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The first novel in a darkly humorous London-based crime series featuring bisexual private detective Duffy.
When Brian McKechnie finds his wife attacked, his cat killed, and himself blackmailed by a man with a suspiciously erratic accent, he engages the services of London’s most unusual private eye – Duffy.
A bisexual ex-policeman with a phobia of ticking watches and a love of Tupperware, Duffy is anything but orthodox. But he’s street smart, savvy and takes no nonsense from anyone. Intrigued by McKechnie’s case and the ineptitude of his ex-colleagues on the police force, Duffy heads to his old patch – the seedy underbelly of Soho – to begin inquiries of his own.
Helped by some shady characters from his past, Duffy discovers that while things have changed in his old stomping ground, the streets are still mean and the crooks walk arm in arm with the blues.
Full to bursting with sex, violence and dodgy dealings, DUFFY is a gripping and entertaining crime novel with a distinctly different and entirely lovable anti-hero.
When Brian McKechnie finds his wife attacked, his cat killed, and himself blackmailed by a man with a suspiciously erratic accent, he engages the services of London’s most unusual private eye – Duffy.
A bisexual ex-policeman with a phobia of ticking watches and a love of Tupperware, Duffy is anything but orthodox. But he’s street smart, savvy and takes no nonsense from anyone. Intrigued by McKechnie’s case and the ineptitude of his ex-colleagues on the police force, Duffy heads to his old patch – the seedy underbelly of Soho – to begin inquiries of his own.
Helped by some shady characters from his past, Duffy discovers that while things have changed in his old stomping ground, the streets are still mean and the crooks walk arm in arm with the blues.
Full to bursting with sex, violence and dodgy dealings, DUFFY is a gripping and entertaining crime novel with a distinctly different and entirely lovable anti-hero.
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Reviews
Treat yourself. One of the most colourful and entertaining English thrillers
"Duffy is a wonderfully appealing character who could never be anything but the creation of a top-flight imagination."
The characterization is exact, the action gripping, and the writing pleasantly ironic
Marvellously aerated by bubbles of Mr Kavanagh's very dry, sly, wide-ranging and Eighties humour
It is bleak, but it is good. Really good.
Exciting, funny and refreshingly nasty
There is plenty of goodwill for his witty books featuring his bisexual sleuth, even though the lashing of sex and violence are a world away from Barnes' customary endeavors.
Duffy is not your typical detective - and this is not your typical detective novel. It's gripping, witty and sometimes horrible and hysterical at the same time...Julian Barnes's foray into the crime genre is an absolute riot - and the good news is there are three more reissues featuring Nick Duffy to look forward to over the next 12 months.
The laughs are as many as the gasps
Dan Kavanagh effortlessly jumped to the top of the crime writer's league
"Barnes takes Duffy into the dark underbelly of Soho, with his customary wit."
Funny, sleazy, fast-paced and written with brio