Book Review – Donnybrook Good-Bye: The Longest Game, Book 1 by Martin Cullen
First published, 2020
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Inara Caan has been sent on a perilous mission by the Order of the Avenging Hand. Her task: to locate and destroy a specific target; a target that gives Inara some pause for thought. But she has no choice. If she doesn’t eradicate the child, her blue demon sidekick will do the job, and take the girl’s soul as well.
But whatever Inara thinks she’ll find upon locating the girl, it’s surely not a happy and harmless little family, recently returned from a holiday in Ireland. Even though the McMinnens have brought back – something of a souvenir – they are, without doubt, innocent.
With Lee, a clawed and winged monster in hot pursuit, Yukie teaching aikido to an empty classroom, and Thomas flirting and making fake IDs downtown, there are some amazing characters in this debut novel.
The action is high octane, with peril coming from all sides. Some of the language is strong, which suits the genre down to the ground. With a good collection of characters, there are lots of introductions, but the story really comes alive with the appearance of Thomas. I really liked him; flawed and shallow, drifting his way through life – watching Thomas’s evolution was quite something.
Although there were some editing issues: missing small words, a smidge of over-explanation, all in all, this is a fine introduction to an exciting new author.
Recommended.
Petrina Binney - Author 