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David Loogan #1
Bad Things Happen
The man who calls himself David Loogan is leading a quiet, anonymous life in the college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He’s hoping to escape a violent past he would rather forget. But his solitude is broken when he finds himself drawn into a friendship with Tom Kristoll, publisher of the mystery magazine Gray Streets—and into an affair with Laura, Tom’s sleek blond wife. When Tom offers him a job as an editor, Loogan sees no harm in accepting. What he doesn’t realize is that the stories in Gray Streets tend to follow a simple formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die.
Elizabeth Waishkey is a single mother raising a fifteen-year-old daughter. She’s also the most talented detective in the Ann Arbor Police Department. But when Tom Kristoll turns up dead, she doesn’t quite know what to make of David Loogan. Is he a killer, or an ally who might help her find the truth? Loogan, for his part, would like to trust her, but he has his own agenda. He suspects his friend’s death is part of a much larger puzzle, and he’s not going to wait for someone else to put the pieces together. As Loogan and Elizabeth navigate their way through the Kristoll's world, they find no shortage of people with motives for murder, from a young graduate student obsessed with Laura Kristoll to a trio of bestselling writers, all of them with secrets they don’t want uncovered.
As the deaths start mounting up—some of them echoing stories published in Gray Streets—Loogan begins to look more and more like the most promising suspect.
Soon it becomes clear that only Elizabeth can find the path to solving both the murders and the mystery of Loogan himself. But by the time she unravels the twisted skein, Loogan May be indicted for murder—or more likely, become the next victim.
Elizabeth Waishkey is a single mother raising a fifteen-year-old daughter. She’s also the most talented detective in the Ann Arbor Police Department. But when Tom Kristoll turns up dead, she doesn’t quite know what to make of David Loogan. Is he a killer, or an ally who might help her find the truth? Loogan, for his part, would like to trust her, but he has his own agenda. He suspects his friend’s death is part of a much larger puzzle, and he’s not going to wait for someone else to put the pieces together. As Loogan and Elizabeth navigate their way through the Kristoll's world, they find no shortage of people with motives for murder, from a young graduate student obsessed with Laura Kristoll to a trio of bestselling writers, all of them with secrets they don’t want uncovered.
As the deaths start mounting up—some of them echoing stories published in Gray Streets—Loogan begins to look more and more like the most promising suspect.
Soon it becomes clear that only Elizabeth can find the path to solving both the murders and the mystery of Loogan himself. But by the time she unravels the twisted skein, Loogan May be indicted for murder—or more likely, become the next victim.
338 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
294 people are currently reading
4216 people want to read
About the author
Harry Dolan
14 books443 followersHARRY DOLAN is the author of the mystery/suspense novels BAD THINGS HAPPEN, VERY BAD MEN, THE LAST DEAD GIRL, THE MAN IN THE CROOKED HAT, and THE GOOD KILLER. His new novel DON'T TURN AROUND is out now from Grove Atlantic. He graduated from Colgate University, where he majored in philosophy and studied fiction-writing with the novelist Frederick Busch. A native of Rome, New York, he now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,051 reviews
July 14, 2017
***3.5 Stars*** This mystery was an appealing debut novel, noirish in style and tone. I listened to an audio which may not have been the best format for enjoyment. Keeping track of the many subplots and secondary characters was challenging at times. I frequently read suspense novels; and, honestly they are often forgettable. This one was impressive with clever literary references and a cut above the others that I’ve read. I look forward to finding more novels by this author.
August 1, 2021
This story reminds me of a contest that was used to promote a science fiction mini-series a while back. The plot of the mini-series revolved around multiple murders, and people entering the contest had to try to solve the crimes. Well the solution was VERY tricky and I was completely wrong. 😏
To get on with the review:
A mysterious man who calls himself David Loogan arrives in Ann Arbor and rents a furnished house near the University of Michigan. Loogan, who has no job, hangs out at coffee shops; people watches; reads; and just drifts through his days.
Then, by a serendipitous sequence of events, Loogan is offered a job editing stories for a literary mystery magazine called 'Grey Streets', published by a man named Tom Kristoll.
Over the next few weeks Loogan and Tom become friendly and occasionally hang out or have a few drinks. Then Loogan meets Tom's wife Laura, and the seductive blonde seduces Loogan. So Loogan sometimes schmoozes with Tom, and sometimes romances his wife.
The real action starts when a man is killed in Tom's house, and the publisher calls Loogan in something of a panic. Tom and Loogan bury the body in the woods, and Loogan insists on knowing who the dead man is and what happened. Tom spins an elaborate tale involving self-defense, which turns out to be a lie - and the truth is slowly revealed as the story unfolds.
More violence follows the first tragedy, and before long two more people are dead - supposedly suicides. However Police Detective Elizabeth Waishkey isn't fooled, and she and her team investigate the suspicious deaths. Complications add up as another person is killed; everyone lies; people keep changing their stories; evidence goes missing; etc.
Waishkey and Loogan meet during the police inquiries and like each other, but it goes no further than that - especially when Loogan becomes the #1 suspect and goes on the run. Loogan is determined to uncover the murderer himself, and interviews people who might have information about the crimes. These include the staff at Grey Streets; writers who contribute stories to the magazine; book authors; friends and neighbors of the victims; and more.
Loogan buys a burner phone and repeatedly calls Detective Waishkey to chitchat about the case. The cop tries to convince Loogan to turn himself in - saying they'll figure it out together - but no dice.
To complicate matters, a retired detective from upstate New York - who's bored with fishing - arrives in Ann Arbor. He tells Detective Waishkey that he heard about Loogan being spotted in Michigan, and that 'David Loogan' is an alias for a criminal who escaped justice in New York. It was the detective's case, and he wants to see Loogan get captured.
As the mystery plays out, people's baser natures are revealed, secrets are uncovered, and the truth comes out. If there had been a contest to guess the perp I would have lost miserably. LOL. 😟
I enjoyed the book, but I have some criticisms:
- Tom asks Loogan to help dispose of a body and Loogan immediately agrees. Really? He could go to prison (maybe for life) as an accessory to murder. This isn't believable.
- Detective Waishkey casually - and repeatedly - blabs police discoveries to persons of interest in the case. Cops would never do this.
- The plot has too many twists. It's unnecessarily complicated, and hard to keep up with.
This is Harry Dolan's debut novel, and - overall - it's a good effort. I think many mystery fans would enjoy the story.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
August 19, 2011
This is an excellent first novel--a witty, literate tale with great characters--that grabs you from the opening line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements."
A man who calls himself David Loogan arrives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and on a whim, submits a story to Gray Streets, a literary crime journal. The magazine's editor, Tom Kristoll, is impressed with Loogan's abilities and persuades him to come to work as an editor for the magazine. In short order, David and Tom become close friends.
Loogan is also drawn to Kristoll's attractive, sexy wife, Laura. The feeling is mutual, and before long, David and Laura are having an affair. Then Tom is murdered and pitched through the window of his office. (Well, bad things DO happen.) Tom is actually the second person to die under mysterious circumstances and before long, people are dropping left and right.
David is determined to discover who killed his friend and to get to the bottom of the widening mystery. So is Elizabeth Waishkey, an attractive and very talented Ann Arbor detective. Elizabeth is also anxious to unravel the mystery of David Loogan, a man who seems to have no past and no obvious means of support. Before long, Loogan becomes the prime suspect in at least some of the murders, but Elizabeth is obviously attracted to him and is not at all certain about his guilt. The relationship that unfolds between the two of them is one of the most compelling parts of the book.
The story ultimately takes a number of very clever twists and turns that leave the reader practically gasping for breath. They will also make you turn the pages as fast as you possibly can as you get to the end of what turns out to be a great ride.
A man who calls himself David Loogan arrives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and on a whim, submits a story to Gray Streets, a literary crime journal. The magazine's editor, Tom Kristoll, is impressed with Loogan's abilities and persuades him to come to work as an editor for the magazine. In short order, David and Tom become close friends.
Loogan is also drawn to Kristoll's attractive, sexy wife, Laura. The feeling is mutual, and before long, David and Laura are having an affair. Then Tom is murdered and pitched through the window of his office. (Well, bad things DO happen.) Tom is actually the second person to die under mysterious circumstances and before long, people are dropping left and right.
David is determined to discover who killed his friend and to get to the bottom of the widening mystery. So is Elizabeth Waishkey, an attractive and very talented Ann Arbor detective. Elizabeth is also anxious to unravel the mystery of David Loogan, a man who seems to have no past and no obvious means of support. Before long, Loogan becomes the prime suspect in at least some of the murders, but Elizabeth is obviously attracted to him and is not at all certain about his guilt. The relationship that unfolds between the two of them is one of the most compelling parts of the book.
The story ultimately takes a number of very clever twists and turns that leave the reader practically gasping for breath. They will also make you turn the pages as fast as you possibly can as you get to the end of what turns out to be a great ride.
August 29, 2012
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, it would have had an editor.
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have made Harry Dolan change at least some of the references to Elizabeth's raven hair to black hair. (I swear, he never refers to it as black--it is always raven.
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have deleted at least two or three or four or fifteen of the who-knows-how-many plot twists. (Makes you want to scream Enough Already!)
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have marked out at least half of the gazillion times the phrase If this were a story in Gray Streets...comes up.
OK. So the book isn't perfect. But was it was enjoyable. Enjoyable enough that I'm now listening to the second of the Loogan series Very Bad Men (David Loogan #2).
Fortunately it doesn't seem to suffer from the problems of the first one--Elizabeth's raven hair is now black. The number plot twists seem to be trimmed down to a manageable number, and best of all...the phrase If this were a story in Gray Streets hasn't cropped up even once.
Who knows? Maybe he found an editor?
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have made Harry Dolan change at least some of the references to Elizabeth's raven hair to black hair. (I swear, he never refers to it as black--it is always raven.
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have deleted at least two or three or four or fifteen of the who-knows-how-many plot twists. (Makes you want to scream Enough Already!)
If this book were a story in Gray Streets, the editor would have marked out at least half of the gazillion times the phrase If this were a story in Gray Streets...comes up.
OK. So the book isn't perfect. But was it was enjoyable. Enjoyable enough that I'm now listening to the second of the Loogan series Very Bad Men (David Loogan #2).
Fortunately it doesn't seem to suffer from the problems of the first one--Elizabeth's raven hair is now black. The number plot twists seem to be trimmed down to a manageable number, and best of all...the phrase If this were a story in Gray Streets hasn't cropped up even once.
Who knows? Maybe he found an editor?
October 22, 2014
An excellent first novel by an author new to me. Several friends gave this a 4 star review. I don't usually give out so many stars for a mystery-thriller, but Dolan deserves it for this effort & this is a self-contained great start to a series.
The characters were excellent. Each was well drawn, an individual without stereotypes or overbearing explanation. It's someone you meet, a slow realization, subtly & fully fed. That includes the mysterious main character that we slowly learn more about. I think there's more there too.
The mystery is quite twisty with plenty of logical, well supported motivations, rationalizations, & emotions. The plot seems so simple at first, but not quite right & one thing leads to another until the final reveal at the end. Very well done. Had me guessing the whole time & I didn't catch a single mistake. Fantastic!
On to read the next!!!
The characters were excellent. Each was well drawn, an individual without stereotypes or overbearing explanation. It's someone you meet, a slow realization, subtly & fully fed. That includes the mysterious main character that we slowly learn more about. I think there's more there too.
The mystery is quite twisty with plenty of logical, well supported motivations, rationalizations, & emotions. The plot seems so simple at first, but not quite right & one thing leads to another until the final reveal at the end. Very well done. Had me guessing the whole time & I didn't catch a single mistake. Fantastic!
On to read the next!!!
Read
June 4, 2024DNF I have been trying to like Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan but I am giving up at 65%. There are too many characters, most of them not interesting enough to see what happens to them. The plot twists are too numerous and everyone is running around trying to figure out who did it and to whom. I will not be rating this book. ThIs is only my opinion and I’m sure this book will please many.
August 13, 2016
While it did take me one month to finish this book, I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it. Yes, I just executed a double negative (the double dribble of the writing world) for those of you who only approve of appropriate grammatical choices. But I wanted to prove and emphasize a point. And my point is that I really did enjoy BAD THINGS HAPPEN. I was appropriately amused and entertained, as I filled my life with hugs and kisses and machine guns.
David Loogan can juggle more than just oranges, and he has more than a few tales from a previous life. Some of which we learn, and some of which Harry Dolan probably holds back. Because why should you give up all the goods on the first date, or in this case a debut novel. You may flash your six pack at the woman across the bar, or maybe it’s just a smile and wink, but you don’t know how many other fellas she’s been with. And frankly you don’t need that kind of trouble with a crazy ex-boyfriend who pounds pills like he pounds heads.
With temptations around every corner, it’s better to start running now. Sure, the blonde looks like a winner, but she might also whack you in the head with a shovel while you sleep. Or the detective may show you a nice pair of handcuffs, but you have more than a few reservations about being held against your will.
The dialogue proved both realistic and entertaining; the story (once I really got into it) clicked along faster than a cowboy with an itchy trigger finger; the women and men had as much potential as they had flaws; and David Loogan, along with Elizabeth Waishkey, proved interesting enough that I hope they both stick around for a while. Oh, and the writing and editing tidbits weren’t lost on me. I sucked those up faster than honey from a spoon. Otherwise, it was just another story (shrugs), but a really good and entertaining one.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
David Loogan can juggle more than just oranges, and he has more than a few tales from a previous life. Some of which we learn, and some of which Harry Dolan probably holds back. Because why should you give up all the goods on the first date, or in this case a debut novel. You may flash your six pack at the woman across the bar, or maybe it’s just a smile and wink, but you don’t know how many other fellas she’s been with. And frankly you don’t need that kind of trouble with a crazy ex-boyfriend who pounds pills like he pounds heads.
With temptations around every corner, it’s better to start running now. Sure, the blonde looks like a winner, but she might also whack you in the head with a shovel while you sleep. Or the detective may show you a nice pair of handcuffs, but you have more than a few reservations about being held against your will.
The dialogue proved both realistic and entertaining; the story (once I really got into it) clicked along faster than a cowboy with an itchy trigger finger; the women and men had as much potential as they had flaws; and David Loogan, along with Elizabeth Waishkey, proved interesting enough that I hope they both stick around for a while. Oh, and the writing and editing tidbits weren’t lost on me. I sucked those up faster than honey from a spoon. Otherwise, it was just another story (shrugs), but a really good and entertaining one.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
September 30, 2025
"Plans go wrong; bad things happen; people die!"
David Loogan is a very mysterious man with a past and, although plenty of people are asking, he's not talking! A recent arrival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Loogan is surprised when Tom Kristoll, the publisher of Gray Streets, a mystery magazine, offers him a job as an editor. He's even more surprised when Kristoll asks for his help burying a body. Perhaps, understanding that Loogan would prefer that his past also stay buried, Kristoll intuitively understands that Loogan won't be doing any talking. Later, when Kristoll falls (or perhaps he was pushed?) from his office window, Loogan's affair with Kristoll's wife marks him as a suspect. But, despite the police's best efforts, Loogan still isn't talking! The mystery moves into high gear and the staff and authors associated with Gray Streets begin to drop like flies. Like Agatha Christie's famous novel, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, the body count escalates and the entire cast is rather nervously looking over their shoulders.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a very clever, exceptionally well written mystery in which first-time author Harry Dolan pays tribute to but also satirizes his predecessors and his fellow contemporary authors in the mystery genre. He even goes so far as to satirize himself by having his characters imagine a possible solution to the puzzling murders by contemplatively musing, "If this were a story in Gray Streets ...". The cast of possible suspects is an amusing, almost droll but very noir collection of self-important, pretentious, stuffy authors, editors and wannabes who suffer from a thoroughly modern set of psychoses and personality failings. In short, a strange set of characters with an equally strange collection of names such as Nathan Hideaway, Rex Chatterjee, Bridget Shellcross, Casimir Hifflyn and Valerie Calmero. Clearly, Harry Dolan is not afraid to tweak the noses of those, like himself, who would presume to enter the world of writing for a living.
Harry Dolan has done himself proud in an enjoyable debut novel with the mandatory clever twist ending that few readers will figure out in advance. Certainly I didn't. Highly recommended with a note that I'm eagerly looking forward to his second novel.
Paul Weiss
David Loogan is a very mysterious man with a past and, although plenty of people are asking, he's not talking! A recent arrival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Loogan is surprised when Tom Kristoll, the publisher of Gray Streets, a mystery magazine, offers him a job as an editor. He's even more surprised when Kristoll asks for his help burying a body. Perhaps, understanding that Loogan would prefer that his past also stay buried, Kristoll intuitively understands that Loogan won't be doing any talking. Later, when Kristoll falls (or perhaps he was pushed?) from his office window, Loogan's affair with Kristoll's wife marks him as a suspect. But, despite the police's best efforts, Loogan still isn't talking! The mystery moves into high gear and the staff and authors associated with Gray Streets begin to drop like flies. Like Agatha Christie's famous novel, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, the body count escalates and the entire cast is rather nervously looking over their shoulders.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a very clever, exceptionally well written mystery in which first-time author Harry Dolan pays tribute to but also satirizes his predecessors and his fellow contemporary authors in the mystery genre. He even goes so far as to satirize himself by having his characters imagine a possible solution to the puzzling murders by contemplatively musing, "If this were a story in Gray Streets ...". The cast of possible suspects is an amusing, almost droll but very noir collection of self-important, pretentious, stuffy authors, editors and wannabes who suffer from a thoroughly modern set of psychoses and personality failings. In short, a strange set of characters with an equally strange collection of names such as Nathan Hideaway, Rex Chatterjee, Bridget Shellcross, Casimir Hifflyn and Valerie Calmero. Clearly, Harry Dolan is not afraid to tweak the noses of those, like himself, who would presume to enter the world of writing for a living.
Harry Dolan has done himself proud in an enjoyable debut novel with the mandatory clever twist ending that few readers will figure out in advance. Certainly I didn't. Highly recommended with a note that I'm eagerly looking forward to his second novel.
Paul Weiss
Read
July 25, 2011I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, and there's nothing more frustrating than when I can figure out where the plot is going or who the murderer is before it's revealed. When a book keeps me guessing, I'm hooked. And that's why I loved Harry Dolan's debut novel, Bad Things Happen. I had my suspicions about where the plot would go. Sometimes I was right and sometimes I was wrong, but the book took so many twists and turns, I found myself surprised from time to time, and not because of random red herrings or improbable occurrences.
A man who calls himself David Loogan lives an anonymous life in Ann Arbor, MI. He meets Tom and Laura Kristoll, publishers of Grey Streets, a murder-mystery magazine, and after a time, becomes an editor. He builds a friendship with the Kristolls, and begins an affair with Laura. One night Tom asks for Loogan's help with a problem, and shortly thereafter, Tom winds up dead. And that's just the start of the mystery within a mystery within a mystery. Loogan tries to unravel the truth behind Tom's murder, and comes into contact with Detective Elisabeth Waishkey, who is investigating the crime.
I wish that some best-selling crime and mystery authors would read Dolan's book before writing another retread. Many of the characters have great depth to them and you don't know what to expect. That's what I loved about this book. I hope it's not too long before Dolan's next novel, and I hope that David and Elizabeth might return. Pick this one up if you're a fan of mystery/thrillers. You won't be disappointed.
A man who calls himself David Loogan lives an anonymous life in Ann Arbor, MI. He meets Tom and Laura Kristoll, publishers of Grey Streets, a murder-mystery magazine, and after a time, becomes an editor. He builds a friendship with the Kristolls, and begins an affair with Laura. One night Tom asks for Loogan's help with a problem, and shortly thereafter, Tom winds up dead. And that's just the start of the mystery within a mystery within a mystery. Loogan tries to unravel the truth behind Tom's murder, and comes into contact with Detective Elisabeth Waishkey, who is investigating the crime.
I wish that some best-selling crime and mystery authors would read Dolan's book before writing another retread. Many of the characters have great depth to them and you don't know what to expect. That's what I loved about this book. I hope it's not too long before Dolan's next novel, and I hope that David and Elizabeth might return. Pick this one up if you're a fan of mystery/thrillers. You won't be disappointed.
December 22, 2009
Often times while I sit in my rented house recovering from a exhausting day making love to my bosses wife by rewriting the same short story over and over (of which I will never publish by the way) I receive a call from my boss (who I have known all of three months) asking that I come to his house to help him remove and bury the body of a alleged intruder. Seems he doesn't want the complications of calling the authorities. I say "sure, why not"? All this and I am less than 1/5 into the book. Please, at least give me the possibility of reality.
I love that this story takes place in a city I know quite well (Ann Arbor, MI) but the plot is just a little contrived and over-baked for my taste. Not sure I will finish this one….
I see from other reviews that many folks liked this book very much. More proof we are all different I guess. For me; bad, bad, bad. Way too linier story plot, no character depth and just no fun at all.
I love that this story takes place in a city I know quite well (Ann Arbor, MI) but the plot is just a little contrived and over-baked for my taste. Not sure I will finish this one….
I see from other reviews that many folks liked this book very much. More proof we are all different I guess. For me; bad, bad, bad. Way too linier story plot, no character depth and just no fun at all.
July 7, 2010
I don't know if I can really say I liked this book. It made me curious, and kept me reading. I like the writing style and I was intrigued by the main character. Not bad for a first novel, but still flawed: first of all, there were far, far too many twists - it got exhausting trying to keep track of everything after awhile. There were also too many times when one character would say to another: "if this were a story...." which of course it was, but it started to feel like the author was getting too cute. I liked that for such a high body count, there was relatively little "on camera" violence; it was nice not to actually have to witness the killing. On the down side, many of the characters do things that make absolutely no sense, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of "huh?" A lot of this book depends on the characters just being that stupid. Really - you get a call from a friend who wants you to help him hide a body, and you just buy his cockamamie story and help him out....? How often does this happen to you?
Finally, Dolan should really work on learning a little more about investigation. Seriously, I don't know how any detective can stay employed if he/she is going to go around telling everyone (suspects, family, random neighbors) everything about the case. "So-and-so said this about you, now I'm going to go to this place and check it out, so if you want to kill me or kill somebody else, here's where you'll find me and here's your motive for killing the person who's going to meet me at the village square at 4:32 pm sharp to divulge the killer's name to me. So-and-so isn't here? He's dead? Oh, no! Hmmmm, I only told 12 people about our meeting...." Sigh.
Nevertheless, I stayed interested and would read more from him.
Finally, Dolan should really work on learning a little more about investigation. Seriously, I don't know how any detective can stay employed if he/she is going to go around telling everyone (suspects, family, random neighbors) everything about the case. "So-and-so said this about you, now I'm going to go to this place and check it out, so if you want to kill me or kill somebody else, here's where you'll find me and here's your motive for killing the person who's going to meet me at the village square at 4:32 pm sharp to divulge the killer's name to me. So-and-so isn't here? He's dead? Oh, no! Hmmmm, I only told 12 people about our meeting...." Sigh.
Nevertheless, I stayed interested and would read more from him.
July 24, 2011
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book but once I started I had a hard time putting it down. It's not a thriller but a story that turns out to be very fascinating. It was actually fun to read. Talk about sharp and witty dialogue.
David Loogan is a stranger in town, and on an impulse, drops off a manuscript he writes to Gray Streets, a local magazine run by Tom Kristoll who likes the story. Tom is so impressed with David that he ends up giving him a job as editor. As time goes on, Loogan, who prefers to be on his own, ends up liking Kristoll and decides to befriend him even though he is sleeping with Tom's wife. This is when strange things begin to happen, bad things. People start ending up dead and all the characters involved are mystery writers, mystery publishers or editors, or people who wish to be mystery writers.
This book kept me guessing right to the end. Every time I thought I knew who the killer was, the rug was pulled out from under me. There are so many possibilities that make you say, "Yes, that's who did it", but of course I'm wrong. A wide range of characters and honestly, all of whom are likeable.
If you like mysteries, give this book a try. You might be surprised.
David Loogan is a stranger in town, and on an impulse, drops off a manuscript he writes to Gray Streets, a local magazine run by Tom Kristoll who likes the story. Tom is so impressed with David that he ends up giving him a job as editor. As time goes on, Loogan, who prefers to be on his own, ends up liking Kristoll and decides to befriend him even though he is sleeping with Tom's wife. This is when strange things begin to happen, bad things. People start ending up dead and all the characters involved are mystery writers, mystery publishers or editors, or people who wish to be mystery writers.
This book kept me guessing right to the end. Every time I thought I knew who the killer was, the rug was pulled out from under me. There are so many possibilities that make you say, "Yes, that's who did it", but of course I'm wrong. A wide range of characters and honestly, all of whom are likeable.
If you like mysteries, give this book a try. You might be surprised.
June 23, 2011
I just finished a few heavy novels and wanted something a little pulp, a little noir and a little light.
This book popped up with some decent reviews so I thought I would go for it.
Well, I got "light," but this was really not a very good book. A fast read, yes as it's simple style and pacing lends itself to a quick journey, but not a very good one.
The book felt contrived. Always reaching to try and fool and be clever, but coming across as just trying too hard.
The characters felt like parodies of themselves. If this was intentional then "Kudos," but I get the sense it was not.
This was like a cross between a Mexican soap opera and the game "Clue" with remnants of "The Love Boat" thrown in.
The author uses certain phrases several times and I am unsure why. For example: several times the author refers to a character going to get some "tap water." Why? Was this to create a mood? Make a commentary? Make it feel gritty?
The ending is really a stretch, but funny enough, it goes with the general theme: "Herein lies cheese. Have another helping."
It was a fast read and for that it gets an extra star (good pacing), but everything else was really quite pedestrian.
This book popped up with some decent reviews so I thought I would go for it.
Well, I got "light," but this was really not a very good book. A fast read, yes as it's simple style and pacing lends itself to a quick journey, but not a very good one.
The book felt contrived. Always reaching to try and fool and be clever, but coming across as just trying too hard.
The characters felt like parodies of themselves. If this was intentional then "Kudos," but I get the sense it was not.
This was like a cross between a Mexican soap opera and the game "Clue" with remnants of "The Love Boat" thrown in.
The author uses certain phrases several times and I am unsure why. For example: several times the author refers to a character going to get some "tap water." Why? Was this to create a mood? Make a commentary? Make it feel gritty?
The ending is really a stretch, but funny enough, it goes with the general theme: "Herein lies cheese. Have another helping."
It was a fast read and for that it gets an extra star (good pacing), but everything else was really quite pedestrian.
July 29, 2012
In the final pages of this literary mystery novel, one of the characters declares the proceedings to be "tedious." I feel that's an apt summary of this book.
After "mysterious" loner David Loogan helps his boss - the editor of Gray Streets, a literary magazine for mystery stories - bury a body the titular "bad things" begin to happen. Bodies pile up and suspicions are cast on David and the writers who are attached to the magazine. The central conceit - that the victims and suspects are all somehow involved with murder mysteries - is probably supposed to act as some sort of meta-commentary on the genre. But it just doesn't work.
My chief issue with the book is the almost total lack of emotional engagement any of the characters demonstrate in the face of multiple homicides, threats, blackmail, and other crimes. It is implied that since the characters are all involved in mystery writing themselves, all of this is second nature to them. But I found it increasingly hard to believe that in a community like Ann Arbor, Michigan - which, in reality, has seen one murder in the last 7 years - there wouldn't have been more of a fuss being made over the 8 or so violent, grisly murders that take place. Instead, the characters just quip, chat, and speculate like it's all a big game. Apart from some bad dreams and tears at a funeral, you'd think this sort of thing just happened all the time. Without the sense of any emotional impact, it's difficult for the book to generate excitement or suspense.
Another main issue is with Loogan himself. He is supposed to be a "cipher" - a mystery man with a huge secret in his past. We are led to believe that this secret explains his ability to act as detective, to elude the police, to know how to bury a body, etc. Yet when the big secret is revealed, none of his motivations or abilities are explained by it.
After "mysterious" loner David Loogan helps his boss - the editor of Gray Streets, a literary magazine for mystery stories - bury a body the titular "bad things" begin to happen. Bodies pile up and suspicions are cast on David and the writers who are attached to the magazine. The central conceit - that the victims and suspects are all somehow involved with murder mysteries - is probably supposed to act as some sort of meta-commentary on the genre. But it just doesn't work.
My chief issue with the book is the almost total lack of emotional engagement any of the characters demonstrate in the face of multiple homicides, threats, blackmail, and other crimes. It is implied that since the characters are all involved in mystery writing themselves, all of this is second nature to them. But I found it increasingly hard to believe that in a community like Ann Arbor, Michigan - which, in reality, has seen one murder in the last 7 years - there wouldn't have been more of a fuss being made over the 8 or so violent, grisly murders that take place. Instead, the characters just quip, chat, and speculate like it's all a big game. Apart from some bad dreams and tears at a funeral, you'd think this sort of thing just happened all the time. Without the sense of any emotional impact, it's difficult for the book to generate excitement or suspense.
Another main issue is with Loogan himself. He is supposed to be a "cipher" - a mystery man with a huge secret in his past. We are led to believe that this secret explains his ability to act as detective, to elude the police, to know how to bury a body, etc. Yet when the big secret is revealed, none of his motivations or abilities are explained by it.
August 16, 2010
I'm not an expert, and because of that I rarely write reviews. But I did decide to write out a blurb on this one because I found the writing to be in tolerable. Maybe the style just wasn't for me, it was so distacting I couldn't finish it. Every little thing was over explained, as if the author was writting to a two year old.
Mehh!
Mehh!
July 16, 2022
I enjoyed the characters, the mystery and especially all the publishing and book references. Good read. I will definitely move on to the 2nd in the series.
July 14, 2012
Bad Things Happen, for the most part, is a fairly clever book that draws liberally from across the crime fiction cannon to use various mystery tropes to construct the plot. The writing is workmanlike but very readable and there are some nice touches and humour. And yet, whilst I enjoyed it, I wasn’t bowled over by the story. On reflection I think there are two things that hinder Bad Things Happen from being a stellar book, which it’s easy to imagine it could have been. First, I felt the book was all plot, with fairly weak character development; for me, the principle characters were either very thinly fleshed out or verging on caricatures. I just never felt I got to really know any of them, with the possible exception of the cop’s daughter, who although she has a minor role had a roundness and believability to her. Second, whilst Dolan has constructed a convoluted plot that doesn’t suffer from the ‘done-well, but done before’ syndrome, it does have three problems. It feels too knowing, rather than being more subtle and letting the crime aficionados spot things for themselves. Although all the multiple twists are meant to be surprises, none of them really are as its clear that there is going to be a twist every few pages, even if its not clear what they will be; the result is that one is never really left gasping with wonder. And perhaps most importantly, certain parts of the plot really lacked credibility. For example, I simply couldn’t buy that David Loogan covered up a murder for someone he barely knew given how his character is portrayed. The credibility issue was stretched because of the need for an endless succession of plot devices. If the story was going to be as clever as it aimed to be then these plot devices would, I think, have seemed more credible. This all sounds like a lot of griping, which it undoubtedly is, born of a frustration that, although enjoyable, this could have been a really brilliant book.
January 3, 2011
"Bad Things Happen" deserves all the praise it's gotten. It's smart, literate, tight and perfectly plotted.
I've rarely read a book so full of first-rate dialogue, and its deft skewering of author egos and its fresh insight into how publishing sausage is made lends to the long list of the book's endless delights. It is the rare mystery novel that cheerfully tosses overboard everything that isn't pure fifth-gear story. No stopping to smell the flowers — or describe them — here, thank you very much. In that, the comparisons to Elmore Leonard (and, I would add, Peter Abrahams) are very much deserved.
My only complaint is that the story is overplotted, over-twisted and overwound. There are so many frame-ups, double-crosses, false clues, misinterpretations of evidence and other minutiae of misdirection that the reader is put through the mental equivalent of a marathon run. By the end, I felt worn out, just wanting to know who the damn killer — or killer — was, so I could get on with my life. That made the reveals, clever as they were, lose some of their impact.
And I couldn't help but feel that author Harry Dolan was just slightly running short on storytelling steampower in the final chapters. In particular, a subplot involving a villain from the past of David Loogan, the main character of "Bad Things Happen," seemed shoehorned in there to make plain that Loogan is one of the good guys (as if we hadn't figured that out already).
The author's insistence on Loogan's moral purity, not just his innocence, is another small weakness. People who are THAT good get to be a little bit tedious. Not so his female counterpoint, Detective Elizabeth Waishkey, whose essential goodness is nicely offset by her attraction to Loogan — and the extent to which she'll cut him slack in the service of that attraction — is a much more fully realized character.
All in all, though, this was one of the finest debut mysteries I've read in a long, long time. I can't wait to see what Dolan delivers next.
I've rarely read a book so full of first-rate dialogue, and its deft skewering of author egos and its fresh insight into how publishing sausage is made lends to the long list of the book's endless delights. It is the rare mystery novel that cheerfully tosses overboard everything that isn't pure fifth-gear story. No stopping to smell the flowers — or describe them — here, thank you very much. In that, the comparisons to Elmore Leonard (and, I would add, Peter Abrahams) are very much deserved.
My only complaint is that the story is overplotted, over-twisted and overwound. There are so many frame-ups, double-crosses, false clues, misinterpretations of evidence and other minutiae of misdirection that the reader is put through the mental equivalent of a marathon run. By the end, I felt worn out, just wanting to know who the damn killer — or killer — was, so I could get on with my life. That made the reveals, clever as they were, lose some of their impact.
And I couldn't help but feel that author Harry Dolan was just slightly running short on storytelling steampower in the final chapters. In particular, a subplot involving a villain from the past of David Loogan, the main character of "Bad Things Happen," seemed shoehorned in there to make plain that Loogan is one of the good guys (as if we hadn't figured that out already).
The author's insistence on Loogan's moral purity, not just his innocence, is another small weakness. People who are THAT good get to be a little bit tedious. Not so his female counterpoint, Detective Elizabeth Waishkey, whose essential goodness is nicely offset by her attraction to Loogan — and the extent to which she'll cut him slack in the service of that attraction — is a much more fully realized character.
All in all, though, this was one of the finest debut mysteries I've read in a long, long time. I can't wait to see what Dolan delivers next.
July 30, 2016
It seems like lately I’ve been reading a lot of debut novels. I didn’t plan it, but on several occasions I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Such was the case when I picked up “Bad things happen” by first time novelist Harry Dolan.
The book was unsettling for many reasons. First and foremost because the reader doesn’t know who the protagonist is for the bulk of the book. He is referred to for the most part as ‘the man who calls himself David Loogan’. Who is he really? An ex-cop (therefore a good guy) — an ex-felon (therefore a bad guy)? The reader is made tense by the possibilities.
Set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the novel follows the solitary Loogan who accidentally befriends a periodical publisher, Tom Kristoll. He eventually works for Tom as an editor for Tom’s mystery magazine “Grey Streets”. In due course, Loogan has an affair with Tom’s beautiful wife. But life imitates the stories in ‘Grey Streets’. Plans go wrong, bad things happen, people die…
The second protagonist in the novel is female homicide detective Elizabeth Waishkey. When Tom Kristoll dies, she meets David Loogan and is unsure whether he is a suspect or someone who can help her solve the case.
Written in a ‘noir’ style, “Bad things happen” is a very promising debut which held my attention and my interest until the last page. The characterizations were deftly rendered. Difficult when the reader doesn’t really even know who the protagonist is! Bravo Harry Dolan!
The book was unsettling for many reasons. First and foremost because the reader doesn’t know who the protagonist is for the bulk of the book. He is referred to for the most part as ‘the man who calls himself David Loogan’. Who is he really? An ex-cop (therefore a good guy) — an ex-felon (therefore a bad guy)? The reader is made tense by the possibilities.
Set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the novel follows the solitary Loogan who accidentally befriends a periodical publisher, Tom Kristoll. He eventually works for Tom as an editor for Tom’s mystery magazine “Grey Streets”. In due course, Loogan has an affair with Tom’s beautiful wife. But life imitates the stories in ‘Grey Streets’. Plans go wrong, bad things happen, people die…
The second protagonist in the novel is female homicide detective Elizabeth Waishkey. When Tom Kristoll dies, she meets David Loogan and is unsure whether he is a suspect or someone who can help her solve the case.
Written in a ‘noir’ style, “Bad things happen” is a very promising debut which held my attention and my interest until the last page. The characterizations were deftly rendered. Difficult when the reader doesn’t really even know who the protagonist is! Bravo Harry Dolan!
June 16, 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed this first novel (mystery) by an author who lives in Ann Arbor and who sets the book in Ann Arbor. Mr. Dolan's tone and language is consistent, talented, and reminiscent of classic "noir," including both in the dialogue and exposition. The plot is intricate (multiple bodies pile up) and at the same time smoothly logical. He includes just enough suspects to keep the reader guessing (not too many, not too few, but just right) along with unexpected yet plausible plot twists and turns. For s/o who lives in Ann Arbor or is otherwise familiar with the city, the A2 setting is a fun addition: The geography is pretty much exact (or close enough), and reading the passing commentary about the city made me think of my hometown in a whole different light. The fact that the mystery's plotline involves a fictional mystery journal is also fun, although the author treats the overall story seriously and never pushes the tone of the book into (or even close to) farce.
April 5, 2017
In a time when politicians have blown past any sense of normal, one needs fiction that is all the more convoluted. That's how BTH feels with its multitude of twists. A novel that even Stephen King and I can agree on at that.
The story has a noir quality of presenting an everyday, straightforward murder that soon throws our protagonist into a deep pit of muck where the struggle to separate fact from conjecture seems impossible to overcome.
The more one learns, the more one finds what he knows is not real. Something makes sense and the reader sees light. Then, it's all dashed away. The muck becomes stickier. Try to lift yourself out and the air pocket your shoe has created becomes a vacuum that sucks you down deeper.
The stuff keeps coming and you the reader asks: Can this crime be solved? The plot blows up and you answer in the negative. But, you keep reading because you've invested as much as the characters and you want to know.
The story has a noir quality of presenting an everyday, straightforward murder that soon throws our protagonist into a deep pit of muck where the struggle to separate fact from conjecture seems impossible to overcome.
The more one learns, the more one finds what he knows is not real. Something makes sense and the reader sees light. Then, it's all dashed away. The muck becomes stickier. Try to lift yourself out and the air pocket your shoe has created becomes a vacuum that sucks you down deeper.
The stuff keeps coming and you the reader asks: Can this crime be solved? The plot blows up and you answer in the negative. But, you keep reading because you've invested as much as the characters and you want to know.
April 19, 2020
A complex murder mystery or I should say, a multiple murder mystery with multiple suspects with a variety of motives seriously challenged my level of deductive reasoning. Mysterious stranger David Loogan arrives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and manages to be hired as an editor by Tom, the publisher of "Gray Streets", a crime fiction literary magazine. David and Tom become friends, David begins an affair with Tom's beguiling wife Lauren and shortly thereafter as the title alludes, bad things happen. Exceptionally good fiction also happens with dynamic characters, fast pacing and sharp dialogue. Author Harry Dolan deftly leads the arc of the story down the wrong way on one way streets and dead ends with David Loogan looking for progressively elusive answers.
January 4, 2012
Here's the review I posted at MADreads:
http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/m...
http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/m...
Sometimes I'm reluctant to write a review of a book. Not because the book was bad but because it was good. So good that I know I won't be able to do it justice with my own words. Bad Things Happen is just such a book. Harry Dolan crosses Raymond Chandleresque noir with Quentin Tarantino's rapid-fire dialog and complicated plotting style. All this leavened with enough dry wit to make a Jane Austen fan sit up and take notice.
This literary mystery set within the literary mystery community of Ann Arbor (the perfect noir setting, of course!) is best described by Dolan's own characters:
"A reporter came to interview us. I think he was expecting a typical literary journal, but we were publishing mysteries and crime stories. What was the theme? he wanted to know. If we had to describe a Gray Streets story in one sentence, what would it be? Tom had an answer ready, almost as if he expected the question: 'Plans go wrong, bad things happen, people die.'" (pg. 162)
Gray Streets is what brings the hero of this tale, the mysterious David Loogan, into the world of Ann Arbor's crime fiction literary scene. David, a recent transplant to Michigan, leads an isolated, quiet life. Until he meets Tom Kristoll. Tom is the managing editor of Gray Streets and he convinces David to take on some editing work for the magazine. The two men become good friends. So good that when Tom asks David to help dispose of an inconvenient body, David agrees almost without question. Despite his willingness to help and the fact that no one immediately misses the dead man, David is sure he hasn't heard the last of the problem. His fears are justified. Tom is thrown from the fifth floor Gray Streets offiice window and David is drawn in will he or nill he. Especially as police detective Elizabeth Waishkey turns her focus to David.
Words and schemes fly off the page. When a death is made to look like a suicide using a Shakespeare quote, the police chief knows the clue won't be much help:
"'a murderer who quotes Shakespeare.' McCaleb reached the doorway and turned back. 'And the victim is a man who published a literary magazine. A man who, we have to assume, knew plenty of people capable of quoting Shakespeare. A man who lived in Ann Arbor--a city where, if you order a mocha latte, it gets handed to you by someone who's read Hamlet.'"
Dolan's pacing is perfect as he reveals the layers in plot and character. David Loogan is almost as much of a puzzle as the murder. Is he a criminal? A retired assassin? A writer in hiding? I believed all of these things at one point or another. You'll have to read for yourself to see which is true. And if I did think that perhaps Dolan erred by adding just one more twist, it's so small a quibble I had to struggle to find it. Can't wait to see if Dolan can do it again in his sophomore effort, Very Bad Men.
September 9, 2010
This is the most annoying book I've finished in a long time, and I only finished it because my wife assured me that it improved after the first fifteen pages, the most self-indulgent and annoying opening I've read in years.
Author Harry Dolan's education in philosophy and dabbling in fiction writing with Frederick Busch become weighty handicaps to his writing a mystery. He's so interested in a convoluted plot with occasional allusions to classic Noir (Raymond Chandler, for example), that he forgets that his characters have to be more than abstract plot pieces and need believable motivations. Both those problems deepen as the book progresses.
The main protagonist "David Loogan," is sucked into helping to conceal a murder and the next hundred pages show us things gradually spiralling out of control as several people with contradictory stories and melodramatic secrets appear. Many of them are only abstractions and plot devices, and many of them seem to conceal information for no particular reason. At one time or another, everyone in the book seems to have slept with nearly everyone else in the book, too, and it's hard to keep all the trysts straight. Fortunately, it's not necessary.
When the culprit finally reveals the truth in a long monologue that stops the book dead in its tracks, the motive seems trivial, but since so many of the characters have made bizarre choices by then, it's not really jarring. It's just more of the same.
One hopes that if Frederick Busch is still teaching fiction writing, he learns to do it better. Or that other students are more apt.
Author Harry Dolan's education in philosophy and dabbling in fiction writing with Frederick Busch become weighty handicaps to his writing a mystery. He's so interested in a convoluted plot with occasional allusions to classic Noir (Raymond Chandler, for example), that he forgets that his characters have to be more than abstract plot pieces and need believable motivations. Both those problems deepen as the book progresses.
The main protagonist "David Loogan," is sucked into helping to conceal a murder and the next hundred pages show us things gradually spiralling out of control as several people with contradictory stories and melodramatic secrets appear. Many of them are only abstractions and plot devices, and many of them seem to conceal information for no particular reason. At one time or another, everyone in the book seems to have slept with nearly everyone else in the book, too, and it's hard to keep all the trysts straight. Fortunately, it's not necessary.
When the culprit finally reveals the truth in a long monologue that stops the book dead in its tracks, the motive seems trivial, but since so many of the characters have made bizarre choices by then, it's not really jarring. It's just more of the same.
One hopes that if Frederick Busch is still teaching fiction writing, he learns to do it better. Or that other students are more apt.
May 23, 2012
I think part of why I liked this book so much is that it was a departure from the dull cozies we so often read in my mystery book club. It was actually mysterious, I couldn't figure out the killer(s) for a change, the patterns I usually look for in mysteries weren't there making it easy (or making me think it was easy in some of the better ones). I didn't have much thought to spare on what was really going on because there was always something making me start the next chapter rather than take time to ponder situations.
The mystery of who the main character really was and what he'd done kept things interesting. I'm looking forward to starting the second book to see if it holds up without that mystery. The more I think about it the worse the guy seems even though his past is not exciting beyond the one incident. I mean he helps bury a body at the start of the book and I somehow forgot about how that kind of makes him a bad person because there was so much other killing going on.
We couldn't decide in book club if this was serious or a spoof on other mysteries. The last hundred pages are insane with twists and revelations.
The mystery of who the main character really was and what he'd done kept things interesting. I'm looking forward to starting the second book to see if it holds up without that mystery. The more I think about it the worse the guy seems even though his past is not exciting beyond the one incident. I mean he helps bury a body at the start of the book and I somehow forgot about how that kind of makes him a bad person because there was so much other killing going on.
We couldn't decide in book club if this was serious or a spoof on other mysteries. The last hundred pages are insane with twists and revelations.
June 14, 2011
This book gave me yet another reason to hate my mother-in-law. Her annoying visit kept me from devouring "Bad Things..." in one sitting! (Apparently I'm expected to converse with her when she's in the room instead of reading. Who knew?)
David Loogan, who's something of a mystery himself, is hired to edit a mystery magazine. When the magazine's publisher is defenestrated - Google it if you must - Loogan takes it upon himself to find the killer. Bodies begin to pile up. The suspect list grows to include a passel of egotistical mystery writers. My favorite smarmy tidbit:
"She has a mystery series about an art dealer who solves crimes with the help of her golden retriever."
"Really?"
"It takes all kinds."
Looking forward to Dolan's next book. Perhaps it will be about a whining mother-in-law who gets defenestrated. One can only hope.
David Loogan, who's something of a mystery himself, is hired to edit a mystery magazine. When the magazine's publisher is defenestrated - Google it if you must - Loogan takes it upon himself to find the killer. Bodies begin to pile up. The suspect list grows to include a passel of egotistical mystery writers. My favorite smarmy tidbit:
"She has a mystery series about an art dealer who solves crimes with the help of her golden retriever."
"Really?"
"It takes all kinds."
Looking forward to Dolan's next book. Perhaps it will be about a whining mother-in-law who gets defenestrated. One can only hope.
February 6, 2017
This book reminds me of the game Clue. Everybody is a suspect until they're not a suspect. A lot of twist and turns and the book revolves around David Loogan, a man with a unknown past, and Elizabeth the detective trying to solve the mystery. While I enjoy the book the writing is different and there really isn't any character development so you don't really get to know the characters that well.
February 5, 2013
Such as publishing this novel. 1 of 10 stars
September 24, 2020
I had this book on my radar for a while before I finally gave it a go and I wish I had read it sooner. I thought it was a really solid book. I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say that every character in this book is either lying or hiding something. We get introduced to the protagonist early on and immediately know there is something hidden about him, but enough about page 1.
The best part of this book is that everyone is a suspect--and unlike so many books, it's not just one or two suspects. There's a whole cast of people who could have done it and even the victims are lying. There's an intricacy to that which is fun to read and keeps you on your toes.
There's some downside to that though. It's hard to form much of an emotional attachment to any of the characters because they are all so suspect. The protagonist is a fun, interesting character that you want to like but never quite can.
The intrigue drives this plot and rightfully so, but the pace suffers a bit in places. Then again, the slow burn doesn't take much away from the book. All in all, I thought this was a solid, fun read and I'll definitely continue on with the series/author. It's 3.75 stars for me and an easy book to recommend. You'll enjoy it.
The best part of this book is that everyone is a suspect--and unlike so many books, it's not just one or two suspects. There's a whole cast of people who could have done it and even the victims are lying. There's an intricacy to that which is fun to read and keeps you on your toes.
There's some downside to that though. It's hard to form much of an emotional attachment to any of the characters because they are all so suspect. The protagonist is a fun, interesting character that you want to like but never quite can.
The intrigue drives this plot and rightfully so, but the pace suffers a bit in places. Then again, the slow burn doesn't take much away from the book. All in all, I thought this was a solid, fun read and I'll definitely continue on with the series/author. It's 3.75 stars for me and an easy book to recommend. You'll enjoy it.
May 17, 2018
This book already has 856 reviews so whatever I was going to say has probably already been said.
I apparently wasn't paying attention and missed reading any of Dolan's books until now. Left to my own devices, I'm more likely to read mysteries with a cutesy title or cats on the cover. But there were these two women in the library and one of them was telling the other one that if she was looking for something to read, she should really read Harry Dolan's new book. She recommended it so highly, that I put his books on my "to read" list.
I apparently wasn't paying attention and missed reading any of Dolan's books until now. Left to my own devices, I'm more likely to read mysteries with a cutesy title or cats on the cover. But there were these two women in the library and one of them was telling the other one that if she was looking for something to read, she should really read Harry Dolan's new book. She recommended it so highly, that I put his books on my "to read" list.
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