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without ever leaving the reader behind; as with all
Bateman books, the ending will always be a surprise without making any ridiculous leaps of logic. It will all make perfect sense" and concluding that "If you want a book that will keep you gripped and gripping your sides with laughter, look no further than
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thugs intent on peddling drugs across
Belfast. The Millers have been attempting to evict a widow named Jean Murray from her house and Starkey intervenes, hoping his knowledge of their drug operation would dissuade any repercussions. Starkey's interference leads to Murray's house being burnt down with
241:", is hired to investigate the kidnapping and ascertain who might have been behind it – a significant task given the number of people offended by Caramac's illustration of the crime and corruption prevalent throughout Belfast. Starkey's investigations lead him to the Miller brothers, officially the
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with the reviewer finding that
Starkey's "determination to have the last word or squeeze in one last quip is the hook that never disappoints" though states that "amid all the humour is a classic crime thriller plot". With respect to the story, the reviewer stated that "the plot twists and turns
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was particularly effusive in her praise, stating that she found the novel to be "another excellent, darkly humorous crime novel from
Bateman". She found the dialogue to be "great", the story to be "well-paced" and the novel to be "intricately plotted". Of Starkey, she stated that "while Starkey
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trademark
Bateman jokes, the best of them done in the worst possible taste, appalling acts of random and callous violence, and a genuine sense of menace, suspense and tension as Starkey, more by dumb luck than any great detective work, engineers a violent conclusion to sort out the bad guys and
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couldn't really be described as a likable character in the most obvious sense – he has foibles upon foibles after all – he is certainly charismatic and a great deal of fun to observe". Britton stated also that while "there is plenty of violence,
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405:"might be Bateman's funniest book so far" and going on to state that "the way he twists the jokes into the plot and the characters, rather than just pasting them on top like a layer of
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364:, who opined that "if you can stand the extreme violence and the ripe language, this is a pacey tale, and you can't dislike Dan, no matter how hard you try".
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of confectionary". Ripley goes on to state that he found the ancillary characters to be a "splendid supporting cast" and that, of the novel as a whole, "once
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Dan
Starkey; former well-known journalist turned private-eye. Starkey is currently living apart from his long-suffering wife, Patricia.
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radio broadcaster and old friend of Dan
Starkey, is kidnapped for one hour and returned unharmed. Starkey, now a self-styled "upmarket
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is another excellent crime novel from
Bateman, involving plenty of action, intrigue, mystery and downright bonkers characters". The
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as one of his "books of the year" 2011. It was also listed by author Nick
Quantrill as one of his "Top 5 Books of 2011".
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gets going... it turns into a dark, violent urban thriller". The novel was also reviewed by
Maureen Carlyle for
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and otherwise", "the story is actually rather emotional and melancholy in places". She found that, overall "
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magazine, did note that the similarities between this latest Starkey adventure and Bateman's more recent
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The novel received universal acclaim, with reviewers praising Bateman's ability to create a likeable
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radio station. Turnbull, who had not read any Bateman novels before, stated, after reading
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series appear to be quite significant, stating "there are very scary similarities between
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is an unsettling, breathless and very funny novel". The novel was also praised by
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Jean Murray; widow of a former gang member whose rivals were the Miller brothers
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Further afield, the novel was well received by Sue Turnbull, in a review for
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Street – and Starkey, not the least of which is their fondness for
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698:"Fathers, sons and guns - The Irish Times - Sat, Dec 17, 2011"
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Bobby Murray; one-legged son of Jean, leg shot by the Millers
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409:, is an object lesson in how to write comic crime fiction".
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Jack Caramac; ex-journalist turned "shock jock" broadcaster
626:"Crime: Double Dexter, Death Comes to Pemberley and more"
546:"Guilty Conscience: Nick Quantrill's Top 5 Books of 2011"
523:"Pulp Pusher: Best of the Best - Pusher's 2011 Top Reads"
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Tracey Caramac; wife to Jack and Starkey's old flame
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412:The novel was well received in Ireland also. For
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233:The four-year-old son of Jack Caramac, a
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970:Bring Me the Head of Oliver Plunkett
624:Sanderson, Mark (14 November 2011).
572:Carlyle, Maureen (13 October 2011).
544:Quantrill, Nick (13 December 2011).
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673:Coward, Mat (14 December 2011).
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521:Rankin, Ian (16 December 2011).
1173:Headline Publishing Group books
724:"Crime books with Sue Turnbull"
498:Rankin, Ian (3 December 2011).
377:, a tale of kidnap and general
603:"Getting Away With Murder #59"
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1148:Novels from Northern Ireland
1007:Titanic 2020: Cannibal City
830:Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men
200:is the eighth novel of the
16:2011 novel by Colin Bateman
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207:by Northern Irish author,
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652:"Nine Inches, by Bateman"
525:. Pulppusher.blogspot.com
219:, recognised the book in
213:Headline Publishing Group
99:13 October 2011
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978:The Seagulls Have Landed
469:Nine Inches (Book, 2011)
1158:Novels by Colin Bateman
320:and his comedic voice.
215:. Fellow crime author,
854:The Horse with My Name
303:
247:Ulster Volunteer Force
1153:Novels set in Belfast
298:politically incorrect
1168:British crime novels
950:Eddie & the Gang
870:Belfast Confidential
182:Belfast Confidential
1163:2011 British novels
1118:: "The First Stone"
370:The Daily Telegraph
254:Jean still inside.
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726:. Blogs.abc.net.au
354:proprietary brands
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1029:(2010–2011)
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926:Cycle of Violence
862:Driving Big Davie
838:Turbulent Priests
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599:Ripley, Mike
578:. Retrieved
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1128:(2013–2014)
1111:(2001–2007)
1081:The Journey
941:Young-adult
878:Nine Inches
812:Dan Starkey
758:Nine Inches
448:Nine Inches
433:Nine Inches
424:Nine Inches
403:Nine Inches
392:Nine Inches
375:Nine Inches
358:Nine Inches
338:Mystery Man
334:Mystery Man
324:Mike Ripley
239:private eye
203:Dan Starkey
197:Nine Inches
78:Dark comedy
62:Dan Starkey
1142:Categories
1073:Watermelon
730:24 January
707:24 January
681:24 January
658:24 January
635:24 January
609:24 January
580:23 January
552:23 January
529:23 January
506:23 January
483:23 January
454:References
444:Australian
428:Writing.ie
383:Book Geeks
258:Characters
235:shock jock
217:Ian Rankin
103:2011-10-13
1100:TV series
794:Works by
478:751831107
388:sectarian
350:Aspergers
318:anti-hero
290:Reception
159:751831107
124:Hardcover
84:Publisher
407:marzipan
245:for the
88:Headline
49:Language
172:823.914
122:Print (
101: (
52:English
1120:(2007)
1092:(2018)
1089:Driven
1084:(2016)
1076:(2003)
1068:(2000)
1060:(1998)
1052:(1998)
1018:Others
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965:(2003)
929:(1995)
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833:(1996)
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205:series
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186:(2005)
64:novels
57:Series
39:Author
1116:Rebus
1041:Films
803:Adult
442:, an
362:Shots
329:Shots
309:Shots
131:Pages
74:Crime
70:Genre
1125:Scúp
732:2012
709:2012
683:2012
660:2012
637:2012
611:2012
582:2012
554:2012
531:2012
508:2012
485:2012
474:OCLC
229:Plot
153:OCLC
140:ISBN
435:".
274:UVF
134:416
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