A Man With One Of Those Faces by Ciamh McDonnell

Format: Kindle
Read: April 2025

After loving Kala I decided I was in the mood for some more Irish vibes, and this one had been waiting in my TBR for ages! It was recommended to me by an email pen pal, and the first book in the series is usually only 99p in the Kindle store.

A Man With One of Those Faces is a crime story soaked with Irish humour, and I really enjoyed it! The basic story follows Paul, the titular man who uses his power of possessing “one of those faces”  to fulfil his required 6 hours of community service by sitting with elderly people in hospitals and care homes and letting them believe he is one of their relatives who, in reality, rarely visit. One day the man he visits tries to kill him and he gets sucked into a dangerous criminal conspiracy.

Paul is great! He’s had a tough life, orphaned at a young age he became reliant on the “kindness” of a rich aunt who died leaving him a monthly allowance, conditional on community service hours, until he got his first job… So motivated by mostly spite Paul has simply not got a job.

The nurse on the ward, who witnesses the attack on Paul, also gets tangled up in the adventure. Bridget is no-nonsense, a little bit nuts, true crime obsessed and a terrible driver. I thought she was also great, and I loved the chemistry with Paul.

There are also POV chapters from the Detective Inspector on the case, who is very close to retirement and dealing with a new rookie partner. Loved those too as well!

Finally, there is Bunny McGarry, also a cop but one who plays by his own rules … And employs tactics such as dropping people off balconies. Bunny was an important figure in Paul’s childhood, but the two had a falling out when he was a lad, still, he involves himself because he’s protective of Paul as “one of his boys.”

I expect that further books in the series will illuminate more of Paul’s past and his relationships with Bunny, because clearly they have a lot of unresolved issues!

The story is very fast paced with plenty of high stakes action, and the mystery element is fine, but the real fun is with the character interactions!

I read this on Kindle, but I might seek out the rest of the series on audiobook, as I bet this would be even more fun when read by an Irish narrator. I definitely want to read more!