Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men

Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men

First edition
Author	Colin Bateman
Language	English
Series	Dan Starkey novels
Genre	Crime, Dark comedy
Publisher	UK: HarperCollins USA: Arcade
Publication date	25 April 1996 (1996-04-25)
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	333
ISBN	978-0-00-225237-9
OCLC	35785640
Dewey Decimal	823.914
LC Class	PR6052.A773 O37 1996
Preceded by	Divorcing Jack (1995)
Followed by	Turbulent Priests (1999)

Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men is the second novel of the Dan Starkey series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, released on 25 April 1996 through HarperCollins.^[1] The name of the novel is a reference to the John Steinbeck novella Of Mice and Men.

Protagonist Dan Starkey is tasked with writing a book about "Bobby Fat Boy McMaster", the current heavyweight champion of Ireland, in his upcoming championship fight with Mike Tyson on St. Patrick's Day. When McMaster's wife is kidnapped, Starkey must figure out who's behind it before the varied and numerous factions that McMaster has offended, in his short time in New York, catch up with them.

The novel received generally positive acclaim, with reviewers praising the novels humour while noting that it is not of the same quality as the previous Starkey novel, Divorcing Jack.

Publishers Weekly stated that the novel is "not as tight and focused as Bateman's previous work" and notes that the novel "reflects a distinct political and religious bias, which will surprise readers who appreciated Starkey's earlier, more tongue-in-cheek approach to Northern Ireland sectarianism". They did, however, also state that: "nevertheless, Bateman delivers the kind of humour and sense of the ridiculous that his fans will relish".^[2] Kirkus Reviews took a similar stance, stating that the novel is "more relaxed and less wildly funny than Divorcing Jack or Cycle of Violence – but then that's what you'd expect when the brutality is only a game".^[3]

• Official website