There are times when you pick up a book and wonder if the author is using a nom de plume, especially when the little voice in your head is yelling at you, “that’s not real, surely. Who christens their kid that?”  But quirky is good, it allows one to stand out, gives you a conversation starter, for life. Also, think of the Johnny cash song, “A Boy Called Sue”, or in my case I think about some of the names we give our animals. We’ve just got a cat with half it’s tail missing, as a result of an accident. So, my wife called it Jaffa, I’d have gone with Stumpy… Sometimes our pets must think “oh, sweet, Jesus, who did I piss off in another life”. The native American’s named their young after the first thing they saw after the birth. This book is written by a man with surnames for his christian and surname. When I saw this, I concluded that my parents would have called me O’Shea Murphy, because logically he’s been christened with his mum’s maiden name. but in my case, it would’ve sounded worse than being called Sue. In this writer’s case, its sounds perfectly normal, after the first couple of seconds. This month’s first book review is ‘An Honest Living’ by Dwyer Murphy and published by No Exit Press on 1^st February ( www.bedfordsquarepublishers.co.uk/no-exit/ ).

After quitting a prestigious Manhattan law firm, on a whim. A restless lawyer must try to survive as an odd-job litigator, on the cruel streets of the big apple. When Anna Reddick turns up at his apartment with ten grand in cash, asking him to prove her husband is trying to sell valuable first editions, belonging to her family, it turns out to be an easy case. That is until the real Anna Reddick, an enigmatic novelist, comes to him. He realises he is out of his depth, especially when her husband takes his own life. He is thus drawn into a series of deceptions involving, Joeseph Conrad novels, unscrupulous booksellers, and seedy real estate developers.

If you love gritty noir-esque gumshoe books, things like the Mike Hammer, or the Spenser series. Even the old Bogart type flicks. Then this book is right up you street. I got with the main character from the first page, despite quickly realising that Dwyer Murphy had made himself the main character. Again, with a name like that you sound your going to sound like a law firm, or a bogart character.

The book is short at a smidge over two hundred pages, but if you love read books with detailed descriptions of the uptown gin joints, and downtown dives in New York, then get ready to filly your boots. Murphy’s writing is so detailed, I went to sleep with the honking of taxi cabs. While there is a plethora of intriguing, and fully fledged characters all through the book too.

This is American author Dwyer Murphy (@dwyermurphy) debut novel. His second book ‘The Stolen Coast’ is due out later this year. His day job is Editor-Chief of CrimeReads (www.crimereads.com) The Literary hubs crime vertical. He previously practiced law in New York, and editor the Columbia law Review.

So, if you are looking for a gritty, but funny thriller set in the rarely seen world of bookselling, then Murphy’s Debut is one to head for. Then maybe follow up with his second book.

Reviewed by : Adrian Murphy

This book is part of a Random Things Blog Tour, to see what the other reviewers thought of it, visit their blogs listed below. Then, if you get a copy, comeback and tell us what you thought, we’d love the feedback.