I enjoyed the way his character was portrayed and I often found myself rooting for him even though he is a violent hitman. The descriptions of Dublin throughout the book were great and make you feel as though you are there in the city with the main character. The only criticism I have is I wish there was more involvement of the baby somehow; I thought he’d be more of a sidekick or something. For better or worse (for me: better), Patrick never tinted my reactions with his own reactions, never clouded my feelings with any of his own angst, or rationalizations, or judgements, or remorse. I loved Patrick's character and being a Dublin girl myself it was great getting a tour of Dublin from the hitman on the bicycle.

Featuring a hitman with heart - not to mention a bike, a man bun, and a baby he found on the job - The Lemon Man is wildly entertaining. Brash tends to specialize in dusting off and reprinting gems of the past, but this book is pretty modern. The tartness of the zest of organic lemons is perfectly balanced in this infusion with our creamy honey. If this is what you want - a terrific Crime story , that may give a reader some feels the narrator either is not capable of, or not capable of sharing, then this is a subtly brilliant version of that. Streets and squares, parks and rivers, the city really adds to the setting and Bruton does a good job of making me feel as if I’m there with Patrick as the story progresses.It’s not my usual genre but I found it thoroughly entertaining and would recommend to anybody who enjoys violence and morally ambiguous characters, or a caricature style comedy. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic.

Here's the main takeaway: this is a good, quirky, fast read that'll leave you with putting Bruton on your radar like he is on mine. Instead of being confused, perplexed, or thoughtful about their erroneous ways, incompetent people insist that their ways are correct.

So he combined his passion for Dublin and his love of crime fiction into "The Lemon Man," which is coming out in July 2022.

Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author"Distinctive and captivating, The Lemon Man's unique blend of action, humor, and intrigue make it a book you won't want to miss. Told in the first person from Patrick’s perspective, we’ll learn more about him and the ones surrounding him. However, some of the detail in this novel made for great reading, with the descriptions of cooking being a highlight for me as well as the structure of the book meaning each section followed Patrick’s to-do list.Now he’s got to balance his daily to-do list of errands and murders-for-hire with his unexpected domesticity, which impacts him and his work in ways he never expected…and that could get him killed. He makes decisions he wouldn't normally make, he second guesses himself and for the first time makes mistakes which have wider implications than just him.

The descriptions of Dublin were also a great addition and meeting all the colourful characters in Patrick’s life was really entertaining. Add to that, no qualms or, conversely, congratulatory self-conceit over all the smooth lying to Olivia, about the job, or the new baby. It’s such a fun and unique concept that it provided some good humour, all while managing a darker overall theme. The ransom: ticking off a to-do list of murders that will make Patrick a target of the police, the mob, and his closest friends. That's what makes it a great read - you sympathize with an assassin who takes a baby from a hit and all the troubles that follow this.This was a darkly funny crime novel, mixing the seedy goings on of Dublin’s criminal underworld with Patrick’s expanding domestic life. Similarly, when Patrick cooks fancy meals for himself and the girlfriend he constantly lies to, the food descriptions and the care he obviously takes in the kitchen suggest love of this task…but I realized I’m just assuming a love of cooking; we never get a paragraph or more where Patrick speaks, or thinks, of joy attached to cooking. By purchasing the item from Charlies Chapters Ltd you agree that you are happy to receive a revised edition.