MURDER ON THE DODDER - Keith Bruton

I only just learned, as I went to grab the cover of the book to post on the blog, that this book is a follow-up to another volume (The Lemon Man). This definitely explains some of the questions I had (or at least I hope the previous volume would explain some of my questions). But as to what, exactly, he does, is addressed pretty directly.

Patrick Callen is a hitman.  

Every year the prisons release a dozen or so killers back onto the streets. The average life sentence is about eighteen years. Not much of a life sentence. That’s where I come in. I get paid to kill these scumbags. I’ve been a hit man for ten years and that’s what pays the bills. It’s no nine-to-five job, far from it, but I’m the best in the country at it.

Now, ask yourself the question, if someone close to you got hurt, abused, or murdered by some lowlife, wouldn’t you want them dead?

Good at what he does, with no emotional tie to those he bumps off (or tortures), he gets around by bicycle and, because of his OCD, makes notes so that he can cross items off of his to-do list. In addition to his personality quirks, one of the things that sets Patrick apart from other hitmen is his willingness not just kill someone, but to do it in a way or a place that is meaningful (for either the person calling for the hit, or for the person being killed [to make a statement]).

It took me a chapter or two to make sense of this.  Murder mystery? Humor? Something else? But I decided to just roll with it and have some fun.  And it is fun.

Somehow, author Keith Bruton manages to make a hired killer - someone we see do some pretty horrific things - into a likeable, even sympathetic character.  Of course this isn't completely unheard of ... think Dexter, for instance. He's quirky in all the best ways. As a list-keeper myself, I especially enjoyed seeing Callen's to-do list, with items crossed off after reading a chapter.

I didn't, however, always understand what certain items on the list meant or why they were crossed off.  Callen's list wasn't a sentence, but a word or two (ie "Penneys" or "Baggot Street") and seeing something like "Kill Lorcan Doyle" on that list, as casually as "Merrion Square Park", hints at Callen's personality.

There was a moment, and I regret I didn't highlight it to go back and look at it again, which suggested he other motivation for doing some of his killing. This was never really followed up and perhaps I misread the moment (again, really sorry i didn't bookmark the page to reread).

The book is told in first person so we never leave Patrick's side, which can be a danger in a book like this, but it's a quick, entertaining read so we're not given the time for Callen to get under our skin.

More humor than mystery, and dark humor because of the killings, but, if it's possible, light-hearted, dark humor.

Looking for a good book? Murder on the Dodder by Keith Bruton is a fun, funny story of a hitman who does some fairly brutal murders. It's a great beach read or a great evening fireplace read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

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Murder on the Dodder

author: Keith Bruton

series: The Lemon Man #2

publisher: Brash Books

ISBN: 9781954841765

paperback, 236 pages