A Book Spy Review: ‘Shoot ‘Em Up’ by Janey Mack

by Ryan SteckJaney Mack’s latest novel picks up right where her last one left off. Shoot ‘Em Up opens with Maisie McGrane in an ambulance on her way to the hospital. Surrounded by her entire Irish Catholic, close-knit family, Maisie wakes up from surgery to find everyone waiting for answers about why she was mixing it up with criminals and how she managed to get herself stabbed in the thigh. MORE

 

WHY I LOVED IT

Nobody in this genre makes me laugh harder or more often than Janey Mack. Maisie is a breath of fresh, politically incorrect air and I love the sarcastic, edgy one-liners that she’s become known for.

In Time’s Up, Maisie shut down an over-eager guy at the bar with “Move along, pal. I haven’t upgraded to misery yet.”

This time out she hits back with “Think again, pal. Casual sex isn’t in my job description or my repressed Catholic schoolgirl DNA,” when someone suggests she sleep her way into a convincing cover story.

Whether it’s lines like those, or comparing her hobbled self to the “girl version of Jimmy from South Park,” Maisie’s inner dialogue is hilariously entertaining.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT

Janey Mack’s writing style makes her work attractive to a very diverse group of readers. If you enjoyed Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, meeting Maisie McGrane is an absolute must. Likewise, if you’re into mysteries and police dramas, there’s more than enough of that in this book to go around.

Mack’s sharp dialogue, which is truly in a class of its own, is the icing on the cake, though. If screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Moneyball, The Social Network, The Newsroom) wrote a novel, this is exactly how I imagine the characters would speak to each other.

BOOK DETAILS

Author: Janey Mack

Pages: 341 (Paperback)

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: September 27, 2016 (Order now!)