I found out about Pauline McLynn's brilliant character, Leo Street, when I stumbled across Better than a Rest (the sequel to this book) and recognised the name. I bought this afterwards to gain a better understanding of McLynn's Dublin setting, and to get more of the same blend of real-life humour and lightweigh crime that the sequel presented.
The book features some brilliant characterisation, as each person Leo encounters is unique and believable. Leo herself is a perfectly crafted heroine, balancing her romantic issues (a sexless relationship with her layabout actor boyfriend) and her everyday 'women's problems' (I'm probably one of the few men who will have read this book, so I probably appreciate this less than the target audience, but it's very believable and well-written) with her exotic-sounding-but-ultimately-not-that-exciting job as a private investigator. The people and places she encounters are observed with a great deal of genuinely funny wit, and there are some truly hysterical moments to be enjoyed, particularly involving the colourful characters she meets in her cookery class.
The problem with Something for the Weekend is much like the one with it's sequel, in that there's no dramatic developments or tension involving the adultery case she's working on throughout the book. Leo observes how her job is never as glamorous or as exciting as it seems, and she's right - the conclusion to the case is underwhelming and does leave you feeling a bit short-changed, feeling rushed and uneventful. The personal side of Leo's life is carried off brilliantly, with plenty of great characters and humour as well as some moving parts. But the crime element doesn't fare so well, and there simply isn't anything that happens that's worthy of note. It's an unusual hybrid, and not one that always works.
Don't buy this book if you're after a sophisticated crime thriller or whatever, but do if you like sparky, lively comedy with great characters. It's definitely an enjoying read, guaranteed to make you laugh, and although the case comes to a weak conclusion it hangs the rest of the story together nicely. It'd be nice to see Leo Street's next case introduce her to some more interesting, dramatic scenarios, but this is a fantastic introduction to her and her world.