TAFFIN

Taffin #1

by lyndon mallet

Lasherham is a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business . TAFFIN's business is bad debts, and most people would rather settle promptly than risk a second visit from him. In his hands, persuasion is an art form and everybody knows it.
So when the bulldozers move in and the community is forced to fight for its way of life, Taffin is expected to prove his worth and make the problem go away. No chance, he tells the villagers. ‘If I took this job, you’d be begging me to stop inside a week.’
But it’s his town too, and he cannot refuse. Faced with the machinery of big business, corrupt officialdom and hired muscle, he’s out of his depth with nothing to fall back on but his own brawn and a fertile imagination.
Lyndon Mallet’s novel TAFFIN was the basis of the film starring Pierce Brosnan in the title role. Two further TAFFIN’S FIRST LAW and ASK TAFFIN NICELY complete the trilogy.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1980

About the author

Lyndon Mallet is a British novelist and cartoonist with film, TV and radio credits to his name. He started writing in his teens and became road manager of a flying circus in exchange for being taught to fly, before embarking on a career in advertising. His most well known literary creation is the Irish debt collector Mark Taffin. The first novel "Taffin" was published in 1980 and made into a movie starring Pierce Brosnan in 1988. He has written four Taffin novels. He was a staff writer on the famous British television crime drama The Bill from 1993 - 1998 and is credited for nine episodes.

Reviews

[Brent Winslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a seriously fun read. I saw and enjoyed the 1988 Pierce Brosnan film of the same name which led me to this novel. The protagonist Taffin is a big-time enforcer in small town Ireland, trying to resist the encroachment of dishonest developers and their tough guys.

[Ranette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea that one man can stop misconduct in his town is a good one, but continually Taffin faces conflict. A chemical company wants to build a plant, but it will harm the town. many conflicts arise and the town is torn apart. Can Taffin help?

[John Mellby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 1989 book was subsequently made into a movie starring Pierce Brosnan.
The book is about Mark Taffin. Taffin collects money in a small English village.
When someone has debts they refer the matter to Taffin who takes 15% for his services. And people always pay.
Taffin doesn't hurt people, he just intimidates them.
He is a smart, and even elegant, sort of criminal.
The big conflict is when a large, shady, developer tries to
ruin part of the village, and Taffin opposes them.
Overall a different sort of crime novel and one I quite enjoyed.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mallet's calling card and best known character. Personally I like the Brosnan film but the Taffin of the books is a completely different animal. Still enjoyable but I wouldn't want to share a pint with the bloke!

Luckily Mallet is currently working on a fourth Taffin outing and this is one reader who can't wait for his return!