Some voices in crime fiction are just so completely amicable that picking up the book every night is like calling an old friend … if your friend was constantly being chased by criminals and getting coshed over the headwith things, instead of calling to tell you about getting a new roof installed or how they made a great pie that was a bit burnt. And Colfer, mostly known as the author of the spectacular Artemis Fowl series for kids and the author taking the helm of the newest Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, has created a great voice in Irish-American Daniel McEvoy, affable to a fault, hiding his new hairplugs under a hat, wishing fervently for a date with one of the waitresses at the club he bounces for, and about to find himself in the centre of an alarming amount of drama, not least that his precious hair doctor has gone missing. He’s trying to escape the trauma of his military past, and keep his friends and sanity intact.

While there are some honestly sad moments, and gripping action-packed scenes that kept me riveted to the page (even batting people away with the book if they tried to talk to me), it’s really a very funny book, unabashedly entertaining, and just on the right side of ridiculous.

Fiona Hardy is from Readings Carlton.