Hand In The Till

Derry Women #2

by Gerald Hansen

"Continued brilliance. The characters will make you laugh and cry and fume while you're reading." Colin Quinn

PLEASE NOTE: Although this book is part of the IRISH LOTTERY SERIES, there is no cliffhanger. It is true that the characters get older as the series progresses, but each book is a complete story, and can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.

With a family like this, who wouldn't need absinthe?

Fionnuala Flood, mother of seven unruly thugs, takes stock of her life on her 45th birthday, and it couldn't be more of a misery. She's been fired from the corner shop for stealing, her two oldest sons are in prison, her husband's hands are fondling more than frozen fish at the packing plant, and her lesbian daughter has just published a book exposing the family's attempts to get their claws into Auntie Ursula Barnett's lottery winnings the year before. Daughter Dymphna, unwed mother, has just been kicked out of her boyfriend's house, adding two more mouths to feed.

Desperate to raise money to travel to Malta for the launch party and wreak havoc, Fionnuala puts into motion a get-rich-quick scheme that preys on the weaknesses of others and will hopefully add a bit of luxury to her empty coal bin of a life. The scam, however, unleashes dark secrets that bring Ursula back to town for a final showdown.

Hand In The Till is a darkly comic look at revenge, retribution and, perhaps, reconciliation. With a shot of absinthe.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2011

About the author

Member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Crime Writers Association, best-selling author Gerald Hansen was a Navy brat. He started school in Thailand, graduated high school in Iceland, with Germany, California and his mother's hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland in between. He attended Dublin City University, and also lived in London and Berlin. The first of his Derry Women Series, An Embarrassment of Riches, was an ABNA semifinalist in 2011. His Derry Murder Mysteries series has been a great success. He also has a travelogue series, Around the World with Jet Lag Jerry. He loves spicy food, wearing Ben Sherman and traveling around the world (still). He lives in NYC.
Author pic by Marcin Kaliski

For special deals and freebies, sign up for his mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/cKqMYD

Reviews

[Joseph Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dysfunctional Family in a Dysfunctional Land

Hansen’s collection of liars, thieves, dolts, drunkards, racists, and bullies; not one with a single redeeming quality; is the most delightful group of rogues you’d ever want to spend time with.

Set in Derry, Northern Ireland, not long after the end of "The Troubles;" but for Hansen’s characters the war is far from over – not just between Catholic and Protestant; but seemingly between everyone and everyone else.

The plot doesn't so much revolve, as reel drunkenly around a scheme to swap out cheap quality canned goods, Hungarian Semtex, two knuckle-headed would-be IRA revivalists, Polish immigrants, a family for whom “dysfunctional” would be several steps up, street hooligans, striking workers, absinthe, a mysterious and gruesome videotape, and the political, religious, and financial rift between Catholics and Protestants.

Hilarious from start to finish, thanks in great part to Hansen’s mastery of dialect, "Hand in the Till," is an absolute must read.

[Carolyn Wilhelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful writing, miserable topic, realistic fiction, black humor, sadness

The lives of miserable people well described with black humor and clever writing help explain how the troubles in Northern Ireland continue today in terms of prejudice and hate. The plot involves how part of an extended family won the lottery, and other relatives have no idea their money is not endless and cannot comprehend a lottery win has limits. The winners are persecuted. The children of the jealous relatives are criminals in training which was difficult for me to read. I read book one first and think I would have abandoned this book two if I had not understood the characters. Although I have not spent time in Derry/Londonderry, we took a black taxi tour in Belfast and I believe this story reflects how large the religious divide is still. In Belfast, gates between neighborhoods are still closed at night and neighborhoods are visibly political/religious.

[Barbara Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

More crazy shenanigans with the Flood family. Fionnuala has come up with a way to defraud her employer and line her pockets with her “cash cow” cans of cheap vegetables. This is almost too complicated a scheme for Fionnuala to have figured out as she only fires on a few of her brain cells on a good day. Of course the plan goes awry. This is another hilarious, but very black, twisted story of life in Derry. The women run the show, just not very well. Siofra is growing up to be just like her mother with so little redeeming value as to be almost nonexistent but I keep cheering for her. I love these characters. I hope that this series continues with many more books so I can see how Siofra grows up. I don’t expect anything good will happen but I expect to be thoroughly entertained.

[Elizabeth Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outrageously Funny!

Great story and wildly funny about an Irish family that aren't your usual Irish family. This family has no qualms that their actions are normal. This is a great read!

[Marian Nanney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

I was afraid when I stumbled upon this book that it would be some sort of cutesy, "cozy" book for old ladies. No, not at all! Reminiscent of slapsticky Brit coms from the 90s on, it was just the escape from every day life (in the US) that I needed! Looking forward to reading more from the series!

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read

I really enjoyed this. Plot had so many different things going on. Eventually, it all kind of melded into one.

[Ann McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hilarious chapter in the ongoing saga of the Flood family of Derry, Northern Ireland.

Love them all. Fight your way through the dialect and sit back for a good read.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerald Hansen hits the jackpot again with another outstanding piece of black comedy genius, delivered in his own unique style. This is the follow up to An Embarrassment of Riches. The legendary Fionnuala Flood and her extended family once more emblazon every page with their misguided antics and comedy of errors. Right from the off we know we're in for an explosive ride when we learn that tins of knock-off vegetables are actually filled with Semtex. Hansen not only has a rare talent for witty and razor-sharp characterization, he also writes for the ear - I feel I could almost pass for a native of Derry, if I wasn't so heart-feared, so am are! Above all, Hansen is a master of plot. No scene is wasted. Misunderstandings, crossed wires and bawdy frolics abound as Fionnuala takes stock of her lot at the age of forty-five and her futile attempts to raise money for the trip abroad to wreak revenge on her daughter, Moira, come to grief. Meanwhile, husband Paddy is up to no good with fellow Polish worker at the Fillet O Fish factory and Dymphna's lot is a sorry one - up the duff again and estranged from her Proddy husband Rory who her best friend has her eyes on. Youngest daughter Siofra, too - ever her mother's daughter - is carrying on the religious divisions in Derry single-handedly. Well, almost.
I won't give away any more of this story, but it will have you in stitches. Watch out especially for the jaw-droppingly funny chapter featuring a Rubick's cube.

A must read

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The scurrility continues with some karmic resolutions, let'sjust say children are not always sugar and spice and the parents definitely aren't. Another enjoyable dark humoured tale, not for the 'woke' or politically correct, but for us lesser mortals a treat.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was happy to win this as a First Reads copy because I do not usually dabble in this area of fiction. The book started out pretty slow (perhaps it is because I did not read the precursor, Embarrassment of Riches), but then become quite funny and builds to a plot-racing finish. It certainly seems as if there could be a third installment, too, given the ending. Hansen is darkly hilarious and I look forward to a third book with these vile characters!

[Cynthia Cordell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. I feel like I am somehow a part of the Irish community that the author Gerald Hansen writes about. I know that it took me over a year to finish reading it, but I could only read a few pages at a time during my spare time. It was worth the read. I couldn't be happier with myself at reading "Hand in the Till." What a wonderful book it was to read!!!

[Kama · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fast read. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but it was a good read. I didn't find it funny at all. I actually thought it was sad. It did get me thinking about things, which is always a bonus when reading a book. I wish I'd read the first book.

[Cindi Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once I got past the language and figured what was being said with the words and accents, I thought the book was funny.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. The ending was better than I was expecting; certainly more hopeful than the first book. Just as ridiculous, but also less so. I will read the third book, after a break!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the first book and not really being able to like any of the characters, I wasn't sure about continuing the series but thought I'd give it a go. I think it helps already having got to know who most of the characters are and what to expect. This time, Fionnuala finds herself in hot water when she tries a get rich quick scheme, the family are still angry with Ursula when a book published about the events around the lotto win and family rift continue to rub salt in the wounds, and Siofra takes advantage of a school event intended to unite Catholics and Protestants to get revenge on a Protestant bully.

[Bette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Language barrier

[MARY BELLEROSE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't read this .

Don't like the language. Don't like where the story is going. Not captivating at all. Negative feeling overall. Do not like anything about it!

[Janci · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. It was okay but too many other books came along and I doubt I'll go back to it. Just not my thing.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one more than the first installment, getting more used to the language used and the battering of family members

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat humorous but mostly sad glimpse of a poor Catholic (green/coke) family's life in L'Derry, Ireland. With a derogatory term every other line, it is not for the faint of heart. In the author's defense, this family hates everyone equally.

Probably will not read more by this author, but it was only about $2 on the Kindle.

My favorite line came from 11-year-old Padraig after his mother asks why his little sister's face is bruised and cut:
"An Orange bitch clattered seven shades of shite out of her."

[Rosi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh.