Bad Day for a Fat Boy [Paperback]

Dirk Robertson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2003

Overweight musician Murphy Kennedy is not in the business of trafficking drugs, guns, or any other illegal contraband. His occupation is trafficling musical instruments. This mild mannered Londoner finds himself facing the wrath of Jamaican gangsters, the Chinese Triads and a host of criminal elements in London and New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Xpress (December 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1902934199
• ISBN-13: 978-1902934198
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,202,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A Letdown, June 20, 2007

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Day for a Fat Boy (Paperback)

I'd heard good things about Robertson's first book, Highland T'ing, and so when I saw this at a used book sale, I snapped it up. The story follows ex-violin player Murray Kennedy, a somewhat overweight and depressed fella' who carries a torch for his dead wife and is a somewhat distracted father to his four-year-old girl. He lives in London with the beautiful Beverly, the daughter of Jamaican parents and brother to a notorious yardie. While their relationship has loads of odd-couple potential, it's never really realized, and the improbability of their having gotten together in the first place looms over the book.

The story is set in motion when Murray is assigned to courier an almost priceless violin from Paris to New York. This brings him into contact with a ruthless triad gang involved in human trafficking and a turf war within it's organization. It also brings him into contact with the NYPD and one of its abrasive detectives. Unfortunately, the missing violin, human trafficking, and triad infighting never mesh at all and feel rather clumsily lumped together. Similarly, Murray's involvement is a bit of mystery -- once the violin is stolen, the Chinese thugs keep trying to kill him (although there's no reason to), and later, the triads use him to deliver a message, which makes even less sense. However, this all allows Murray to figure everything out and engineer some small smidgen of justice with the help of the police. Ultimately the book doesn't make a lot of sense though, and there's little to recommend it (although I did like how Murray and Beverly's relationship evolves over the course of the story).

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, December 4, 2006

By 

P. M. Terrell (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Day for a Fat Boy (Paperback)

Bad Day for a Fat Boy captured my attention on the first page and held me breathless until the final page. Murray Kennedy is the kind of "every man" that you can envision living next door to or working beside - an overweight, anti-hero that still pines for his deceased wife and loves his little girl as only a father can. But the title alone tells you when he's asked to deliver a rare Amati violin to New York, his life is about to take a very unexpected turn. He is whisked into an underworld filled with Chinese Triad gangsters, crosses and double-crosses, and so many twists and turns you'll find yourself shouting encouragement to poor Murray as he must rise to the occasion and thwart these bad guys once and for all. I would love to see a television series with Murray's quirky character at the helm! You will be pleading for more from this very talented author and eagerly awaiting his next book!