I was very excited to meet the author of this book again today at the International Day of the Book festival in Kensington, Maryland. I read his previous book What Goes Around Comes Around this past year and, surprising myself because I usually don't take too well to mysteries, liked that book very much. I was hoping to have the chance to read his newest book ... and here it is!

What S.J.Rozan (author of In This Rain) says about this book: "Forget the glitterati, the Eurotrash, and the robber barons. Brian McNulty is my kind of New Yorker, and Con Lehane write about the New York I love."

Opening lines of the book:
"The fooker is spying on us", Barney said.
We were working the stick at the Old Savoy Hotel, and the action at the bar was slowing after a busier than usual Thursday night dinner rush. The hotel was almost full, the occupancy rate bolstered by out-of-town Christmas shoppers and the dining room by a couple of holiday parties from neighboring offices. The Savoy Hotel, which is gone now, is those days was...

I'd love to share this book with other BookCrossers when I'm done, so please feel free to sign up to participate in this international bookray. Please be aware that the mailing order of this bookray is subject to change at any time due to mailing preference, geography, or originator's whim.

Please note that this copy of the book has been initialed by the author!

Begin International Bookray 04/27/08:
SqueakyChu (Maryland, USA) done
nat4lee (Virginia, USA) done
Melydia (Virginia, USA) done - 1 year of travel
spaceystacey (New Jersey, USA) done
rebeccaljames (Ohio, USA) done
echesketch (North Carolina, USA) done
Bookworm-lady (Spain--Europe)
End International Bookray 06/11/09:

This bookray was ended because nothing further was heard about this book despite repeated PMs. The book traveled for 1 year and had 7 stops in 2 countries, including 5 states in the USA. Thanks, all, for having participated!

Okay, I'm reading this book for real at this time...

Brian McNulty is New York bartender who always seems to get into the middle of a murder intrigue. He’s also the son of a Communist union man as well as the father of a teenaged son who now lives with Brian’s ex-wife. McNulty, also a labor organizer, arranges a strike at the hotel in which he works after a waitress was fired from her job. Two deaths occur soon afterward, and McNulty goes about trying to figure out what happened so that neither of the murders would pinned on him.

This is the second book about Brian McNulty that I’ve read and enjoyed. It’s a bit hard for me because I’m not a “mystery” reader, and I read this book only because it had been given to me Con Lehane, a local author. I’m happy to report that I found this book a fun read. Although I’m not great about following convoluted plots, I gave it a go and happily didn’t have to remember too many characters. I remembered McNulty’s “Pop” (his dad) and Kevin (his son) from a previous book. McNulty is a character who is always bumbling around and coming to wrong conclusions. That was okay because he kept me smiling with his wry sense of humor and great one-liners while he tried to decipher the murderer’s identity. Beside, I also liked the cat who kept coming and going in and out of McNulty’s window.

The book is now ready to move on to its next reader...finally!

Picked this book up from fellow bookcrosser Squeaky at the 12th Annual Random House Book Fair at Carroll Community College in Westminister, Maryland. From what I gather, we are changing the order of this bookring around, and now I finally get to read the book I have been dying for! (pun intended)

I'll be sitting down with this bookray in a few days.

I didn't realize I was on this bookring until nat4lee shoved the book into my hand at today's BookCrossing Birthday Bash in Washington, DC. So, uh, I guess I'll read it as soon as I finish my current read.

On second thought, life's too short to read books you don't want to read. Sending this on.

Received this read in the post yesterday and will be reading this month. I enjoy Con Lehane's series.

Another great one. I really like Brian McNulty though, he at times seems to be his own worst enemy in terms of relationships that never seem to work out. He is a self-depreciating bartender who ends up with dead around him often. This was a real page-turner. Con Lehane's style is one which appeals to me greatly.

On to rebeccaljames tomorrow: 5/18/2009

I received this book a while ago. I will get to it as soon as possible. Thank you for sharing.

The book arrived safely and I've already begun reading it.

What a busy guy McNulty is! This was an easy, fairly quick read. It's also another first for me in the way of a new author and I'd certainly read another in the McNulty series.

The characters were very believeable and it was written as if Lehane directly identified with those personalities that interacted with McNulty.

I did become slightly confused by Lehane's usage of same names. But in reality it is often the case that you know more than one person with the same name, so I thought it was rather clever of Lehane to mimick reality in that way for his book.

I've mailed the book today to Bookworm-lady in Spain.

Thank you SqueakyChu for offering this book as a ray. I enjoyed it.

Thanks for sending this on, Echesketch; besides seeming to be very interesting, it is also a beautiful hardback!
Looking forward to reading it; thanks for sharing it, SqueakyChu!
Eva

I have still got this book, and I'm really sorry that my stalling has caused this bookray to be interrupted.
I have already written to Squeakychu, and she has suggested posting here.
The book will soon be on its way, maybe I will re-start this bookray again.
Sorry again!
Eva

I have started reading it... and it is not what I expected, sorry to say!
Its title suggested (at least to me) a traditional whodunit... something AgathaChristie-like. Instead, there is a plot involving New York union leaders I can't quite understand.
Maybe it's just me; but I won't keep it any longer.
I have offered it as a bookray, and it will soon be on its way again. So far:

Jo-an-a (Finland)
Lunatum (Finland) (has asked to be skipped)
NMReader (USA)

I will be glad to add any participants along the way.
Eva

Sent today to Jo-an-a in Finland, in order to re-start the bookray.
I hope you'll enjoy it!
Eva

Received the book, thank you for including me in this bookray!

***
9th March 2012

I loved this book.

I haven't read anything like this in a long time. I don't think I've read many American books at all in recent years, and certainly no murder mysteries.

I warmed to Brian McNulty straight away, and the pace of the book felt leisurely, even when things got a bit heated in the story.

I'll try and get my hands on more books by the same author, as this was such an enjoyable experience!

Thank you very much for including me in this bookray.

I shall now contact NMReader for her address.

I have posted the book to NMReader, hope you'll enjoy the book as much as I did!

It has arrived. I will add to mount TBR and read as soon as I can

Started this book over the weekend but didn't get very far as I had a busy weekend. I have two other books underway at the moment but don't think this book will take long to read.

Donating to the Friends of the Library