Dead Man Talking Paperback – 13 April 2023

I purchased two

Rating: 3.7/5This book is part of this year's Quick Reads programme from The Reading Agency. I am very much a fan of the scheme, but I have to admit that I was a little disappointed to see that the six books forming this year's offering are re-issues of previously featured stories rather than new material.That said, there are still some real gems amongst the selection for those who may have missed them the first time around. There is a real skill in drafting a properly rounded story within the confines of just 100 or so pages and, in this case, it is actually less than that. In spite of the short format Roddy Doyle manages to tell a tale and that is simultaneously amusing and thought-provoking - it certainly puts a slightly different slant on the afterlife!

I'm a big Roddy Doyle fan and whilst this had many of his trademarks, such as his gift for dialogue, it was somehow lacking something. It's a strange story of a man invited to the funeral of an old friend with whom he had had a falling-out some years before. When he arrives he sees faces from his past, and when he enters the room containing the coffin things become rather strange.As with all of Doyle's books the dialogue here was superb, so real and believable, but this time it was free of bad language. As for the story itself, it's short (obviously - it's part of a "Quick Reads" series of books) and although entertaining I quickly guessed where it was leading, but the ending itself was rather odd. Not a bad little read, certainly worth the asking price, and a nice introduction to Doyle for those not familiar with his work.

Good starter books for crime readers

This was a tricky one to rate for me because I wanted to give the story itself a 3 but I wanted more from it so ended up giving it a 2, however it IS meant to be a quick read so probably a bit harsh of me! Saying that, I found the story predictable so perhaps that’s why I wanted more also. It’s a fun, quick read but I personally found it a bit underwhelming and frustrating.

It was well written and interesting

What a great, little story.Really clever and well written. It's intriguing, from the start and sucks you straight in.I didn't see that ending coming!

This is so boring. It’s literally not even a 100 pages and it took me forever to read. It felt like a child had written it