- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review; New Ed edition (25 Jan 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0755328264
- ISBN-13: 978-0755328260
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 2.5 x 19.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 618,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Smoked (Stolen Millions)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Patrick Quinlan writes with such panache and skill that it's hard to believe that this is his first novel' -- Mail on Sunday 20070225 'Admirers of James Ellroy or the films of Quentin Tarantino should find much to enjoy in Patrick Quinlan's debut, which is as fast-paced, and as bloody as either' -- The Times 20070224
The Times
'Packed with adrenalin, violence and an all-too-credible set of
New York characters'
New York characters'
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is great read. The characters are sassy, raw and gritty and the author makes them real. The author grabs you right from the beginning by introducing you to a killer for hire and by detailing the near rape of one of the main characters (I won't say more). Needless to say, this book is not for children or the faint of heart. The chase scenes are exciting and I found myself staying up late to finish the book (I wanted to see how it ended). Enjoy!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An exciting book!
Straightforward to read, interesting characters, racey plot twists, and a good few laughs.
It's one of the few books that I've read that effectively communicates the thrill of a car chace!
A great debut, more of these please.
Straightforward to read, interesting characters, racey plot twists, and a good few laughs.
It's one of the few books that I've read that effectively communicates the thrill of a car chace!
A great debut, more of these please.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Is there life outside the Mob without going into a witness protection program? Smoked makes the case for criminals being able to reform at least to the extent of foregoing crime (except to escape Mob killers) in favor of retirement with beautiful young women. As you can see the book's theme is really about fantasy: confronting and overcoming almost demonic killers, being able to retire young, enjoying an uncomplicated love life, and having freedom to live as you like. Those in favor of some escapist fiction will feel rewarded by Smoked.
What makes the book rise above the average is its focus on the foolishness and foibles of bad guys, a quality that will remind you of Elmore Leonard's stories about stupid crooks in Detroit. The main twist here is that the criminals are either stone killers or physically developed people who love using their size and strength against others.
On the anti-hero side, you have a few surprises too. James "Smoke" Duggan (born Wally O'Malley) is sixtyish and a cripple who needs a cane. He uses his brains and bomb-making abilities to offset his physical limitations. Smoke's twenty-five-year-old girl friend, Lola Bell, makes up for his lack of physical toughness with her martial arts which are honed to prevent a repetition of being raped as a teenager. Both are secretive . . . which accounts for why Smoke doesn't know that she almost suffered a recurrence during a "modeling" audition . . . and why Lola doesn't know that Smoke used to work for the Mob and helped kill dozens on a plane.
Into their path come the stone-cold killer, Denny Cruz, and two nasty assistants, Moss and Fingers, after Smoke is spotted and photographed on a Portland, Maine street. The Mob hunters find that life isn't quite what they expected as they trail the $2.5 million they are ordered to retrieve from Smoke.
What follows is filled with action and irony as the mobsters and rapists find that their tasks are vastly more difficult than expected.
You'll have to suspend belief quite a lot towards the end of the book. That's the book's weakness.
But if you enjoy seeing the hare run the foxes to ground, you'll enjoy Smoked.
What makes the book rise above the average is its focus on the foolishness and foibles of bad guys, a quality that will remind you of Elmore Leonard's stories about stupid crooks in Detroit. The main twist here is that the criminals are either stone killers or physically developed people who love using their size and strength against others.
On the anti-hero side, you have a few surprises too. James "Smoke" Duggan (born Wally O'Malley) is sixtyish and a cripple who needs a cane. He uses his brains and bomb-making abilities to offset his physical limitations. Smoke's twenty-five-year-old girl friend, Lola Bell, makes up for his lack of physical toughness with her martial arts which are honed to prevent a repetition of being raped as a teenager. Both are secretive . . . which accounts for why Smoke doesn't know that she almost suffered a recurrence during a "modeling" audition . . . and why Lola doesn't know that Smoke used to work for the Mob and helped kill dozens on a plane.
Into their path come the stone-cold killer, Denny Cruz, and two nasty assistants, Moss and Fingers, after Smoke is spotted and photographed on a Portland, Maine street. The Mob hunters find that life isn't quite what they expected as they trail the $2.5 million they are ordered to retrieve from Smoke.
What follows is filled with action and irony as the mobsters and rapists find that their tasks are vastly more difficult than expected.
You'll have to suspend belief quite a lot towards the end of the book. That's the book's weakness.
But if you enjoy seeing the hare run the foxes to ground, you'll enjoy Smoked.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
uneven but nonetheless enjoyable
I thought the opening chapter of Smoked was excellent. If the whole book had managed to keep up the same pace and style it would have been a cracker. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Rob Kitchin
Smoked but not inhaled
This is the first Patrick Quinlan novel I've come across - rather belatedly, I'm afraid as this is a seriously good read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Michael Watson
Quinlan is quick
Smoked by Patrick Quinlan secures your attention like a rusty nail being driven in your forehead. Populated by a number of people you would not like to meet off the page, this... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Peter Kettle
superior murder and mayhem
I really enjoyed this book. Mr Quinlan's writing is of a high order and it seems as if he has been crafting novels for years rather than this being his debut. Read more
Published 23 months ago by I. B. Pitbladdo
An Elmore Leonard-Type Look at "Retiring" from the Mob
Is there life outside the Mob without going into a witness protection program? Smoked makes the case for criminals being able to reform at least to the extent of foregoing crime... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2007 by Donald Mitchell
An Elmore Leonard-Type Look at "Retiring" from the Mob
Is there life outside the Mob without going into a witness protection program? Smoked makes the case for criminals being able to reform at least to the extent of foregoing crime... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2007 by Donald Mitchell
An Elmore Leonard-Type Look at "Retiring" from the Mob
Is there life outside the Mob without going into a witness protection program? Smoked makes the case for criminals being able to reform at least to the extent of foregoing crime... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2007 by Donald Mitchell
Packed with a Punch
A brilliant read! A fast paced and cool crime novel that is packed with a punch. Smoked is a page turner - I read the book in two days; I couldn't, and didn't want to, put it down. Read more
Published on 16 April 2007 by Babbling Books
Brilliant!
Excellent book written in a great style that makes you want to read the whole thing in one sitting. First book I've read in a while since Michael Marshall Smith's 'The Straw Men'... Read more
Published on 1 April 2007 by Julian Phillips
Quite good.
Smoke Dugan has made a living from making bombs for a criminal organisation. But when one of his bombs is used to take down a plane with innocent women and children on board,... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2007 by Michelle Routledge
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