This was the final book by Nancy that I had to read, and I think that itwas by far the best one! As she's getting involved in yet anothersituation, our murder-prone heroin struggles with some deeply personalissues. She had me intrigued to the very surprising ending! Note: Thelanguage in this book is a lot stronger than in any of her others.
This novel is rather unlike anything I've ever read before. At best, I could compare it to Camus' The Stranger, as it shares the same dark, surreal quality of narrative. However, in The Crooked Man, the protagonist, Harry Fielding, does manage to make a hint of peace with his circumstances, but it's a hellish sojourn before he obtains even that much.Fielding is employed by the M15 to do someone else's dirty work, which puts him outside of the law, more or less. Although Fielding manages to escape the legal consequences reserved for ordinary citizens, his deeds do not go unpunished. As he goes through his existence making choices according to a half-anesthetized morality, he begins to become aware that he, as an individual entity, is being eclipsed by the shady manipulations of his unscrupulous boss. That sense of powerlessness breeds in him desperation, and as he makes his slow and steady way toward damnation, he discovers that potential exits are really deceptions that lead him back to his previous course and there are no u-turns to go back and undo past deeds. He also finds a singular yet grim consolation in knowing that he is not alone in being punished far more than he deserves, and becomes a sympathetic witness to the desperation, fear and suffering of others, from incidental strangers to his neighbors, friends and family. In the end, Fielding manages to thwart fatal resignation and comes to terms with his situation, acknowledging wryly the twisted means of his survival in a world dominated by desperation, confusion and moral ambiguity.
Author Davison's pithy and direct writing style is effective in evoking the sense of desperation and confusion felt and witnessed by the narrator. It's also a notable accomplishment by the author to have been able to capture the protagonist's disorientation so effectively while making the novel so readable. Additionally, Davison has a much more profound understanding of irony then many of his contemporaries, which affords some of the novel's most quotable bits. He does an equally commendable job in creating sympathetic, believable, even haunting characters, including smaller, marginal ones such as the drunk carrying the bag of coal. These characters are disturbingly memorable, as they become as etched into the reader's mind as in the protagonist's. Overall, this is an excellent, recommendable book, providing a poignant and unforgettable narrative of a very flawed and very human individual making his 'crooked' way in a very grey world.
Product Description
Harry Fielding is an understrapper-a sort of odd-job freelancer for the British intelligence agency, MI5. One night he watches his neighbor exacting murderous revenge on her brutal brother-in-law-a premeditated act, for which she is sentenced to prison. Not long after, Harry witnesses a different murder: a crime of passion committed by a cabinet minister. Harry must help clean up the crime scene, turn the dead woman into a Missing Person, and ensure the guilty man does not become a suspect.
In The Crooked Man, Philip Davison offers fans of contemporary Irish literature something wonderfully unexpected-a wry, grim thriller with a dark sense of humor, of depravity, and of humanity.
"Harry Fielding, the narrator, is a gem. World-weary and clueless, knowing and blind, he's the perfect escort through this memorable and very accomplished book." (Roddy Doyle, author of A Star Called Henry)
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Heard about this book from some friends on Long Island.An excerpt from Unsafe Harbor-
Cautious, he headed for shore and shallow water dragging the line. Themagnet and object moved without encountering rock. Having no desire to sharehis treasure, Luke searched the shore, the bluffs and tree line to assure no onewatched. This will be a secret for now. Seeing no one, he smiled from greed andscolded himself.
At 6-feet depth, he saw the magnet attached to a long, dark object. Whatwas it? The object did not look like a treasure chest. Images distortedunderwater. Was it British cannon from the Revolutionary War? A British basewas in Huntington Harbor. The cannon had to be valuable to a collector. Historymade it treasure.
Wild with curiosity, Luke stared at the catch seeking identification as itmoved towards shallow water until the depth was 3-feet.
Then Luke's eyes widened and his breath stuck.
The magnet attached to a chain wrapped around a man with his hands tiedbehind his back.
This book should be called 38 dinners at Elaine's instead of `2 Dollar Bill.' It seems like Stone, Dino, and a slew of other characters are spending every other page entering the restaurant. I feel a little bad trashing this book. The author photo of Stewart Woods shows the face of a man who appears humble and defenseless. But it was so bad, that even a defenseless chap like Woods deserves no sympathy. I am trying to remember earlier Barrington books. I know that I have not enjoyed the last couple of titles in the series. They are getting so outlandish and inconceivable that its like spending some time in the mind of a five year old playing with action figures rather than being led on a taught story under the capable hands of a true suspense writer. 
This follows up Bobbie Faye's Very, 'very, very, very' Bad Day. It starts up a couple months after the first disaster and many of the same characters appear. Bobby Faye is working at Ce Ce's store one day when her cousin Francesca shows up asking Bobbie Faye to help her find stolen diamonds her mother, Marie, hid somewhere. Francesca's father, Emile, head of a mob organization and the person Marie stole the diamonds from, thinks Bobbie Faye knows where they are at. Within the first several chapters of the book, Bobbie Faye is shot at, kidnapped on the same block by three separate groups of people, and her car blows up on a bridge, taking part of the bridge with it. So you could say the sequel starts off with a bang. 
I'm not normally much of a mystery reader. I guess I'm a bit of a prose snob. I confess. For my taste, mysteries tend to be a bit insipid. Characters are too often one-dimentional: overly described and under-developed. Plots may be clever but are so totally predictable. Atmosphere is too often written in little florid slashes, in a kind of straight-jacketed prose brought in specially just to set the scene.Not so with John Shannon's Jack Liffy series. Wow. These books rock. This man can write. His sentences are beautiful and thought-provoking, yet he can slash through a scene, leaving you breathless and needing more, as well as anyone I've read. And Shannon gives the reader real characters and a true sense of place, not just walking cartoons and specially engineered atmospherics.
This new book, The Orange Curtain, may be the best yet in the Jack Liffy series, but all of Shannon's Jack Liffy mysteries have been well done. The first book, Concrete River really captured for me a section of the slimy underbelly of Los Angeles. No mystery writer since Chander has sliced LA open and spilled out its guts as compellingly as Shannon has. LA is a huge place. There are lots of corners to explore. This new book, The Orange Curtain, takes in, among other things, Orange County and its huge Vietnamese population. It's a great book, whether you want to disappear into it on the coast-to-coast airliner or want to take it in over several days and savor its wonderful prose and interesting characters. It's a great book, and this is a series that just keeps getting better.
There is plenty of punch in this book for you mystery addicts, plenty of hard-boiled sentiment and riveting, page-turning action. But between the lines--in the lines--there is also some superb writing.
I can't wait for the next one.
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Many Georgians and many tourists enjoy the recreation and relaxation ofJekyll Island, one of the jewels of Georgia's "Golden Isles." One of the attractions for visitors to the Island is staying at, orvisiting, the restored hotel, The Jekyll Island Club, and touring the"cottages" built by the millionaires who originally developed theisland more than one hundred years ago.In The Jekyl Island Club, BrentMonahan takes us back to the time when J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, andother tycoons and robber barons vacationed in splendor, and ran theirlittle island as part of their fiefdoms.When one of the guests on theisland is found dead from a gunshot, however, they have to acknowledge thelocal authority, at least enough to have the Brunswick sheriff makeofficial their idea of what happened.Enter John Le Brun, highsheriff of Brunswick and a person with good reason to hold a grudge againstthe captains of industry who occupy what was formerly his home.Le Brunhas his own problems, including a brand new chief deputy who recentlyreturned home is disgrace from Philadelphia and is the son of the localjudge.The judge is not a fan of the sheriff's, and is totally in thepocket of the Jekyl Island Club membership.In launching his investigationLe Brun must face the disdain, if not enmity, of club members and some oftheir staff; concerns about the loyalty of his own deputy; his ownfeelings; and his sense of justice.The pressure is on, in part becausePresident McKinley is soon to visit the Island, traveling over fromThomasville where he is vacationing at the vacation home of his advisor,Ohio Senator Hanna, to meet with the some of the millionaires and HouseSpeaker Reed, a guest of Morgan's. President McKinley's visit actuallyhappened, and Monahan uses that historical fact and the residual glamor ofthe Jekyl Island Club, to fashion a neat little mystery.In an afterword Monahan also notes that before and after the millionaires' ownership,Jekyll was spelled with two "l's."While it was their privatepreserve, there was only one. While this book is not agreat mystery,it is a solid one.The greatest charm, however, is in its bringing to lifethe era of conspicuous opulence and filling out the pictures today'svisitors to Jekyll Island have in their imaginations.
I really like this series!While there are some little issues, overall it is a really great cozy series.The characters are likeable and that Ian is simply yummy! I agree with the first reviewer that the relationship has been a little rushed - I would have liked it to develop a new level at each book instead of throwing several into this one.I also agree on the snow issue...since I think New England in general is a wimp about snow and closes at the drop of the hat rather than waiting it out (that may be sour potatoes as I grew in a far northern state that closes for absolutely NOTHING while my cousins in New England were always getting out of school for an inch of snow).
The last time I was so excited about a first-time mystery writer, I was reading Jonathon King's The Blue Edge of Midnight, which went on to win the Edgar Award for best first novel.Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure is a powerful novel, with a fascinating protagonist.
As others have mentioned, this author should get more press and marketing than he does. His stories are different in such a good way. His characterizations are real, his sense of humor is tops and his stories have diversity. I would also like to thank Amazon for introducing me to this author. I liked the Holland Taylor stories and would like to see him trade off between the two. I would recommend reading just one of his books and you will be hooked...