Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The chronicles of Sean Duffy could not be contained in McKinty's Troubles trilogy, and this is the sixth novel in the series (after Rain Dogs, 2016). For readers who have not shared in the rapture, there is no time like the present to join. In Royal Ulster Constabulary Detective Duffy, McKinty has created a Chandleresque character who walks the mean streets of Belfast, a man of honor by instinct, by inevitability. He is a somewhat conflicted man in a very conflicted 1980s Belfast, where warring factions both demand protection money from drug dealers and execute them under the auspices of the Direct Action against Drugs (DAAD). Duffy's investigation into the death of a pusher takes him down some dangerous roads, always checking under his Beemer for a mercury tilt switch bomb before he careens off. Like his literary hero, Jules Maigret, Duffy considers himself thoroughly existentially jaded. But he is also very much like his TV idol, Sonny Crockett, from Miami Vice. They each operate effectively in their own demimonde and are supported by high-caliber bromance. Driving it all is McKinty's compelling style: Duffy's first-person narrative and internalized musing are lengthy at first, then reduced intermittently to terse one-sentence statements that move the story along at an astonishing pace. A must-read for fans of Stuart Neville and Celtic noir.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Doyle returns as narrator for McKinty's sixth Sean Duffy novel. It's 1988, and Det. Sean Duffy is a Catholic policeman serving in Northern Ireland during the unstable time of The Troubles. He's seen a lot during his career, but the murder by crossbow of a local drug dealer is something new even in a world where car bombings, riots, and assassinations are almost commonplace. As he and his team dig into the case, he learns that there is more to the dealer's death than meets the eye, and his continued inquires will endanger not only his own life but the lives of those closest to him. This is familiar territory for Doyle, and he knows exactly how to navigate the material. From the tense opening scene he keeps the story moving at a steady pace, expertly building the suspense as Duffy delves deeper into the mystery. Bolstered by excellent characterizations, Doyle's reading holds the listener transfixed straight through to the final confrontation when all is revealed. A Seven Street paperback. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Sean Duffy, a flawed but dogged and streetwise sleuth, is digging his own grave at gunpoint as the latest book in McKinty's (Rain Dogs) series opens. He and his small team of police officers have been stymied since the moment they picked up the case of a Carrickfergus drug dealer killed by a crossbow. The man had paid off paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. Why would someone kill him? Why did his wife disappear? Who wants to shut down Sean's investigation? VERDICT This gritty mystery that explores violent conflict in Northern Ireland during the 1980s is the sixth book in McKinty's series about the Irish "Troubles"; however, new readers can pick it up as a stand-alone. Perfect for Stuart Neville aficionados and police -procedural buffs.-LH © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Detective Inspector Sean Duffy of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Rain Dogs, 2016, etc.) tries to cut back on the smoking and do decent police work despite bombs, riots, and bureaucracy.By 1988, the Troubles have turned any high-minded nationalism, loyalist or republican, into little more than a front for drug runners and sociopaths. Still, no one trusts the likes of Duffy, a Catholic taking the king's shilling. When a penny-ante heroin dealer is found dead, the only surprise is that he was shot with a crossbow. For once, the paramilitaries aren't claiming credit for wiping out the scourge of drug dealers (read: their competition), and the silent, untraceable, and perfectly legal crossbow is a devilishly clever murder weapon. The victim's widow, Elena Deauville, has clearly been smuggling their stock in from Bulgaria, and though she's not talking, Duffy knows she knows something. Meanwhile, Duffy's posh, Protestant girlfriend, Beth, wants to move to a posh, Protestant house. When Duffy hesitates, Beth packs herself and their baby off to her parents'. The brass are pushing Duffy to write off the caseno one cares about a dead criminalwhen Elena disappears. While Belfast riots, Duffy uncovers a part of Ulster's bloody history casting its long shadows over his case, as over everything else. McKinty's hero is irreverent, charming, and mordantly, laugh-out-loud funny, and his eclectic personal soundtrack and bitter, pragmatic politics make for vivid period detail. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
