Dublin Dead

Mulcahy #2

by Gerard O'Donovan

Journalist Siobhan Fallon needs the help of DI Mike Mulcahy with a story she’s covering about the disappearance of a young woman from Cork. When he agrees, they find themselves dragged into the ruthless world of international drug smuggling - and finding a link between the murder of a retired drug dealer in Spain, the suicide of an estate agent in Bristol and a yacht abandoned off the south coast of Ireland.

Once again justice and journalism make awkward bedfellows as Mulcahy and Fallon run a desperate race against a remorseless enemy determined to silence the one person alive who knows the truth…

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Ireland

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Gerard O’Donovan was born in Cork and grew up in Dublin. After a brief career in the Irish civil service he travelled widely, working as a barman, bookseller, gherkin-bottler, philosophy tutor, and English teacher before settling down to make a living as a journalist and critic for, among others, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. In 2007 he was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association’s prestigious Debut Dagger competition.

Reviews

[Charles Kerns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery could be transferred to any city that suffered drugs and economic slump. Not bad but the Irishness is not very strong. Not like in the John Brady Irish mysteries or even more with Ian Rankin (but Scotland not Ireland for Rankin). So if you want basic drug story this is fine, if you want locale look elsewhere.

[Mădălina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Both main characters from the first novel. "The Priest", are front and center. I thought the story developed well and I am a fan of Mulcahy and Fallon. Unfortunately, I think this was the last of a too short of a series for me. Maybe O'Donovan will resurrect them.

[Marleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I write my review I'd like to note that this is not the edition I read. The details on the book I have are as follows:
Publisher: Sphere
ISBN: 978 0751544909
Furthermore, I rated this book 4.5 stars rather than four.

“A drug deal gone bad.
A daughter gone missing.
A hitman on the loose.
And five days to find the answers.”


Journalist Siobhan Fallon is still recovering from the events in The Priest, when she’s send to Cork to cover the funeral of a formally successful estate agent who has committed suicide in England.
What at first appears to be a complete non-story becomes more interesting when she is approached by a woman who is worried about her missing daughter who was supposed to be with the deceased man in England.
At the same time, in Dublin, DI Mike Mulcahy and his team are gathering information about a known gangster and drug dealer on behalf of the Spanish police, who are trying to solve the man’s murder in Spain. The team is also looking into a massive drugs haul on a yacht off the coast of Cork.
Curious, Siobhan travels to Bristol to find out more about the estate agent’s suicide and the missing woman, only to find no trace of the later as well as discrepancies in the travel documents of the man.
At the same time more underworld figures are being killed, both in England and in Ireland.
When Mulcahy and Fallon get together and compare notes, strange coincidences soon turn into a sinister plot.
With a gunman on the loose, determined to kill anybody who knows his secret, the detective and the journalist have only five days to tie all the lose ends together and prevent more deaths.

This is an enjoyable thriller, with an intriguing plot and connections where you wouldn’t expect any.
In books like this you just know that what appear to be unconnected events will in all likelihood turn out to be connected. However, in this book it was completely unclear how that could possibly be the case for quite a while. In fact I found myself wondering once or twice whether the author would succeed in delivering believable connections, and was delighted to find that he did.
I did however find the book a bit slow to start. I think it took me to about half way through the book to pick up on any sense of urgency. Once I did get that sensation though, I couldn’t stop turning the pages, and found myself racing through the second part of the book to find out how it would all link up, who the killer actually was and how it was all going to end.
Parts of the final solution came as a complete surprise to me, which is always good in a thriller, and turned this book into a more satisfying read than I thought it was going to be.
I do have a bit of a problem believing that any policeman would ever co-operate with a journalist in the way described in this book. Since this plot device does work very well, I’m prepared to dispel my disbelieve on that front though.
I feel that this book flowed better than its prequel did and think that O’Donovan is hitting his stride. If there is going to be a third book in this series, and I hope there will be, I will definitely get myself a copy. I’ve got a feeling that these books will only get better and better.

[Dood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just had too many characters. You need a flow chart to follow all the connections. Some of the characters we don't really get to know because the author has them offed before we get the chance. The characters in the book are pretty much one-dimensional and the lack of metaphors, similes, and interesting dialogue makes for a hard slog. I actually skimmed through the last 75 pages to find out what happened and to see whether the main cop, Mulchahy, would get back with his old flame, Fallon. I can put up with banal writing, if the plot moves along. This book just misses on all cylinders. I won't be reading any Gerald O'Donovan books in the future.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t read the first book in the series, but I think this book stands alone because the characters and their history is clearly explained. In my travels in Ireland, I have met friends and family who describe the economic devastation that has repeatedly occurred in Ireland, beginning with hundreds of years of colonization and exploitation. The Great Famine of the nineteenth century was an outcome of this colonial treatment of Ireland. More recently the economy of Ireland was devastated by the technology collapse of the early 2000s when thousands of employees of technology companies lost good-paying jobs and a decade later, the the total collapse of the housing bubble of 2008-20009. The Irish economy has been dependent upon far larger and more ruthless countries eager to exploit the population. Alongside this boom and bust cycle, a robust underground economy of drugs, alcohol and trafficking has become entrenched. As is inevitable, cartels from the Americas and Eastern Europe have taken over this industry.
Against this background, Detective Inspector Mike Mulcahy is immersed in this world in his position in Ireland’s National Drugs Unit. Several deaths of known Irish drug traffickers happen, alongside a rash of deaths among estate agents, and the disappearance of a young woman who appears to be connected to some of these men. Following this thread of the story is reporter Siobhan Fallon, who is still recovering from a long leave of absence following a horrific attack. Inevitably the stories intertwined and connnections between the characters become more and more complicated. This is not a simple story, but it is very compelling.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d actually give the first half of the book two stars and the second half four stars. I’m going to be generous and compromise on three because while the book’s faults are incredibly annoying (because they’re so remediable), its strengths are so rare.

I’m normally pretty patient with books, and I don’t often say the following (because I generally think it’s a sign of unsophisticated taste), but this book was really, really, really slow to get going. Enough so that I’d say the first half or even two-thirds need an aggressive editing or rewrite. But the book fins its stride past the halfway mark and ends really, really strong. There is a very solid twist at the ending that ends things on a very satisfying bang.

[Elisa Schiorlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siobhan Fallon è una giovane giornalista appena rientrata a laoro dopo essere stata vittima di un folle mesi prima.
Mentre scrive, suomalgradp, un articolo su un giovane immobiliarista suicidatosi a causa della crisi economica, viene avvicinata dalla madredel'ex ragazza del defunto che le chiede aiuto perchè la figlia è scomparsa.
Siobhan inizia ad indagare e ad un certo punto chiede aiuto a Mike Mulcahy, polizziotto conosciuto durabte il caso che l'ha vista vittima del folle chiamato il Prete.
La giornalista e il polizziotto si troveranno coinvolti in due casi in cui ha a che fare la droga che apparentemente sembrano separati ma che ad un certo punto convergono in una sola.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first Mulcahy book enough to pick up the second. Sadly I did not like Dublin Dead as much as The Priest. The pacing was quite different, never quite falling into a rhythm. The subplot about the Mulch/Fallon relationship also had a forced quality. That said, the conclusion was satisfying, if not long in coming. I also like the Mulcahy character despite some incredibly amateurish missteps that he made toward the end. I will likely read #3 if there is one.

[Randy Hass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Mr. O’Donovan’s first novel, “The Priest.” “Dublin Dead” picks up with our protagonists Inspector Mike Mulcahy and reporter Siobhan Fallon several months later trying to solve a band of drug smuggling.

It’s an interesting story, but I found the characters confusing and frustrating to follow. But as the story approaches its conclusion, the pieces begin to fall into place. The main characters are compelling and Inwould be eager to read another O’Donovan novel.

[Ilaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

drugs, suicides, missing, money ricicluing are yhe ingredients of this Irish mistery. I loved the narration but I think that there are too many characters that cross their paths. Maybe I would have preffered something more easy to follow. Anyway it is a splendid novel if you like the crimzz ones.

[Christine Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

[Sam Schmitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book kept me interested, but there were so many characters introduced that it was so hard to keep the plot straight. Started to make more sense about halfway through.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was rather pleasing to see DUBLIN DEAD, mostly because O'Donovan's first book, The Priest, actually managed to get me to rethink my "over serial killer" books stance. So no pressure on this one... at all.

There is some reference back to The Priest in DUBLIN DEAD, which is unavoidable really given that both books feature journalist Siobhan Fallon and policeman DI Mike Mulcahy. If you've not read the earlier book, that shouldn't put you off completely, as there is some recapping of what happened, particularly to Siobhan. Whilst it should be enough to allow new readers to not get lost, and returning readers to avoid rehashing old events, the scope of the tentative friendship / attraction between Fallon and Mulcahy could be a little less clear. That's probably the only flaw in the rationale of the book - whilst it's not unknown for journalists and policemen to co-operate for expediency's sake, the level of connection between these two could be confusing without knowing how the working relationship got started.

What is substantially different in DUBLIN DEAD is the nature of this plot - which is multi-threaded and based around gangsters, drug dealing, an inexplicable suicide, an armed hitman and a missing woman. Obviously in this sort of book, you'd be perfectly entitled to assume that these threads are going to end up somehow connected, but even allowing for that expectation I must admit I did not see how or where O'Donovan was going to be able to do that. Especially as the book does take a while to get going, so a lot needed to happen in a hurry to tie off the events. The earlier part of the book is spent teasing out the various connections, Fallon and Mulcahy both coming to the centre from a range of different threads. As in the first book, there is another Spanish / Irish connection ... this time because an Irish gangster dies in Spain, at the same time that Irish police are looking into a massive drugs haul on a yacht off the coast of Cork. There's obviously something in these connections that the author likes, or maybe it's more common in Ireland and Spain than we know about in this corner of the world!

One of the most interesting aspects of DUBLIN DEAD for me anyway, was the comparisons with the earlier book. The switch from the enclosed, creepy serial killer storyline to drugs, gangsters, hitmen and violent murder gave the author a nicely complicated plot to pull together. Compared to that very personal feeling of threat of the earlier storyline, DUBLIN DEAD had a wider scope, a greater capacity for a true thriller style chase, and somehow a threat that seemed less personal and more professional, a hitman, after all, just doing a job. That change in focus also meant that there seems to have been a subtle change in the author's viewpoint. The two main characters - Fallon and Mulcahy are under pressure undoubtedly, but somehow because the threat was more professional (measured / deliberate) which seemed less personal (unpredictable / mad / off kilter), it seems that there was an opportunity for a bit more exploration of personal vulnerability and frailty.

I remember thinking after The Priest that these two could make a very interesting duo into the future, and DUBLIN DEAD is still encouraging that feeling. Whilst I really enjoyed the first book, I found DUBLIN DEAD to be even better, so now I'm hoping for not just a third book, but a fourth and maybe more in the Fallon and Mulcahy series.

[Evander · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read beyond the first book in a series, it's generally because I want more of whatever I got from the first installment. It's not just about revisiting the main characters; it's also about the harder-to-define elements of tone, style, and, in detective fiction, the way the investigation is framed: how important the psychology of the murderer is, the level of action scenes, etc. Dublin Dead, though, is a very different story from The Priest. The Priest focused on a serial killer with bizarre religious motives, while Dublin Dead is about drugs gangs and career criminals. These crimes necessitate very different investigation styles, and produce very different stories. Dublin Dead involved a much bigger criminal cast, so that I not only kept forgetting who people were (though, to be fair, this is often what happens when you only read one chapter at a time, right before falling asleep), but none of the characters were as fleshed out as I'd like. There wasn't much depth to anyone's motives, because it's all about money. Dublin Dead essentially belongs to a different mystery subgenre than The Priest, which isn't a problem, per se, but mystery readers generally know exactly what they want. If there's another book in this series, I'll make sure to read the description before blindly picking it up.

[Ann Collette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues the story of Inspector Detective Mike Mulcahy and reporter Siobhan Fallon, characters who appeared in the author's first novel, THE PRIEST. Mulcahy is now a high ranking member of Ireland's National Drug Unit, while Fallon has become a star reporter who's written a book about the dreadful experience she underwent at the hands of a serial killer. She and Mulcahy, though still attracted to each other, have lost touch. Mulchay begins investigating the murder of a former local Dublin thug in Spain on what appears to be a drug related crime while Fallon looks into the suicide of another Irishman in England. Eventually it becomes apparent the two cases are related; the policeman and the reporter are just approaching it from two different angles. In another author's less skillful hands, this could be a heavy-handed coincidence but here it all adds up neatly, if a bit on the dry side. Though well crafted and smart, there's still something superficial about this book, solidly plotted as it is. It's as though the author worked it all out in his head without ever involving his emotions, leaving the reader to enjoy seeing how the puzzle of the plot comes together without ever really caring whether the principle characters live or die. If there's to be a third book about these characters, I won't feel the need to read it.

[Bridgina Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I wanted to see how other writers wrote about crime in Ireland, and I did find it a little hard going. It took me a while to get to the end. It's a good story, and written very well, though I did find myself skimming some sections. I think I'll need to pick up a few more Irish Crime Novels in order to make a decent comparison.

Truth be told, the fiction that I most want to read, based in Ireland, and modern times is Fantasy, but I don't seem to be able to find much of that. If anyone reading this knows of any, give me a shout.

It's always nice to find good Irish Fiction that deals with something other than romance, failed relationships and longing to be married (even though there is a little of that in here as well). I don't know however if I'll read more by this author, we'll have to wait and see.

I'm just glad that I finally finished the book, and if you are looking for a crime novel that is definitively Irish, have a go, it might be more your cup of tea.

P.S.
I've been struggling to pinpoint the feeling that this book left me with when I was finished with it, and I have found it, the feeling is dark and despair, there is a lot in the book about cutbacks, impending recession, people being all down and yucky...so there you go, a dark, despairing feeling.

[Marc Leroux · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second of the Mike Mulcahy/Siobhan Fallon mysteries, the story picks up a year after the events of The Priest. DI Mulcahy is back with the Drug Squad, and Fallon has written a book of her experience being captured and tortured by the "Priest". Fallon is now an Irish celebrity, but she is still struggling (emotionally) to be able get back to work full time. She stumbles on to a story about a suicide victim, that then extends to a friend of the victim that is now missing.
Mulchay, meanwhile, is following up on the murder in Spain of a former Dublin druglord.
The two stories come together, and there is a lot of co-incidence at play, but O'Donovan does a great job of bringing these two together.
This is a good, entertaining yarn that is hard to put down.
I'd have given it 5 stars, but for the unanswered quest of "Who was leaving the songs on Fallon's answering machine!"

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good police procedural. Garda Inspector Mike Mulcahy is a member of the National Drugs Unit, following up on the murder of an Irish gangster killed in Spain. Reporter Siobhan Fallon is following up on the missing girlfriend of a failed Irish real estate developer who apparently jumped off the scenic Clifton Bridge in Bristol. And there are loose ends from a major seizure of cocaine off the Irish coast a few months earlier.

The threads of the two investigations are gradually drawn together into one explosive case that is bigger than anything Mulcahy or Fallon imagined. It's an interesting story, well told. The protagonists have a history that creates some dynamic tension and that's not a bad thing either.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have just started on this book and am liking it so far. I love that I know the areas in Dublin which makes it easier to visualise where the characters are going but also keeps me feeling in touch with my beloved city.
I also love how the characters talk in the native Dublin tongue and that the author hasn't tried to Americanise it which would be a shame.
I'm hoping it continues as it has started.


Final review:
I really enjoyed this book and loved how it all came together. Well worth the read. I have passed it onto my neighbour who is currently reading it and my sister is next in line!

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as good as Priest - for one thing I really felt that the female characters were not well developed at all...and especially with regards to the reporter - the character from Priest.

I am sorry, but her annoyance with Mulcahy just didn't make any sense and after what happened to her last time and the fact that she's still freaked out about it (for good reason) I find it unbelievable the when told to stay away or out of the way she get's on her reporter high horse and ignores the advice.

and what was going on between her and her editor? Who cares about that?

anyway - there seemed to be a lot of loose ends...

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't really Gerard O'Donovan's fault that I felt a bit of a sense of deja vu on beginning this, so formulaic has this genre become in beginning with a prologue of brutality, and certainly the characters - both Mulcahy and Fallon are well-developed and interesting, along with their various peers, and the plot and pace concincing and well-worked out, so of its kind it is in top of the range, and I'll not hesitate to read the next.
On another day it might've rated four stars, and might be revised yet.

[A.A. Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

DEAD GOOD READ

Cop Mike Mulcahy and journalist Siobhan Fallon were once an item. Their unrequited love for each other runs like a colourful thread through this dark detective mystery. Gerard O'Donovan is a master of suspense, and his plot offers plenty of surprises and cliffhangers. There's less graphic violence than in his previous thriller, The Priest, and this book is better for it. A dead good read indeed.

[Georgane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. I have been to some of areas in the book and could picture the places in the setting. There was a lot of international intrigue as well which reminded of Robert Ludlum and the characters were somewhat like edgy like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was relieved there was less horrific descriptions than the Priest. Loved it!

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish the entire book had been as good as the last 50 pages. I did'nt get into the characters much, but I get an impression that perhaps I would have if I'd read the first book in the series. I spent 17 days in Ireland last year and it was fun to visualize a number of the places I visited that were mentioned in the book. Stuart Neville is still my favorite new Irish mystery writer.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drug dealers are being murdered. Reporter Siobhan Fallon is trying to put her being crucified in an attack behind her and is chasing the story. Detective Inspector Mike Mulcahy is trying to salvage his career and keep his current job by solving murders and drug crimes. This is an interesting read set in Ireland.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Priest when I read it but found I really lost interest with this. I don't know whether it was because I'm not so interested in the whole drug scene type storyline or what it was but I was very disappointed with it. If a third book in the series comes out I may read it but I won't actively search for it.

[Arkansas City Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was part of a series when I checked it out, but I still enjoyed this book a lot. It has a similar edgy feel to it as the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The plot was interesting and not immediately obvious, which is great. I plan to go back and read The Priest now.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this novel. The pace was quick, and though I solved a bit of the mystery before the end, I was still delighted with the twists and turns. I also appreciated the dialogue and the realistic characters. I would definately read more by Mr. O'Donavan.