I was delighted to meet the author of this hardback book today at the Day of the Book and the Rose Festival in Kensington, Maryland. Mr. Lehane so kindly gave me his book to share with BookCrossers worldwide. I *love* the opportunity to promote a book of a local author.

Please note the name of this book. Isn't that a great name for a BookCrossing bookray book? I think so!

George Pelecanos praised this book (on the front cover) by saying "Top-shelf fiction, a Crown Royal ride into the heart of night and New York. Con Lehane's work is reminiscent of the best of Lawrence Block, which is to say that this is very good stuff, indeed."

A few lines from the opening of this book:
"I'd been back behind the bar of the Midtown Sheraton for about two weeks, after a six-month hiatus because my foot-dragging bartenders' union took that long to get my job back after the corporation fired me. The company and union both hoping, no doubt, I'd starve to death in the interval.

I was settling into, I thought, one of those quiet periods in life..."

Please note: This hardback book is initialed by the author on the title page.

Begin International Bookray - 4/22/07:
SqueakyChu (Maryland, USA) done
crrcookie (Maryland, USA) done
liz-z (Ohio, USA) done
bsliv1219 (Ohio, USA) done
HeresDeb (Illinois, USA) done -- 1 year of travel
princess-peapod (California, USA) done
NMReader (New Mexico, USA) done
kiptrix (South Carolina, USA) done
melydia (Virginia, USA--US) done
spaceystacey (New Jersey, USA) done -- Stop #10
kobie03 (Canada) done
hippolein (Finland) done
nikel27 (Germany) done
iliotropio (Belgium) done -- 2 years of travel
End International Bookray - 9/02/10:

The bookray was ended because no word was heard about it for a year after it was mailed out of Belgium to the UK. Thanks, everyone, who participated. This book traveled to 5 countries, including 8 states within the USA over a period of two years.

I started the book today, and I'm delighted with what I'm reading. Let me begin by saying that I don't usually read mysteries and am only reading this book because it was offered to me for BookCrossing use by its author. However, it's really good!

I love the dry humor:

"His movements were still quick and jittery...so that he probably burned up a day's worth of calories just standing in the doorway, casing the joint."

or...

"So there I was: out of the cab, hoisted onto my crutches, tottering on the sidewalk like Dufus Dumbfuck."

I *really* identify with the protagonist in such a way that moving through the book with him is a pleasure. The bartender, Brian McNulty, shares these things with me:
** a product of the sixties with a very liberal bend
** unhappy with corporate powers-that-be
** has no need to work his way up the corporate structure
** cynically watches the posturing of others as they move up and down (and even out of) the corporate structure
** doesn't particularly like to be dressed in a suit (although I've never worn a man's suit [being a woman], I much prefer casual wear to evening dress)
** has a talent for doing nothing (I *love* to simply do nothing!)
** enjoys the gentle manners and smiles of illegal Hispanic workers (I ended up marrying one! Almost 28 years and 3 children later, we're still happily married.)

Back to the book. More later...

I'm half-way through the book, still enjoying it very much. I *am* just like the protagonist. He is so unaware of things that happen around him and behind the scenes. So naive...just like me! I could just jump into this book and be his companion.

Edit 11/17/07: I've stopped reading this book for a while until I get some other bookrays/rings finished. I simply can't read six books at the same time. :-( Thank you for your understanding.

Edit 01/01/08: I started to reread this book again and hope to have it to the next in line of this bookray before the end of this month. Thanks for your patience!

Edit 01/08/08: Almost done! The bookray will finally be ready to travel...

Edit 1/12/08: I got to near the end of the book and found I couldn't stop reading it. After I finished the last page, it was suddenly 1:30 in the morning. I really, really liked this book.

Here's my more detailed review:

This is the first book I’ve read by Con Lehane even though it’s the second one in the Brian McNulty series. In this story, I find a naïve and trusting bartender who keeps up with his friends over the years. Sadly, his friends’ lives are not very straight, and bartender Brian gets involved in an intrigue about which he has no knowledge. There are some murders and unanswered questions. The reader is pulled along with this quasi-hero to try to figure out what is happening. Brian is quite a likable fellow. He takes everything in stride with countless dry quips about his and his friends’ situations. His sense of humor is enchanting.

The story flows along well until Brian’s one specific encounter with a woman named Sandra. I don’t like that interlude and feel it adds nothing to the story. However, the fun of reading this book and discovering what is happening to Brian’s friends makes for an overall enjoyable read. As the ending of the book nears, the story becomes more gripping and simply doesn’t let up until all of the unexplained pieces of McNulty’s puzzle fall into place. This is a very good book. I would definitely like to read other books about bartender Brian, preferably starting with the first of Lehane’s series.

Thank you, Mr. Lehane, for sharing this book personally with your friends at Bookcrossing.

Now I can't wait to share this book with others. In the meantime, I'll be looking for the other two books by Mr. Lehane.

PM'ed creativeMGE and am waiting for a response.

No reponse from creativeMGE, so I'm just moving her down a notch as I know she *does* want to read this book. PM sent to crrcookie for her mailing address.

The book is in the mail to crrcookie in Waldorf, Maryland.

This book has arrived in Waldorf, Maryland!

I got the book in the mail last Friday but since I knew what was in the package I didn't even open it til Saturday. When I opened it I realized that my internet connection was on the fritz and I couldn't journal right away so I took it upstairs to read and drat it if I didn't totally forget about journaling it.

I am about halfway through the book and it isn't quite my "style". I don't typically read mystery novels of this sort. I am going to give it a full go and see how it ends up. I'll journal again as soon as I finish the book.

I think that overall the book is good. It has a decent storyline with enough suspense and mystery that I did want to keep reading it. I almost thought that the ending was strange and I am not sure that this is a mystery that the reader has enough information to figure out before reading it.

I liked the tone of the writing. I was able to easily follow the story and although at times I was left wondering it was because the author intended it that way and not because I just couldn't figure out what they were talking about.

The things that didn't suit me with this book was the scene. I am not into the bar scene and I'm not familiar with New York and I almost thought that was a hinderance to my reading at times. I also didn't understand the significance of the unions as they related to the story. I am sure that if I brushed up with some history of unions and the area then it would have made more sense to me.

I tend to read other types of books as my general reading and I don't think that I will seek out another book of this type or by this author because of reading this book but I won't avoid one if it happens to come my way.

I read and released this book as part of the 2008 Keep Them Moving Release Challenge from the Release Challenges forum.

I read and released this book as part of the 2008 Reduce My TBR Mountain Release Challenge from the Release Challenges forum.

This book was mailed to liz-z today!

Received this book today! This will be next on my list as soon as I finish my current book. Thanks for sharing!

Just finished reading this. I didn't care for all the union stuff in the book, for me it didn't add anything to the story. Other than that I would say that I liked the book. It had enough mystery to keep me reading it but I don't know if it had enough for me to read another one of his books. Overall I would say the book was OK.

I already have the next person's address and will be sending the book on to her shortly.

On the way to bsliv1219!

I recceived this book in today's mail. I'll read it soon and get it on it's way.

I tried to read the book, but just couldn't get into it. I made it about 1/2 way. I mailed the book to HeresDeb today. The confirmation number is 0307 1790 8908 4413

I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries, but I liked the idea of promoting a local author. That being said, I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated the writing style of the author. And once I was into it (about 1/3 of the way), it became a real page-turner. Once the main characters were introduced, I found it easy to follow along -- a plus for someone who doesn't read many mysteries. The author also did a good job of putting you in the setting.

I've PMed the next person and will be ready to mail tomorrow if I hear back in time.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed off to princess-peapod, next in bookring.

got in the mail today...will try to get to it in the next few days!

RELEASE NOTES:

Wanna know why Book Crossing is great?
Because you are reusing! You know recycling!

Part of a bookring,I couldn't get into this so after trying a couple times I am passing this along to the next person on the list!

Arrived today. Thank you

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I was looking forward to reading but my work schedule has been crazy and I deicded to forward on to the next person.

delivery Confirmation #: 0308 0070 0000 7605 6022

This came in the mail today. I love mysteries, and I lived in New York City for several years, so I'm expecting to enjoy this. I just finished another book, so this one will probably be started later today. Thanks, SqueakyChu!

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The lead character, Brian, is a likable, humorous guy, but I guess I prefer a protagonist who is more pro-active. He made some dumb moves as far as I'm concerned. This would have been more enjoyable to me if it was more tightly written, and the women in the story were not very realistically portrayed. I'm not sorry I read it, however. Not a really bad book, but not great either.

I'll be sending this to melydia as soon as I can get to the post office.

On its way to melydia in Virginia. Hope you enjoy it!

This arrived in today's mail. I'm going to try to get to it as soon as I can, but I'll give fair warning: I'm currently about a hundred pages into The Grapes of Wrath and I fully expect that to take at least another two weeks to get through it. But I promise to read this one next! It looks fun.

Brian McNulty is a bartender in New York City, pushing forty, generally coasting through life. Then a bunch of old friends suddenly show up in his life again and people start dying. Most of the rest of the story is spent with Brian being confused and people not telling him things. Perhaps the most unfortunate part of this book is that Brian is the least interesting character, and yet he's the narrator. There is the occasional funny line tossed off here and there, but by and large it's a pretty lackluster story, with a plot I found difficult to follow and too apathetic about to care. Perhaps I would feel differently had I read its predecessor first, but I kind of doubt it. I got the impression that this story couldn't decide if it wanted to be funny or serious, realistic or ridiculous. And what was up with the constantly crying women? I will say, however, that in general this was not a poorly-written book. I did not have trouble finishing it or anything. It just made the mistake of trying to be a character-driven story about an uninteresting character.

Hopefully the next person will enjoy it more than I.

CreativeMGE asked to be skipped, so I'm sending this off to spaceystacey.

Received in the post yesterday with another bookring. Will be reading before the end of the month.

Brian McNulty is the main character, who is working in as a union bartender in NYC. Previously, he was working in the Atlantic City area when things were happening that he did not know about then. The past comes back to haunt him and he is left to figure out what actually happened in the past and how that affects him. I enjoyed this read.


09/15/2008 Just started reading this one. Good so far.

09/19/2008 Finished reading and posted off to the next reader on the list.

Book arrived in the mail today. Have a couple ahead of it but should be reading it in a week or two.

I'm not usually a mystery reader but this has a good story line and suspense enough to get me interested. The bar scenes and New York made me glad I don't live in that enviroment. Brian is a nice enough fellow who's unaware of what's really happening kinda getting through life without much reflection on his part. the female characters didn't appeal to me at all but it was an interesting look at a different lifestyle.
I have hippo;ein's address and will get it off to the post.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

mailed to hippolein.

Book arrived safely in Finland today, although we had a bad snowstorm this weekend and it was still snowing the whole day.
thanks for sharing, will go on my pile of ring and ray-books.

Managed to finish the book over Christmas, was a special theme, as am not used to hang around in bars or getting in contact with bartenders for that.
The book keeps you wondering what is going to happen, although I'm sure it could have been shorter if they would have left unimportant parts away.

Waiting now for the answer of the next person on the ray.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book left today by mail to the next person in the BookRay.
Hope it travels fast and safely!

arrived safe at my house, must read 2 more Rings before I can start here.

update:
Good read, thanks for sharing with me.
(asked for the next members address)

The book is now in Brussels. Thank you nikel27 for sending it!

On its way to molekilby, with my sincere apologies for taking so long to post it. :0(