The Liquor Vicar by Vince R. Ditrich

Brace yourself for two things. First, the next book in this series, scheduled for a 2022 release, is called The Vicar’s Knickers. This is important because if you enjoy this book, you’ll want to read the whole series of misadventures. Second, The Liquor Vicar may take a bit longer to read even though it’s slightly over 230 pages. That’s because you will pause over several quips, double over in laughter, re-read them, share them, laugh again, and wonder where Vince Ditrich has been all your life. Well, for most of his life, he’s been a busy working musician with the band Spirit of the West. He also has a calling for comedy writing and one can easily see this book play out as a film or sitcom.

Told to us in an at times deliciously ribald manner reminiscent of Carry-On-gang Brit humour, we accompany Tony Vicar as he fumbles his way through his despairing turn as an Elvis impersonating DJ to working with another tongue-tripping comedic foil named Ross “I’d be able to make a few altercations to my lifestyle” Poutine. Upon witnessing an accident and unseemly back from the dead event, Tony is hailed and sought after as a miracle worker. This isn’t the celebrity fame he was seeking, especially in the form of an obsessed and troubled woman named Serena. Her plans for Vicar include removing her number one competition, Vicar’s new girlfriend Jacquie.

The action moves at a quick pace with a play on words, saucy descriptions, a bit of bloodshed, and several pop culture references. In between the zippy banter, some soft-hearted drama, but not for long as the laughs keeps coming. Will Tony Vicar make his way towards the happiness that eludes him at every turn? Does Serena evoke any empathy in her journey? These are a couple of issues to ponder as quickly as one turns the pages.

If you need further convincing, here’s a quoted passage that has me fully betrothed to all future Vicar books: “The word chillax triggered a full-on rage in Vicar…it indicated a willful embrace of cultural retardation, of linguistic vandalism that was bringing society down to unsustainable Kardashian levels.“

Vince R. Ditrich is a lifelong musician and member of the band Spirit of the West. He has circled the world, earned more than a dozen gold and platinum albums, and been enshrined in several Halls of Fame. Vince lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dundurn Press (Aug. 17 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1459747259
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1459747258

Mala Rai

Mala Rai is a poet, drummer, psychology student, and technical writing hired gun on the West Coast. Her most recent poems have appeared in Eclectica Magazine, High Shelf Press, and Anti-Heroin Chic. You can follow her on Instagram @malaraipoetry