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McGarry Stateside #4
Other Plans
Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
How much trouble can you possibly get into just stopping to use a restroom?
As it turns out, an awful lot. Bunny and co are supposed to be keeping a low profile, but nature calls and ironically, one of their party has a hard and fast rule about not answering that call while surrounded by nature. This is how they end up in the wrong bar, surrounded by the wrong people at the wrongest of wrong times. The local right-wing militia has a big week planned, and Bunny and the boys have inadvertently crashed the party. Before they know it, they’re in a desperate fight for survival against a bunch of people who refuse to believe they’re not who they think they are.
Meanwhile, the Sisters of the Saint have more than enough troubles of their own. A certain cartel is very angry at them and is pulling out all the stops to make their point. It all adds up to one hell of a tricky few days. But then, as a great man once said life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
Other Plans is book four in the McGarry Stateside series by Caimh McDonnell. McDonnell’s work has been praised for bringing a fresh voice to the thriller genre. He deftly combines a finely honed comic sensibility with pulse-pounding action which have made his books Amazon bestsellers the world over.
How much trouble can you possibly get into just stopping to use a restroom?
As it turns out, an awful lot. Bunny and co are supposed to be keeping a low profile, but nature calls and ironically, one of their party has a hard and fast rule about not answering that call while surrounded by nature. This is how they end up in the wrong bar, surrounded by the wrong people at the wrongest of wrong times. The local right-wing militia has a big week planned, and Bunny and the boys have inadvertently crashed the party. Before they know it, they’re in a desperate fight for survival against a bunch of people who refuse to believe they’re not who they think they are.
Meanwhile, the Sisters of the Saint have more than enough troubles of their own. A certain cartel is very angry at them and is pulling out all the stops to make their point. It all adds up to one hell of a tricky few days. But then, as a great man once said life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
Other Plans is book four in the McGarry Stateside series by Caimh McDonnell. McDonnell’s work has been praised for bringing a fresh voice to the thriller genre. He deftly combines a finely honed comic sensibility with pulse-pounding action which have made his books Amazon bestsellers the world over.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2023
346 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Caimh McDonnell
42 books1,747 followersIrishman Caimh McDonnell is a former professional stand-up comedian and TV writer who now concentrates all of his energies on his books. Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, he has taken the hop across the water and calls Manchester his home.
His TV writing work has seen him work on some of the biggest topical comedy shows on British TV and has earned him a BAFTA nomination. These days he can be found happily writing his next book in the office in the back garden, with only his dog and his imagination for company.
His book 'I Have Sinned' was shortlisted for the Kindle Storyteller Award 2019. Previously, his debut novel 'A Man With One of Those Faces' was nominated for best novel at the 2017 CAP awards.
His TV writing work has seen him work on some of the biggest topical comedy shows on British TV and has earned him a BAFTA nomination. These days he can be found happily writing his next book in the office in the back garden, with only his dog and his imagination for company.
His book 'I Have Sinned' was shortlisted for the Kindle Storyteller Award 2019. Previously, his debut novel 'A Man With One of Those Faces' was nominated for best novel at the 2017 CAP awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
October 18, 2023
Gets Better and Better
I now look forward to a new Caimh McDonnell book with something of the same enthusiasm I used to reserve for a new book by the sadly departed Terry Pratchett. That's not to say their works have much in common beyond a perfect!y-honed gift for comedy. McDonnell is very much his own man working his own field. The effect on the reader however is very similar. Great moral questions are raised, foolishness - official and otherwise - is ridiculed, and virtue triumphs, sometimes by the skin of its teeth. Along the way, lots of laughs are had and memorable - and quite unusual - characters are created. The dialogue is brilliantly funny and sometimes quite moving. I can't wait for the next one!
I now look forward to a new Caimh McDonnell book with something of the same enthusiasm I used to reserve for a new book by the sadly departed Terry Pratchett. That's not to say their works have much in common beyond a perfect!y-honed gift for comedy. McDonnell is very much his own man working his own field. The effect on the reader however is very similar. Great moral questions are raised, foolishness - official and otherwise - is ridiculed, and virtue triumphs, sometimes by the skin of its teeth. Along the way, lots of laughs are had and memorable - and quite unusual - characters are created. The dialogue is brilliantly funny and sometimes quite moving. I can't wait for the next one!
January 29, 2025
So by the end of the first third of this book I was quite downcast. It felt like an endless round of slapstick with not much substance. I still think the premise of avoiding the freeways to stay under the radar was a bit silly.
But then the plot started to come together and obviously I absolutely loved the rest of the book. Loads of nuns, loads of slightly terrifying white supremacists who appear to have lost their last braincell, some very scary military types and more firepower than ever.
I adore Sister Joy, Smithy, Diller and Bunny. This time they've got a new friend with them so there's another life to protect. The Sisters of the Saint are fighting their own battles and they'll have to get to Bunny and Co before it's too late.
Great book. I had thought this was the last in the Stateside series. It's clearly not thank goodness.
But then the plot started to come together and obviously I absolutely loved the rest of the book. Loads of nuns, loads of slightly terrifying white supremacists who appear to have lost their last braincell, some very scary military types and more firepower than ever.
I adore Sister Joy, Smithy, Diller and Bunny. This time they've got a new friend with them so there's another life to protect. The Sisters of the Saint are fighting their own battles and they'll have to get to Bunny and Co before it's too late.
Great book. I had thought this was the last in the Stateside series. It's clearly not thank goodness.
October 18, 2023
Ugh, I've read all this author's books, and the last two have been really disappointing. I appreciate that he is cranking these out as fast as he can and that involves some compromises, but at least I might expect him to be moving his different series forward.
In this one, Bunny is in the US to find Simone and he’s gotten involved in an effort to rescue these nuns so that they can maybe give him info that will help him find her, and this is an entire book that is… irrelevant to any of that? The book begins by setting up how the cast are fugitives pursued by a cartel, and they end up getting sucked into an increasingly large battle with... an entirely different organization. Meanwhile, a different group of nuns travels around and frets about the main cast but… never has any contact with them and never interacts with the main story.
Having this book be a complete aside to the series would be better if it was a great ride, but the action scenes in this one — including the whole final act — are a mess where you can’t really envision what is going on. So then everything ends up having to rely on McDonell's comedy, which I do enjoy (have I mentioned that I've read all these?), but the comedy wears thin when you feel like you are being jerked around by the promise of a larger story that in fact is not going anywhere.
In this one, Bunny is in the US to find Simone and he’s gotten involved in an effort to rescue these nuns so that they can maybe give him info that will help him find her, and this is an entire book that is… irrelevant to any of that? The book begins by setting up how the cast are fugitives pursued by a cartel, and they end up getting sucked into an increasingly large battle with... an entirely different organization. Meanwhile, a different group of nuns travels around and frets about the main cast but… never has any contact with them and never interacts with the main story.
Having this book be a complete aside to the series would be better if it was a great ride, but the action scenes in this one — including the whole final act — are a mess where you can’t really envision what is going on. So then everything ends up having to rely on McDonell's comedy, which I do enjoy (have I mentioned that I've read all these?), but the comedy wears thin when you feel like you are being jerked around by the promise of a larger story that in fact is not going anywhere.
February 6, 2024
They just wanted to use the restroom.
September 25, 2025
The strongest book so far in the otherwise weak McGarry Stateside series. McGarry has been doing side-quests after coming to US to look for Simone and has already broken up a stock market racket raising funds for rogue CIA band, taken on two different gangs in NYC, broken into a High security prison and broken up a cult (even though that last one he had no hands in) on the course of three middling books. Now in the fourth, he takes on a white supremacist gang led by Rogue weapon smugglng ex soldiers (is everyone going rogue??). This time, Bunny is mostly an injured bystander only getting occassional action. There is a whole set of friends who does most of the work here and this one is a very entertaining and action packed one. However, once again, just another side quest and nothing gets resolved which means I have to get my hands on the next installment... MAKE IT QUICK Mr. MCDONNELL!!! That last epilogue was too much of a cliffhanger.
October 20, 2023
A quiet trip through the backwoods of Oregon goes off the rails...
Book 4 of the McGarry Stateside series gives the reader more mayhem and merriment after a pit stop. The rescue mission (from the previous book) is sidetracked and all hell breaks loose. The reader is along for the ride as Bunny and the gang work under perilous conditions to meet the cartel's deadline to return Carlos. The Sisters of the Saints have their problems as they do their best to support Bunny and the gang while keeping Carlos' rescue under wraps. This is a delightful romp into peril that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat.
Book 4 of the McGarry Stateside series gives the reader more mayhem and merriment after a pit stop. The rescue mission (from the previous book) is sidetracked and all hell breaks loose. The reader is along for the ride as Bunny and the gang work under perilous conditions to meet the cartel's deadline to return Carlos. The Sisters of the Saints have their problems as they do their best to support Bunny and the gang while keeping Carlos' rescue under wraps. This is a delightful romp into peril that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat.
June 4, 2024
An Irishman, a black man, a Latino and a dwarf come into a bar full of white supremacists. What sounds like a particularly stupid joke is the basis for another immensely fun, action-packed romp in the McGarry Stateside series.
After their spectacular prison break, Bunny, Diller, Smithy and Carlos are still on the run and awaiting instructions from a certain group of "not that kind of nuns". They are travelling through the US in an old Winnebago and when nature's call forces them to make a stop at a bar in the middle of the Oregon woods to use the restroom, through no fault of their own they quickly invoke the ire of the local white supremacist biker gang.
And while said white supremacists put together probably have a lower IQ than the bull they hold as a less than willing pet, heavily armed nazis are still heavily armed nazis. They also happen to work for someone much more dangerous. Chaos quickly descends and our unlikely heroes find themselves in a battle for their lives.
With the McGarry Stateside series, Caimh McDonnell has firmly veered from the crime comedy territory of the Dublin Trilogy and it's prequels into action comedy territory. There are brawls, chases, gunfights and hardly any breaks from the over the top action. The whole thing is so fast paced and cinematic it easily lends itself to being made into a series of movies at some point.
What this book doesn't do is advance the overarching plot about Bunny's quest to find his lost lover Simone. But I'll be honest, if said main plot just keeps serving as the backdrop for more silly adventures with Bunny, Smithy, Diller and the badass nuns for another couple of books, I'm absolutely fine with that.
After their spectacular prison break, Bunny, Diller, Smithy and Carlos are still on the run and awaiting instructions from a certain group of "not that kind of nuns". They are travelling through the US in an old Winnebago and when nature's call forces them to make a stop at a bar in the middle of the Oregon woods to use the restroom, through no fault of their own they quickly invoke the ire of the local white supremacist biker gang.
And while said white supremacists put together probably have a lower IQ than the bull they hold as a less than willing pet, heavily armed nazis are still heavily armed nazis. They also happen to work for someone much more dangerous. Chaos quickly descends and our unlikely heroes find themselves in a battle for their lives.
With the McGarry Stateside series, Caimh McDonnell has firmly veered from the crime comedy territory of the Dublin Trilogy and it's prequels into action comedy territory. There are brawls, chases, gunfights and hardly any breaks from the over the top action. The whole thing is so fast paced and cinematic it easily lends itself to being made into a series of movies at some point.
What this book doesn't do is advance the overarching plot about Bunny's quest to find his lost lover Simone. But I'll be honest, if said main plot just keeps serving as the backdrop for more silly adventures with Bunny, Smithy, Diller and the badass nuns for another couple of books, I'm absolutely fine with that.
November 15, 2023
Reading this, the latest in this partiular strand of the McDonnell multiverse, I was sure I'd forgotten something.
Our heroes are on the run, they have someone they have rescued, and two nuns are being held hostage.
That all felt like things I should have known about.
No matter, I thought, ploughing on. I've obviously just forgotten how the previous book ended.
Turns out, I hadn't forgotten. I'd actually managed to not read it. It came out three years ago FFS, and yet The Quiet Man is not on my shelf.
Which explains why I didn't know who people were running from or why.
Amazingly, and this is another great credit to McDonnell's writing skills, it didn't actually matter.
I was still able to dive in and enjoy every page as the gang of four pop to the loo and end up in an armed siege.
After riding a bull, obviously.
As ever, Caimh has delivered us a fast-paced page turner, as hilarious as it is gripping.
This time, there's an added gift.
Throughout, we have films referenced. Smithy and Diller can't have a conversation without bringing up a fitting movie.
Which in itself is fun. But where McDonnell takes it in the closing chapters? Beautiful, just beautiful.
The cherry on another fantastic cake of a book.
Oh, and the first laugh was the first paragraph of the author's note. Possibly a new record.
Our heroes are on the run, they have someone they have rescued, and two nuns are being held hostage.
That all felt like things I should have known about.
No matter, I thought, ploughing on. I've obviously just forgotten how the previous book ended.
Turns out, I hadn't forgotten. I'd actually managed to not read it. It came out three years ago FFS, and yet The Quiet Man is not on my shelf.
Which explains why I didn't know who people were running from or why.
Amazingly, and this is another great credit to McDonnell's writing skills, it didn't actually matter.
I was still able to dive in and enjoy every page as the gang of four pop to the loo and end up in an armed siege.
After riding a bull, obviously.
As ever, Caimh has delivered us a fast-paced page turner, as hilarious as it is gripping.
This time, there's an added gift.
Throughout, we have films referenced. Smithy and Diller can't have a conversation without bringing up a fitting movie.
Which in itself is fun. But where McDonnell takes it in the closing chapters? Beautiful, just beautiful.
The cherry on another fantastic cake of a book.
Oh, and the first laugh was the first paragraph of the author's note. Possibly a new record.
October 22, 2023
Back with Bunny and his ever-increasing gang in what is meant to be a reasonably covert mission to find his beloved Simone, but is turning into a Reacher-esque tale of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and leaving chaos in his wake!
This is another great instalment of this series, continuing the saga of Bunny, the nuns, Diller & Smithy, plus a bunch of new great characters that have joined in along the way. While it doesn't move the story along too much (not necessarily a bad thing!), there is a whole lot packed in and, as always, is very, very funny!
Looking forward to book 5!
This is another great instalment of this series, continuing the saga of Bunny, the nuns, Diller & Smithy, plus a bunch of new great characters that have joined in along the way. While it doesn't move the story along too much (not necessarily a bad thing!), there is a whole lot packed in and, as always, is very, very funny!
Looking forward to book 5!
January 23, 2024
I really enjoyed this series and its various tangents. The narrator is great. Sadly it will be a wait before a new one.
January 17, 2026
A fun quirky book with lots of slightly oddball action. This is the fourth book in a series and I haven't read the first three. I get the impression that if I had, I may have enjoyed the book more.
December 19, 2023
Not my favorite of the series but still better than most books. Loved having the gang back at it again!
January 1, 2024
Another stunner from McDonnell - the best one yet
It is hard to know where to start on this book. For me, it is head and shoulders above all the others, although with the gap in between books, I might be doing an injustice to earlier works.
The killer combination of a comedy background and an imagination has really paid off here. There are so many well written snippets that result in audible laughs and genuine sniggers, kept me on this for a 2 day, festive break read.
Roll on Bunny trying to get his woman back...
It is hard to know where to start on this book. For me, it is head and shoulders above all the others, although with the gap in between books, I might be doing an injustice to earlier works.
The killer combination of a comedy background and an imagination has really paid off here. There are so many well written snippets that result in audible laughs and genuine sniggers, kept me on this for a 2 day, festive break read.
Roll on Bunny trying to get his woman back...
January 24, 2024
Caimh keeps turning out great installments to this entertaining series. It took me longer than it should have to realize that what I thought was a side story was gonna be the main story, but of course it was...the book is called "other plans" after all.
Not really spoilers, but few notes:
In America, Pringles come in cans (or tubes) not boxes.
There is no quiet way to securely install rock climbing bolts in rock. Better to have the character sling a tree or rocks with webbing or build some other temporary anchor with easily carry-able parts that can be installed stealthily.
Not really spoilers, but few notes:
In America, Pringles come in cans (or tubes) not boxes.
There is no quiet way to securely install rock climbing bolts in rock. Better to have the character sling a tree or rocks with webbing or build some other temporary anchor with easily carry-able parts that can be installed stealthily.
November 3, 2023
Another fantastic story by Mr McDonnell involving the hilarious Bunny McGarry, Smithy, Diller and the sisters of the saints. This series is laugh out loud funny and I would highly recommend it. All Mr McDonnell’s books are awesome starting with the Dublin trilogy (which is at book 7 I believe), to McGarry stateside and the Stranger Times series. Do yourself a favor and give his books a shot, you won’t be disappointed and you’ll thank me later. Rock on Caimh, Douglas.
November 11, 2023
Another series of misadventures
An action packed sequence of events when the guys stop for a comfort break. The ingenious ways they get out of their increasingly desperate fixes with the help of the biker from heaven Sister Joy keep you entertained to the end. The good guys get away and the bad guys meet their well deserved fates.
Dillon and Smithy are the leading men this time round.
An action packed sequence of events when the guys stop for a comfort break. The ingenious ways they get out of their increasingly desperate fixes with the help of the biker from heaven Sister Joy keep you entertained to the end. The good guys get away and the bad guys meet their well deserved fates.
Dillon and Smithy are the leading men this time round.
February 7, 2024
Caimh knocks it out of the park again. I really want to get to some sort of conclusion for the reason Bunny is in the US, but when he has side quests like this, I'm more than happy to see it continue indefinitely. Bunny and Crew always seem to fall right in to trouble of not their own devising and I'm100% here for it. Love this series, and love The Stranger Times books. Anything he does is going to he top notch entertainment.
November 21, 2023
I knew Oregon was unusual but…..
If anything, this book is NOT a travelogue for the remote parts of Oregon. It is a lesson on choosing where to stop for a bathroom break with wisdom, how not to anger the local hoods, not to tease animals with hot sauce, and to be careful of cookies made by someone angry with you. Bunny’s in it this time, but it’s good to have friends.
If anything, this book is NOT a travelogue for the remote parts of Oregon. It is a lesson on choosing where to stop for a bathroom break with wisdom, how not to anger the local hoods, not to tease animals with hot sauce, and to be careful of cookies made by someone angry with you. Bunny’s in it this time, but it’s good to have friends.
November 25, 2023
oh Caimh, you’ve done it again!
Absolutely delightful story. All the favorite characters in a somewhat different situation. You get the same Bunny, Diller Smithy characteristics, and the Sisters of the Saint, plus some new and interesting characters that you may never see again (especially the bad guys/gals that die) but can still enjoy.
Absolutely delightful story. All the favorite characters in a somewhat different situation. You get the same Bunny, Diller Smithy characteristics, and the Sisters of the Saint, plus some new and interesting characters that you may never see again (especially the bad guys/gals that die) but can still enjoy.
December 24, 2023
Strangely Hilarious
Nuns who sub as nonlethal hit men. Hit men who sub as protective sitters. A group of white supremacists who get involved with a psychotic former government assassin and keep a bronco bull as a neglected pet. Mix in a Winnabego with a broken toilet, a warehouse of stolen military armaments and what could happen? Right, explosive results.
Nuns who sub as nonlethal hit men. Hit men who sub as protective sitters. A group of white supremacists who get involved with a psychotic former government assassin and keep a bronco bull as a neglected pet. Mix in a Winnabego with a broken toilet, a warehouse of stolen military armaments and what could happen? Right, explosive results.
September 9, 2024
"Well I never expected that"- is my usual response to every book by Caimh McDonnell that I have ever read, and this one is no different. Who knew that a toilet break could lead to so much trouble.
This novel is written with Caimh's usual brilliance, and has many laugh out loud moment, particularly if you have a darker sense of humour!
His books are wonderful.
This novel is written with Caimh's usual brilliance, and has many laugh out loud moment, particularly if you have a darker sense of humour!
His books are wonderful.
December 29, 2024
Other Plans by Caimh McDonnell. All I am going to say is that while I wait for him to write the next one, I am starting over and reading them all again. If you are not completely entertained and on the edge of your seat with every page of this novel and every other one in the series, you might need to see a doctor. Just saying. Brilliant.
July 9, 2024
The Bunny Stateside series is a seemingly never ending quest by Bunny to find the only person, a nun, who knows where his girlfriend of many years ago is. One difficulty after another gets in his way. McDonnell seems to love putting Bunny in the most impossible situations, with certain failure and death to follow. Looking immensely forward to the next instalment when it's written.
November 16, 2023
These never last long enough!!!
Another genius installment over far too soon - EVERY Bunny book is just a masterpiece.
Do start at the beginning of the series so by the time you get here you know the characters... trust me, it is totally worth it!!!
Another genius installment over far too soon - EVERY Bunny book is just a masterpiece.
Do start at the beginning of the series so by the time you get here you know the characters... trust me, it is totally worth it!!!
November 23, 2023
Rollicking good fun
As always, full of witty repartee and the comeuppance of evil.
I love every character in here. Thanks for the laughs and the justice. Such a breath of fresh air in our world of conflict and unbridled greed and psychopathy.
Much obliged.
As always, full of witty repartee and the comeuppance of evil.
I love every character in here. Thanks for the laughs and the justice. Such a breath of fresh air in our world of conflict and unbridled greed and psychopathy.
Much obliged.
December 19, 2023
How could a story about stopping on a road trip to use the restroom be so good?? Because it’s Caimh McDonnell, that’s how!! Always love the time I get to spend with Bunny and the gang. Especially happy for Billy in his epilogue, I was hoping it’d come full circle!
January 21, 2024
Brilliant!
This author's books are always such rollicking good fun. Never been disappointed and i recommend them all. Thank you, Mr. McDonnell for the hours of entertainment you have provided.
This author's books are always such rollicking good fun. Never been disappointed and i recommend them all. Thank you, Mr. McDonnell for the hours of entertainment you have provided.
February 23, 2024
All these books are great, and I like that the author is anti racist and anti homophobic and anti ableist etc, but I kinda wish he could cut down on the occasional “fat people are gross” which occasionally sneaks in
April 23, 2024
I love these books!
Inventive, uplifting and amusing. The characters are very appealing and their escapades make me laugh out loud. The stories are unlike anything else I’ve read recently. Try for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Inventive, uplifting and amusing. The characters are very appealing and their escapades make me laugh out loud. The stories are unlike anything else I’ve read recently. Try for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
June 20, 2024
Is it possible? Is it? Yes, it is the best book so far. No use writing out all the things I loved about it because I guess there is a limit to the length of the review. So I'll just say what I didn't love - nothing. Yes that's a double negative, deal with it.
Is attitude catching?
Is attitude catching?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews