Dolan, Harry: Bad Things Happen

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David Loogan has a mysterious past. We know from the outset that he's using an alias, when he's in a department store buying a shovel--one with a short handle, so it can be used in a confined space. ("The shovel has to meet certain requirements," the book begins.) He's living a quiet life in Ann Arbor, but falls into a job there working as an editor for a mystery magazine. The man who hires and befriends him turns out to have secrets of his own--as do many of the writers he publishes. And one night, when the book opens, David's new boss calls him asking for a favor. Trouble ensues.

If you were setting out to write the type of book that I would most like to read, you couldn't do much better than Harry Dolan's Bad Things Happen. In a blurb on the book jacket Karin Slaughter likens the novel to Scott Smith's excellent A Simple Plan (which was made into a good but not excellent movie), and the comparison is a good one. Bad Things Happen is smart and filled with oodlees of unexpected twists. David Loogan is a great character, enigmatic and clever and likable. The book is suspenseful. There's a subtle romance thrown in. Dolan's debut novel is simply a great read. I'm hoping this is the start of a prolific writing career for him.

Comments

[Susan]

1.

I'll watch for this book - it does sound interesting!

[Lauren]

2.

Glad you enjoyed BAD THINGS HAPPEN! Interested in an ARC of Harry Dolan's newest, VERY BAD MEN?

[Debra Hamel]

3.

Thanks, Lauren! I've decided not to take review copies anymore because the pressures of obligatory reading became too much for me. But I'll check out his new book on my own. Thanks for making me aware of it!