Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Dead I Well May Be cover art

Dead I Well May Be

By: Adrian McKinty
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Hidden River cover art
The Cold, Cold Ground cover art
Falling Glass cover art
A Winter Grave cover art
Cut Short cover art
The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery (Multicast Drama) cover art
Cash City cover art
The Woodcutter cover art
The Black Echo: Special Edition cover art
Suttree cover art
The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos cover art
Reamde cover art
Relic cover art
Troubles cover art
Speaks the Nightbird cover art
Wilderness and Other Stories cover art

Summary

"I didn't want to go to America, I didn't want to work for Darkey White. I had my reasons. But I went."

So admits Michael Forsythe, an illegal immigrant escaping the troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But young Michael is strong and fearless and clever, just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month. Michael and his lads tumble through the streets, shaking down victims, drinking hard, and fighting for turf, block by bloody block.

Dodgy and observant, not to mention handy with a pistol, Michael is soon anointed by Darkey as his rising star. Meanwhile Michael has very inadvisably seduced Darkey's girl, Bridget, saucy, fickle, and irresistible. Michael worries that he's being followed, that his affair with Bridget will be revealed. He's right to be anxious; when Darkey discovers the affair, he plans a very hard fall for young Michael, a gambit devilish in its guile, murderous in its intent.

But Darkey fails to account for Michael's toughness and ingenuity or the possibility that he might wreak terrible vengeance upon those who would betray him.

A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent, complete with an Irish lilt.

Don't miss these other noir thrillers in the Michael Forsythe series: The Dead Yard (Unabridged) and The Bloomsday Dead (Unabridged).
©2003 Adrian McKinty (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A profoundly satisfying book from a major new talent, and one of the best crime fiction debuts of the year." (Booklist)

What listeners say about Dead I Well May Be

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    154
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    166
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    139
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration but too convoluted to be believed

I did finish to the end but only by fast forwarding through a lot of sections. If I had paid by one of my credits I wouldn’t have persevered and returned it after the first hour or so of listening.

Narration however is excellent I gave it an average review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story & evocative language

A good crime story from the first person perspective. As always the main character is not either good or bad, but more a real & complex person. I like the way each chapter starts with a stream of conscious description of where in the story we are. Won’t be too everyones liking but I enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poetic

Absolutely loved this book had everything. And the narrator was brilliant. Well written genius

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • mr
  • 02-04-20

Loved it. Everythings great ! Highly recommended

I thought McKinty would never match the Duffy series but he does with this one. Its a different protagonist but a great yarn, well told, brilliantly read. Interesting geography which I always like - a time period of the 80's 90' which appeals to me as much as to the author it seems. He writes in both standard crime narrative (very well) with a dollop of original characterisation (especially naughty ones) and with a great helping of Irish poetry. A brilliant combo for my taste. I cannot overrecommend this one and the whole Duffy set.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Action & poetry

The last shootout. The action the long description of NY and Harlem makes this novel stand out

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can't believe how good this was!

Just an amazing set of books! Book 1 and 3 being the best! The ending of this, wow! Never would of guessed it! Awesome! Even the family had been listening in of these books, wouldn't let me listen without them! The narrator is just brilliant, the author 👏 and brilliant. Listen to all 3 books in 4 days whilst travelling and in evenings etc. Superb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great story…over written.

The story is gritty and authenticly Irish. Great characters and dialogue but interrupted by the overwritten stream of consciousness internal thoughts. The narration is ok once you get into it, but not sure what part of Ireland is being attempted.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story

I thought it was good, maybe a little far fetched but was still very entertaining.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An appalling story told with irresistible Irish charm!

I couldn’t stop listening to this. I learnt some terrible stuff , it’s quite gory ( won’t spoil it) but the main character is fascinating and narrated with an irresistible Irish charm that I’m hoping we’ll find out what happened next! Love this writer & he has the perfect narrator to showcase the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not his best book,I gave up.

I cannot review this correctly as I gave up in the third chapter.
I could not deal with the constant swearing.
Ive really enjoyed his other books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!