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The Saxon & Fitzgerald Mysteries #2
Die weiße Katze : Roman
The stranger wants to meet at midnight out by the lighthouse at Howth. Someone, he claims, is trying to kill him. She knows it’s a bad idea, but Saxon can never resist a mystery. When she arrives on the scene, it looks as if someone has got there before her, but who is the mysterious “Marxman” shooting apparently random victims across the city? Once again, former FBI agent turned true crime author Saxon finds herself drawn into an investigation with Chief Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Could the terrifying murders have something to do with the final pictures taken by a murdered photographer? If not, why are those who knew him acting so suspiciously? Saxon needs to use all her ingenuity if her own name is not to soon join the growing list of the dead. A gripping serial killer thriller by the Shamus Award-winning author of The Dead.
Unknown Binding
First published December 6, 2004
5 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Ingrid Black
6 books23 followersIngrid Black is the pseudonym of Eilis O'Hanlon and Ian McConnel, a husband-and-wife writing team who live with their family in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They are the creators of ‘Saxon and Grace Fitzgerald’, former FBI agent and Detective Chief Superintendent with the Dublin Metropolitan Police’s Murder Squad.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 1, 2016
The Dark Eye captivated me even more than the first book, The Dead. I was practically doing a happy dance at finding a new authour.
A phone call entices Saxon to the scene of the crime, something that happens a lot in The Dark Eye and puts Saxon front and centre in the eye of the killer. The character development brings us more understanding of Saxon and at the same time you just know there is still so much left to know about this woman.
Her relationship with Fitzgerald is well done, absolutely key to who she is, yet so subtle in the telling the reader is at once aware of the deep bonds these women have.
A phone call entices Saxon to the scene of the crime, something that happens a lot in The Dark Eye and puts Saxon front and centre in the eye of the killer. The character development brings us more understanding of Saxon and at the same time you just know there is still so much left to know about this woman.
Her relationship with Fitzgerald is well done, absolutely key to who she is, yet so subtle in the telling the reader is at once aware of the deep bonds these women have.
April 23, 2023
the Dark Eye is the second book in the Saxon and Fitzgerald series, following The Dead. It can be read easy enough as a stand-alone as it is its own case. the Dark Eye brings back former FBI agent Saxon and Dublin murder squad Detective Fitzgerald. Saxon left the FBI and wrote a book that burned all of her chances for a return. She moves too Dublin for a change of scenery, to write, and possibly help law enforcement with cases when possible. In this helping law enforcement she meets Detective Fitzgerald and the two become entangled in a relationship. However, restraints and implications to Fitzgerald’s position end the love affair but it does not fully extinguish Saxon’s feelings for Fitzgerald. Life goes on.
Felix Berg calls Saxon, whom she has never met, and says that someone is trying to kill him. She wants Saxon to meet him at a lighthouse in Howth at midnight tonight. Hmm …? Against her best wishes she goes to meet the photographer Felix Berg who has apparently no pictures of himself. Saxon believes that he is a no show until she looks around a bit. She finds a man’s shoes and his clothes neatly folded, and also his broken glasses. She peaks over the jagged, rocky cliff to see a man in a contorted position and the police determine that he is dead. Is this Felix Berg?
Saxon is drawn into the case immediately following the murder discovery. It is discovered that Felix lives with his sister, Alice, and that their parents are dead and that they were raised by their aunt and uncle. They basically have no family left and they are left to their own devices in their early twenties.
the Dark Eye then turns into a creepy serial killer loose in Dublin. Fitzgerald is under pressure to solve the case. Saxon makes discoveries and acquaintances along the way and develops some wild theories about the case. Fitzgerald has no time for these wild speculations. Saxon stumbles upon a book written by Felix Berg. (This must be the only book that published that does not include a picture of the author.) (Just saying) Saxon is still not convinced that Felix Berg is dead and Fitzgerald is not buying it.
The serial killer goes about killing people that all are standing in a doorway and that are not related to one another through work or social life, or anything at all. Fitzgerald and her team are desperate to catch this killer, but it seems that they will have to wait for the next murder and hopefully be present. Ingrid Black has written a good book. Characterization and plot are carefully advanced. The reader must accept a couple of things, though, I believe that if the reader is into police stories, thrillers, and serial killer books that they will thoroughly enjoy the Dark Eye. This book just manages the 4-star rating.
Felix Berg calls Saxon, whom she has never met, and says that someone is trying to kill him. She wants Saxon to meet him at a lighthouse in Howth at midnight tonight. Hmm …? Against her best wishes she goes to meet the photographer Felix Berg who has apparently no pictures of himself. Saxon believes that he is a no show until she looks around a bit. She finds a man’s shoes and his clothes neatly folded, and also his broken glasses. She peaks over the jagged, rocky cliff to see a man in a contorted position and the police determine that he is dead. Is this Felix Berg?
Saxon is drawn into the case immediately following the murder discovery. It is discovered that Felix lives with his sister, Alice, and that their parents are dead and that they were raised by their aunt and uncle. They basically have no family left and they are left to their own devices in their early twenties.
the Dark Eye then turns into a creepy serial killer loose in Dublin. Fitzgerald is under pressure to solve the case. Saxon makes discoveries and acquaintances along the way and develops some wild theories about the case. Fitzgerald has no time for these wild speculations. Saxon stumbles upon a book written by Felix Berg. (This must be the only book that published that does not include a picture of the author.) (Just saying) Saxon is still not convinced that Felix Berg is dead and Fitzgerald is not buying it.
The serial killer goes about killing people that all are standing in a doorway and that are not related to one another through work or social life, or anything at all. Fitzgerald and her team are desperate to catch this killer, but it seems that they will have to wait for the next murder and hopefully be present. Ingrid Black has written a good book. Characterization and plot are carefully advanced. The reader must accept a couple of things, though, I believe that if the reader is into police stories, thrillers, and serial killer books that they will thoroughly enjoy the Dark Eye. This book just manages the 4-star rating.
March 15, 2023
Dirò la verità, mi aspettavo di più.
La trama di base è molto interessante, il problema è lo stile di scrittura, per me troppo pomposo e tante volte pieno di aggiunte inutili difficili da seguire. Così com'è difficile seguire i personaggi, perchè in una pagina vengono chiamati per nome, nell'altra per cognome, in quella dopo addirittura si mischiano...
Il finale in sè ci sta, e forse risolleva un pò il libro.
La trama di base è molto interessante, il problema è lo stile di scrittura, per me troppo pomposo e tante volte pieno di aggiunte inutili difficili da seguire. Così com'è difficile seguire i personaggi, perchè in una pagina vengono chiamati per nome, nell'altra per cognome, in quella dopo addirittura si mischiano...
Il finale in sè ci sta, e forse risolleva un pò il libro.
June 19, 2017
Ik vond de ontknoping nogal vergezocht.
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September 19, 2019.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
July 28, 20253 t12
June 7, 2016
This is the second in the Saxon & Fitzgerald series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. Former FBI agent Saxon is still living in Dublin and still very much in love with Chief Detective Grace Fitzgerald. But life has never been easy for Saxon and probably never will be. She's too prickly, distrustful, and blunt to make friends easily. And when the phone rings, it's not a luncheon invitation, but a desperate man who's convinced that a murderer is gunning for him. She reaches the agreed meeting place, but not in time to save his life. Was he the fifth victim of the serial killer known as the Marxman? And what do these recent murders have to do with the decades-old murder of a young girl?
In a good series, a great part of the enjoyment is going deeper into the backgrounds of the recurring characters. As the story unfolds, we learn a secret from Saxon's past that even Grace Fitzgerald doesn't know. Just because cops deal with the tragedies in the lives of others doesn't mean they haven't experienced those same tragedies in their own lives. Their personal experiences play a big role in how they do their jobs.
Normally, I wouldn't go for a series that features such an angst-ridden character as Saxon, but these books have so much going for them. Saxon is a good narrator - intuitive, clear-eyed, and compassionate. Having screwed up herself, she tends to give others a break, unless they cross the line into cruelty or (worse) murder. Grace Fitzgerald is a fine foil - always calm and rational, whether she's battling crime or short-sighted superiors or butt-headed male detectives. Although some of the men are Neanderthals, others are accepting of change and appreciative of Fitzgerald's hard work and talent.
The writing is beautiful and the city of Dublin is shown as a living entity that shapes (for better or worse) the people who live there. Best of all, the author manages to tell a dark, human story with as little graphic violence as possible. And she allows her characters to have sex lives without telling us every detail. Thank you.
In a good series, a great part of the enjoyment is going deeper into the backgrounds of the recurring characters. As the story unfolds, we learn a secret from Saxon's past that even Grace Fitzgerald doesn't know. Just because cops deal with the tragedies in the lives of others doesn't mean they haven't experienced those same tragedies in their own lives. Their personal experiences play a big role in how they do their jobs.
Normally, I wouldn't go for a series that features such an angst-ridden character as Saxon, but these books have so much going for them. Saxon is a good narrator - intuitive, clear-eyed, and compassionate. Having screwed up herself, she tends to give others a break, unless they cross the line into cruelty or (worse) murder. Grace Fitzgerald is a fine foil - always calm and rational, whether she's battling crime or short-sighted superiors or butt-headed male detectives. Although some of the men are Neanderthals, others are accepting of change and appreciative of Fitzgerald's hard work and talent.
The writing is beautiful and the city of Dublin is shown as a living entity that shapes (for better or worse) the people who live there. Best of all, the author manages to tell a dark, human story with as little graphic violence as possible. And she allows her characters to have sex lives without telling us every detail. Thank you.
December 19, 2016
The Dark Eye is the second in a series of dark mysteries featuring ex-FBI agent Saxon, who left the agency, wrote a bridge-burning account of her time there and moved to Dublin where she's at loose ends. She's supposed to be writing, but she'd much rather use her connections (her lover is head of Dublin's homicide squad) to investigate things on her own. So when a man phones her to say that someone is trying to kill him and asks her to meet with him out at Howth's lighthouse, she agrees and is given a convoluted mystery to occupy herself with. Along the way, she tangles with a serial killer, the art establishment and a bunch of seriously disturbed individuals. The ending is dramatic, but somewhat diluted by the need to explain things afterward.
This book is part of a series, but it stands alone well enough. It gives a bleak and somewhat hopeless version of Dublin. Saxon is a prickly and difficult character, somewhat reminicent of early Kay Scarpetta. She's interesting and opinionated, and not always able to control her tongue. She has a distinctly right wing view of justice, but there are plenty of more balanced characters to balance things out.
This book is part of a series, but it stands alone well enough. It gives a bleak and somewhat hopeless version of Dublin. Saxon is a prickly and difficult character, somewhat reminicent of early Kay Scarpetta. She's interesting and opinionated, and not always able to control her tongue. She has a distinctly right wing view of justice, but there are plenty of more balanced characters to balance things out.
March 4, 2014
READ IN DUTCH
And this is the other Black pseudonym I was talking about. Well, luckily I like this duo a lot better.
I had never really heard anything about the authors before, but I was positively surprised by this book. It was refreshing and interesting, once you stop minding the annoying lesbian jokes which are - needless to say - not funny. I did like the descriptions of Dublin though.
I've read one other book by Ingrid Black, and I think that after that they stopped translating them, because I never saw another one, unfortunately.
And this is the other Black pseudonym I was talking about. Well, luckily I like this duo a lot better.
I had never really heard anything about the authors before, but I was positively surprised by this book. It was refreshing and interesting, once you stop minding the annoying lesbian jokes which are - needless to say - not funny. I did like the descriptions of Dublin though.
I've read one other book by Ingrid Black, and I think that after that they stopped translating them, because I never saw another one, unfortunately.
April 2, 2011
Rating: 3.90
Now that I've finished it - I have to say this: The mystery itself isn't all that good but it's what happens on the way to the final answer which is interesting. I loved the writing. Loved the little tidbits of knowledge I could get.
The characters were interesting although some were under-developed...
Now that I've finished it - I have to say this: The mystery itself isn't all that good but it's what happens on the way to the final answer which is interesting. I loved the writing. Loved the little tidbits of knowledge I could get.
The characters were interesting although some were under-developed...
November 14, 2015
A bit of a slow start but a good ending
Want to read
July 7, 2011I bought this (because I liked the cover and the blurb sounded interesting) for 50 cents at a kind of flea market so I guess I'll read it :).
April 6, 2012
Gritty, shocking in places, a very different voice. Loved it.
January 19, 2016
I kiled it until the end. The murderer was hard to identify due to poor writing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews