The Idiots’ Club by Tony Moyle is a tale of dares, revenge, and friendship. Centered around an unlikely group of friends that joined forces at university, this is a tale that will completely suck you in as you wait anxiously to see if they can complete the dares on time.
Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book from the author as part of his beta reading team. This did not affect my rating in any way. I also have my copy preordered!
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on The Idiots’ Club by Tony Moyle
When the story begins, our main character, Eric, is sitting in a police station being questioned while it looks like he has been seen better days…. And he sure has. This man is overtired, stressed, and mangled from tangoing with a lion. That’s right, a literal lion!
With video evidence of him and his buddies appearing to steal a lion, Eric tells Detective Inspector Whitehall that there is more to this scene than meets the eye. When she asks him to explain, he starts from the beginning, over twenty years ago.
From there, the story jumps back and forth from the scene at the police station to the past to learn more about this club and how they were formed originally, and then what drove them apart. Then we begin to jump between their history, the police station, and present day as the main storyline plays out.
I absolutely loved this format. Tony gives readers just enough information at each jump to keep the story flowing without too many questions. He is also able to pace it perfectly so you can’t put the book down as you’ll just want to see what happens next!
While I disliked many of the characters for most of the book, I certainly can’t say that they weren’t intriguing! I loved seeing their transformations over the course of the events. Like all coming of age tales, there is a lot of growth that happens here and it warmed my heart. After all, who says you can’t finally come of age in your 40’s?!
When I hit the final page, I wanted to stand up and clap. Per usual, Tony’s writing style is just brilliant. I don’t understand how he does it, but he thinks of EVERYTHING and never leaves us with any loose ends.
My Favorite Passages from The Idiots’ Club
Several lines of dried blood, which had oozed from a matted wound on his temple, chased each other down his cheek before disappearing under the collar of his ripped, once clean white shirt. His face was filthy and swollen, creating the illusion that he’d recently played a game of rugby against a team of angry rhinos, and lost heavily.
People who refused to compete in a race which had different starting lines and more dangerous obstacles in some lanes than in others.
He swiftly downed the contents and placed the glass back on its unorthodox coaster: a sea of paperwork. It was probably sprawled across an office desk, but a positive ID was impossible because none of it was visible.
Usually, her interviewees crumbled faster than a shortbread biscuit in a mug of warm tea – such was the strength of her interrogation skills. Criminals weren’t generally the sharpest tacks in the toolbox, and if they were, they’d probably be making good livings as accountants or computer programmers.
Legal documents were not notorious for their page-turning quality and were more often associated with their eye-closing quality.
“Wh…at?” gasped Micky, struggling to get the word out of his mouth.
“Sean wants us to steal a lion.”
After pulling a number of faces which Micky’s brain couldn’t fully decipher because they suggested a range of emotions from hysteria to genuine confusion, he finally spoke the only appropriate word he could find. “Why”
“I dare you” wasn’t a phrase bandied around willy-nilly if you were a member of The Idiots’ Club. It wasn’t used in jest or in anger. Once uttered, at least in Eric’s presence, there was no going back. Like the duels of old, when the gauntlet was thrown down, it became a test of honour and bravery.
My Final Thoughts on The Idiots’ Club
I had so much fun with this! The characters were a hoot, the storyline was perfectly organized to keep me antsy to learn more, and I just couldn’t wait to see how it would all end. I found myself easily losing track of time while reading this story because once I started reading, I was totally immersed.
For fans of reads that are filled with twists and turns and lots of laughs, this is one you need to pick up!
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Thanks for reading!
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I do love a good humorous read!
<3 This one was a hoot!