you won't be disappointed.

I also think Morgan Jones does a very good job of narrating, in all of the Bunnyverse books. I nicked him a star here because I really loved his voice choice for Smithy in "I Have Sinned," and I'm sad that he went in a different direction here. It's just a personal preference, but that's what review are for. There's nothing here to disappoint listeners, and a great deal to delight.