I have Sinned | Caimh McDonnell | Review

‘Nothing is ever easy‘ – I Have Sinned

[ About the Book ]

Bunny McGarry has finally got a lead in his mission to find the Sisters of the Saint but the lead, one Father Gabriel de Marcos, isn’t willing to play ball. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Bunny has to put the padre under surveillance with a little help from some old friends. Father Gabriel runs a boxing club at the bad end of the Bronx, battling to keep kids out of gangs – noble, thankless work. Thing is, saints don’t typically have assassins sent after them. What sins are hidden in the padre’s mysterious past?

The Sisters of the Saint are many things but pushovers they ain’t. To regain their trust, Bunny must save the priest from the demons that are on his tail. Keeping the cantankerous priest alive would be difficult for anyone, never mind that Bunny has to resist the urge to kill him, himself. He has to manage all this while living under the rules that chill him to the very bone. No drinking. No swearing. No violence.

[ My Review ]

I Have Sinned, from Caimh McDonnell, is book two in the McGarry Stateside series, a continuation of the smash hit Dublin Trilogy featuring my main man Bunny McGarry. Described as a novel that ‘melds high-octane action with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit’ I Have Sinned was published on 23rd June 2019 and is a series that is gaining a serious cult following. I’m inclined to think it’s the Cork element to the book….sure we always add a bit of pizzazz to any occasion 😉

This is the sixth book from Caimh McDonnell and yes I have read them all. I always look forward to the familiarity, the wit, the pure doggedness of McGarry. He really is an icon at this stage. I’m thinking a bronze sculpture nears the banks of the River Lee in Cork. Visualise it…..Bunny wearing that coat, Mabel (hurley) in hand with a look on his face that would make the devil himself afraid. Sure we already have a bridge and some statues dedicated to the famous Cork hurler Christy Ring, why not Bunny 😉

Bunny McGarry by Bunny McGarry
‘As silly as it sounded, he had never thought of himself as a “violent man”. He considered himself someone who dealt with the problem of violent men. It was a distinction that was at the core of his self-image.’

Bunny is supposedly laying low in America, searching for the love of his life, Simone, a woman he hasn’t seen in many years, but who is in serious life & death trouble. Bunny is looking for the Sisters of the Saint, a rather obscure group of nuns, who may know more. But nothing for Bunny McGarry ever happens in a straightforward manner. With his only connection to the nuns, a Father Gabriel de Marcos, Bunny needs to find this priest and get him on his side before it’s too late.

Bunny has his two sidekicks, Diller and Smithy, to assist him and the friends make an unlikely, yet very effective, trio. Bunny has no filter and no fear making him a dangerous weapon. He walks into Father Gabriel’s parish in the middle of gangland New York like Moses parting the waters but Bunny hasn’t reckoned on Father Gabriel having his own problems to deal with. Father Gabriel set up a boxing club in the neighbourhood as a place for young kids to gather and to keep them off the streets. Gang warfare is rife and the younger kids are very susceptible to the apparent lifestyle of these hoods. With Father Gabriel beside them providing some light at the end of the tunnel, these kids have hope for a brighter future. Father Gabriel has his own story, his own secret and is very wary of having Bunny around. After awhile the two come to an agreement that causes Bunny much grief but he needs to find Simone so he attempts to abide by the rules…but if you know Bunny…if you REALLY know Bunny…you know that Bunny McGarry doesn’t like rules.

Bunny and Father Gabriel make a very unusual pairing. Both obviously irritate the other but both obviously need each other taking the reader on another riotous journey involving drones, a fairground, insane taxi drives, breaking in to places, breaking out of places, messages from above and much much more….

Bunny McGarry is a bullish man, a man who literally takes no crap from anyone. Originally from Cork, then a member of An Garda Siochana in Dublin and now a ‘dead man’ on the hunt for his love in the United States, Bunny McGarry is like a cat with nine lives. His resilience and pure reckless behaviour, his total lack of self-awareness, his passion and his tenacious personality all combine to make him an unstoppable character, a rogue, a man you would want on your side.

Caimh McDonnell continues the story of the wild man, seamlessly tying up all the books together and leaving the reader ALWAYS wanting more. I Have Sinned can be read as a standalone but I do recommend you at least read Disaster Inc first, if not the full back-catalogue.

I Have Sinned is the perfect distraction from reality. Bunny McGarry is an enigmatic, warm-hearted, yet completely unstable, individual. His total lack of fear and lack of respect makes him a very dangerous enemy indeed. If it’s a belly laugh you are looking for with heart, then these books will fill that gap in your life. Take Bunny home with you…you will not be disappointed.

You can thank me later 😉

[ Bio ]

Caimh is a man who wears many hats. As well as being an author, he is an award-winning writer for TV, a stand-up comedian and ‘the voice of London Irish’ rugby club. A Man With One of Those Faces was his first novel released in 2016 and was nominated for best Novel at the 2017 CAP awards. His books are fast-paced crime thrillers set in Caimh’s home town of Dublin and are laced with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit.

In TV land, he has written for some of the biggest shows on British telly, including Mock the Week, The Sarah Millican TV Programme and Have I got News for You. He has also written a load of kids TV, including a cartoon series which he created and was BAFTA nominated for.

Twitter – @Caimh
Website – http://whitehairedirishman.com/