Thumbs Up From My Reader in Portugal

My Sebastian McCabe - Jeff Cody mysteries are very popular in Portugal -- at least with one reader, Nuno Robles of Lisbon. Nuno always grabs each new entry in the series as soon as it comes out. Here's his review of Erin Go Bloody, exactly as he posted it on Amazon UK:


This is another great book from the fascinating series of McCabe and Cody mysteries. These series are modern classics. I first approached Dan Andriacco books for the Sherlock Holmes connection. He's a true Sherlockian, with a deep knowledge of the Holmes canon. And, from the very first book of the series, there are some (subtle and not-so-subtle) Sherlockian references. That is a very nice touch for a Holmes fan like me. But that's not why I love these series...in fact, that's not why I'm addicted to my regular McCabe and Cody fix. Me, and I suspect, many others. The sherlockian references are only partly responsible for these books' appeal.

The characters created by Andriacco are really fascinating. And, as our knowledge of their personalities grow from book to book, we feel like we really know them and, somehow, relate to them. Jeff Cody is someone we feel we should be like. Great sense of humour, intelligent, with a (very fashionable) eating and exercise discipline, beautiful wife (and now daughter...this is not a spoil alert, as it is told in the very beginning of the book) and a great job. McCabe is not that disciplined, far from that, although he's an even more fascinating character (and, by the way, easier to relate to...well, for me anyway) and the source of most of the Sherlockian references.

The plot of this crime novel is, like all the books before "Erin Go Bloody", very well written and imagined. The title says it all. The humour and intelligence are a very important part of Andriacco's writing skills. The end is unpredictable and surprising. Erin is a town we'd all like to live in, with its restaurants, cafes, university and bookshops and its friendly people (not always...). I think that, with each book, Andriacco gets better, introducing new characters, creating a real crime feeling and writing fascinating stories that don't let us put the book down. He makes you feel at home in Erin, but always alert. Somehow, the feeling we get from this book is, I don't really know how to express it, familiar and cosy. And also, at the same time, frightening, as we see the end approaching but it's hard to imagine what will happen next. The way the author creates the crime ambient in this book is sublime.

In the end, I couldn't help thinking...."what would have Holmes done?".

We should be grateful for the McCabe and Cody series. The times we spend in Erin are always the best times of the year. I hope Dan Andriacco keeps inviting us to his beautiful creation.

If you knew the other books, you'll need "Erin Go Bloody". If not, it's not too late to start, and you can start here and go back to #1....it's a great trip and it's great to be contemporary of such a fascinating author.