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Detective Sean Duffy #3
In the Morning I'll Be Gone
A Catholic cop tracks an IRA master bomber amidst the sectarian violence of the conflict in Northern Ireland in this pulse-pounding thriller from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author Adrian McKinty. “McKinty’s writing is dark and witty with gritty realism, spot-on dialogue, and fascinating characters.” — Chicago Sun-Times It's the early 1980s in Belfast. Sean Duffy, a conflicted Catholic cop in the Protestant RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), is recruited by MI5 to hunt down Dermot McCann, an IRA master bomber who has made a daring escape from the notorious Maze prison. In the course of his investigations Sean discovers a woman who may hold the key to Dermot's whereabouts; she herself wants justice for her daughter who died in mysterious circumstances in a pub locked from the inside. Sean knows that if he can crack the "locked-room mystery," the bigger mystery of Dermot's whereabouts might be revealed to him as a reward. Meanwhile the clock is ticking down to the Conservative Party conference in Brighton in 1984, where Mrs. Thatcher is due to give a keynote speech …
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
381 people are currently reading
3044 people want to read
About the author
Adrian McKinty
48 books4,410 followersAdrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law at the University of Warwick and politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. He moved to the United States in the early 1990s, living first in Harlem, New York and from 2001 on, in Denver, Colorado, where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 779 reviews
January 19, 2020
EXCERPT:
The beeper began to whine at 4.27pm on Wednesday September 25, 1983. It was repeating a shrill C-sharp at 4 second intervals, which meant - for those of us who had bothered to read the manual- that it was a Class 1 emergency. This was a general alert being sent to every off duty policeman, police reservist, and soldier in Northern Ireland. There were only five class 1 emergencies and three of them were a Soviet nuclear strike, a Soviet invasion, and what the civil servants who'd written the manual had nonchalantly called 'an extraterrestrial trespass.'
So you'd think that I would have dashed across the room, grabbed the beeper, and run with a mounting sense of panic to the nearest telephone. You'd have thought wrong. For a start, I was as high as Skylab, baked on Turkish black cannabis resin that I'd cooked myself and rolled into sweet Virginia tobacco. And then there was the fact that I was playing Galaxian on my Atari 5200 with the sound on the TV maxed and the curtains pulled for a full dramatic and immersive experience. I didn't notice the beeper because it's insistent whine sounded a lot like the red ships peeling off from the main Galaxian fleet as they swooped in for their oh-so-predictable attack.
They didn't present any difficulty at all despite the sick genius of their teenage programmers back in Osaka because I had the moves and the skill and all they had were ones and zeros. I slid the joystick to the left, hugged the corners of the screen, and easily dodged their layered cluster bomb assault. That survived, I eased into the middle of the screen and killed the entire squadron as the ships attempted to get back into formation. It was only when the screen was blank and I saw that I was nudging close to my previous high score that I noticed the grey plastic rectangle sitting on the coffee table, beeping and vibrating with what in retrospect seemed to be more than its usual vehemence. I threw a pillow over the device, sat back down on the rug, and continued with the level. The phone began to ring and it went on and on and finally, more out of boredom than curiosity, I paused the game and answered it.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: A spectacular escape and a man-hunt that could change the future of a nation - and lay one man's past to rest. Sean Duffy's got nothing. And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. So when MI5 come knocking, Sean knows exactly what they want, and what he'll want in return, but he hasn't got the first idea how to get it. Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning. From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?
MY THOUGHTS:
'Take every dream that's breathing,
Find every boat that's leaving,
Shoot all the lights in the cafe,
And in the morning I'll be gone.'
Tom Waits, I'll Be Gone, 1987
I love this book, and this series. I love Sean Duffy, and Adrian McKinty. I even love Gerard Doyle, the narrator. Lovely voice. Liquid chocolate.
I can't believe that McKinty had to resort to driving Uber to make ends meet. He has such talent, and a warped sense of humour that I admire greatly. You wouldn't think that there would be much to laugh about in a novel written around the hunt for an escaped IRA terrorist, but there is.
That woman you saw walking to work, and taking the long way, earbuds in, i-pod clutched in her hand, laughing out loud, was no escaped psychiatric patient. That was me listening to In the Morning I'll be Gone.
McKinty has created an irreverent, wiseass of a detective who has an ingrained sense of what is right, which is not always what the police force needs or wants.
I have just read (physical book this time)In The Morning I'll Be Gone for the second time. This is the book that introduced me to Adrian McKinty, and his Detective, Sean Duffy.I loved it so much that I have started the series from the beginning, hence the reread. Brilliant series, and in my opinion this, the third in the series, is the best....so far.
McKinty's descriptive powers are superb. He has me believing that Belfast must be the most dismal city in the world. 'A dreary, typical Belfast scene: low clouds, power-station chimneys pumping out grey death, greasy pavements, police Land Rovers, army helicopters, a rent-a-mob of religious nuts, TV camera crews hunting for visual sound bites for the evening news.'
And thank you to Marty, who pointed out to me that all the book titles in this series are taken from the songs of Tom Waits. And that is another thing I love about this series, the musical references...they have brought back memories, and sometimes confusion. I continue to have great fun listening to the music Duffy listens to as I read.
Unreservedly recommended.
💜🧡💛💚💙
Quotes that I have particularly enjoyed from In the Morning I'll Be Gone:
'It was the detectives who actually went around solving the crimes. I mean, who knew what regular cops actually did? I'd been a regular policeman for the last year and I still didn't know.'
'He'd been recruited at St Andrews because of his proficiency in foreign languages. He'd been studying Russian literature but could also read Czech, Polish and Serbo-Croat - no doubt these skills were why they had put him on the Norther Island desk.'
THE AUTHOR: Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law at the University of Warwick and politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. He moved to the United States in the early 1990s, living first in Harlem, New York and from 2001 on, in Denver, Colorado, where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children.
DISCLOSURE: I listened to the audiobook of In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty, narrated by Gerard Doyle, published by Blackstone Audio, via Overdrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
The beeper began to whine at 4.27pm on Wednesday September 25, 1983. It was repeating a shrill C-sharp at 4 second intervals, which meant - for those of us who had bothered to read the manual- that it was a Class 1 emergency. This was a general alert being sent to every off duty policeman, police reservist, and soldier in Northern Ireland. There were only five class 1 emergencies and three of them were a Soviet nuclear strike, a Soviet invasion, and what the civil servants who'd written the manual had nonchalantly called 'an extraterrestrial trespass.'
So you'd think that I would have dashed across the room, grabbed the beeper, and run with a mounting sense of panic to the nearest telephone. You'd have thought wrong. For a start, I was as high as Skylab, baked on Turkish black cannabis resin that I'd cooked myself and rolled into sweet Virginia tobacco. And then there was the fact that I was playing Galaxian on my Atari 5200 with the sound on the TV maxed and the curtains pulled for a full dramatic and immersive experience. I didn't notice the beeper because it's insistent whine sounded a lot like the red ships peeling off from the main Galaxian fleet as they swooped in for their oh-so-predictable attack.
They didn't present any difficulty at all despite the sick genius of their teenage programmers back in Osaka because I had the moves and the skill and all they had were ones and zeros. I slid the joystick to the left, hugged the corners of the screen, and easily dodged their layered cluster bomb assault. That survived, I eased into the middle of the screen and killed the entire squadron as the ships attempted to get back into formation. It was only when the screen was blank and I saw that I was nudging close to my previous high score that I noticed the grey plastic rectangle sitting on the coffee table, beeping and vibrating with what in retrospect seemed to be more than its usual vehemence. I threw a pillow over the device, sat back down on the rug, and continued with the level. The phone began to ring and it went on and on and finally, more out of boredom than curiosity, I paused the game and answered it.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: A spectacular escape and a man-hunt that could change the future of a nation - and lay one man's past to rest. Sean Duffy's got nothing. And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. So when MI5 come knocking, Sean knows exactly what they want, and what he'll want in return, but he hasn't got the first idea how to get it. Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning. From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?
MY THOUGHTS:
'Take every dream that's breathing,
Find every boat that's leaving,
Shoot all the lights in the cafe,
And in the morning I'll be gone.'
Tom Waits, I'll Be Gone, 1987
I love this book, and this series. I love Sean Duffy, and Adrian McKinty. I even love Gerard Doyle, the narrator. Lovely voice. Liquid chocolate.
I can't believe that McKinty had to resort to driving Uber to make ends meet. He has such talent, and a warped sense of humour that I admire greatly. You wouldn't think that there would be much to laugh about in a novel written around the hunt for an escaped IRA terrorist, but there is.
That woman you saw walking to work, and taking the long way, earbuds in, i-pod clutched in her hand, laughing out loud, was no escaped psychiatric patient. That was me listening to In the Morning I'll be Gone.
McKinty has created an irreverent, wiseass of a detective who has an ingrained sense of what is right, which is not always what the police force needs or wants.
I have just read (physical book this time)In The Morning I'll Be Gone for the second time. This is the book that introduced me to Adrian McKinty, and his Detective, Sean Duffy.I loved it so much that I have started the series from the beginning, hence the reread. Brilliant series, and in my opinion this, the third in the series, is the best....so far.
McKinty's descriptive powers are superb. He has me believing that Belfast must be the most dismal city in the world. 'A dreary, typical Belfast scene: low clouds, power-station chimneys pumping out grey death, greasy pavements, police Land Rovers, army helicopters, a rent-a-mob of religious nuts, TV camera crews hunting for visual sound bites for the evening news.'
And thank you to Marty, who pointed out to me that all the book titles in this series are taken from the songs of Tom Waits. And that is another thing I love about this series, the musical references...they have brought back memories, and sometimes confusion. I continue to have great fun listening to the music Duffy listens to as I read.
Unreservedly recommended.
💜🧡💛💚💙
Quotes that I have particularly enjoyed from In the Morning I'll Be Gone:
'It was the detectives who actually went around solving the crimes. I mean, who knew what regular cops actually did? I'd been a regular policeman for the last year and I still didn't know.'
'He'd been recruited at St Andrews because of his proficiency in foreign languages. He'd been studying Russian literature but could also read Czech, Polish and Serbo-Croat - no doubt these skills were why they had put him on the Norther Island desk.'
THE AUTHOR: Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law at the University of Warwick and politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. He moved to the United States in the early 1990s, living first in Harlem, New York and from 2001 on, in Denver, Colorado, where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children.
DISCLOSURE: I listened to the audiobook of In the Morning I'll be Gone by Adrian McKinty, narrated by Gerard Doyle, published by Blackstone Audio, via Overdrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
September 1, 2016
In the Morning I’ll be Gone is No. 3 in the series with Northern Ireland’s sergeant Sean Duffy back in fine form with his witty dialogue and no nonsense attitude. When his beeper starts beeping and vibrating signifying a Class 1 emergency; the highest general alert requiring all policemen and soldiers to respond without delay, Duffy is higher than a kite on Turkish black cannabis while totally immersed playing a video game. Not getting his attention the phone starts ringing non-stop which Duffy at last answers mostly out of boredom than curiosity. The message he receives is substantial as he is told there has been a mass breakout of IRA prisoners, and discovers that one of the inmates was a former classmate. Adrian McKinty is a brilliant writer keeping the reader well entertained with his masterful way of presenting a compelling story from the beginning to the very last page. In the Morning I’ll be Gone is an excellent crime mystery thriller and highly recommended.
July 30, 2020
It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to one of the Sean Duffy series. I had forgotten the dry sense of humor which permeates the entire book. I’d also forgotten what a way with words McKinty has; his ability to paint a scene so you can see it clearly.
This is the perfect atmospheric mystery. You’re taken right back to 1984 Northern Ireland and “The Troubles”.
Sean has been forced to retire from the police force. But soon enough, MI5 comes calling and gets him reinstated in return for his help trying to unearth an IRA master bomber. In exchange for information, Sean agrees to investigate a cold case, a classic locked room murder, in the vein of Christie, Poe and Collins.
This isn’t an evenly paced book. As you would expect from a cold case investigation, there’s lots of going over the same information. But McKinty keeps a sense of suspense going throughout. It finishes with a bang and kept me listening long after I needed to move on to other things.
And my curiosity has been piqued by a minor character that shows up here named Michael Forsythe. Could this be the same MF that shows up in Dead I May Well Be?
Gerard Doyle does a fabulous job with the narration. He totally embodies Sean.
July 10, 2022
This series is addictive and I rate this book 3.5 stars rounded up. Sean Duffy has an unrealistic character trait:he smokes marijuana and hashish regularly. This is book 3 in the series and they are better read in order, although I haven't done that. I am retired law enforcement, and starting in the mid 80s my agency required random drug testing for all uniformed persons. This book is set in 1984, and has Sean reinstated to the Royal Ulster Constabulary to help find Dermot McCann,IRA agent who has escaped from the Maze prison in N. Ireland. The British believe that he is planning something big and want to catch him first.
I read this book in 24 hours. It was a library book. If you can get past his drug use, you will like this police procedural series. I plan to read the rest of the series.
I read this book in 24 hours. It was a library book. If you can get past his drug use, you will like this police procedural series. I plan to read the rest of the series.
January 7, 2021
This is the best book in the series so far. Sean Duffy's character has really grown on me - his good side definitely redeems his bad.
Everything about In the Morning I'll be Gone is spot on. McKinty is an excellent writer and his descriptions of Ireland are perfect. He is also very well informed about the Troubles, the politics of the day and what is was like to live in Ireland at that time.
I really enjoy the way Sean Duffy is linked into real events, especially ones such as the bombing of Maggie Thatcher's hotel in Brighton. That part was gripping and very exciting. I also liked the locked room mystery especially because I solved it before Sean did. Mind you he gave me the clue.
I listened to the audio of this book. It was very well done indeed and added even more value to the book. The narrator's Irish accent was easy to listen to and he pulled of Sean Duffy's laid back nonchalance really well.
So good that I am tempted to rush straight into book 4.
Everything about In the Morning I'll be Gone is spot on. McKinty is an excellent writer and his descriptions of Ireland are perfect. He is also very well informed about the Troubles, the politics of the day and what is was like to live in Ireland at that time.
I really enjoy the way Sean Duffy is linked into real events, especially ones such as the bombing of Maggie Thatcher's hotel in Brighton. That part was gripping and very exciting. I also liked the locked room mystery especially because I solved it before Sean did. Mind you he gave me the clue.
I listened to the audio of this book. It was very well done indeed and added even more value to the book. The narrator's Irish accent was easy to listen to and he pulled of Sean Duffy's laid back nonchalance really well.
So good that I am tempted to rush straight into book 4.
February 10, 2018
Early in the third novel in the Sean Duffy series, Duffy, a detective in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, is booted off the force for an offence he didn't commit. Duffy is a brilliant detective, but he's also a wiseass of the first magnitude who prefers to work in his own way and who has little tolerance for his superiors, especially when they don't see things the way he does. In consequence, his superiors take advantage of a trumped-up charge to get him out of their hair.
The series takes place in the Northern Ireland of the early 1980s--the time of the "Troubles," when Protestants and Catholics were at open war with each other. Duffy, a Catholic, has always been a fish out of water in the Protestant RUC. Most Catholics think he's a turncoat and the Protestants aren't sure they can trust him, but Duffy has always held the naive belief that the two intractable opponents should be able to work together.
Now off the force, Duffy spends his days drinking, listening to music, and attempting to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But then Dermot McCann, an IRA explosives expert, escapes from a high security prison with a number of other IRA members. British intelligence services fear that McCann and his comrades may be planning a major campaign of terrorist bombings directed against the English. Duffy and McCann were childhood friends and thus agents from MI5 show up at Duffy's door and ask him to help hunt down McCann. Duffy uses the situation to leverage an apology for his mistreatment and a restoration of his job.
The hunt is a challenging one, and along the way, Duffy finds himself entangled in the death of a young woman who died inside a locked room. The mother of the young woman believes that her daughter was murdered and if Duffy can prove it, the woman may be able to help him in his hunt for McCann when virtually no one else will.
This is another very good entry in this series. Sean Duffy continues to be a very appealing character and McKinty spins a very entertaining and gripping tale. If you haven't yet discovered this series, it would be better to start with the first, The Cold Cold Ground, and work your way forward. This is a character and a series worth getting to know.
The series takes place in the Northern Ireland of the early 1980s--the time of the "Troubles," when Protestants and Catholics were at open war with each other. Duffy, a Catholic, has always been a fish out of water in the Protestant RUC. Most Catholics think he's a turncoat and the Protestants aren't sure they can trust him, but Duffy has always held the naive belief that the two intractable opponents should be able to work together.
Now off the force, Duffy spends his days drinking, listening to music, and attempting to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But then Dermot McCann, an IRA explosives expert, escapes from a high security prison with a number of other IRA members. British intelligence services fear that McCann and his comrades may be planning a major campaign of terrorist bombings directed against the English. Duffy and McCann were childhood friends and thus agents from MI5 show up at Duffy's door and ask him to help hunt down McCann. Duffy uses the situation to leverage an apology for his mistreatment and a restoration of his job.
The hunt is a challenging one, and along the way, Duffy finds himself entangled in the death of a young woman who died inside a locked room. The mother of the young woman believes that her daughter was murdered and if Duffy can prove it, the woman may be able to help him in his hunt for McCann when virtually no one else will.
This is another very good entry in this series. Sean Duffy continues to be a very appealing character and McKinty spins a very entertaining and gripping tale. If you haven't yet discovered this series, it would be better to start with the first, The Cold Cold Ground, and work your way forward. This is a character and a series worth getting to know.
September 9, 2022
The books in this series just keep getting stronger. The plot/subplots continue to get darker, the atmospheres heavier and more smoke filled (sometimes literally) and the characters, on both sides of the law, less hopeful, less optimistic- as if resigned to their bleak, violent fates. Even when the "good guys" win...they lose so much.
And yet our protagonist Detective Sean Duffy continues to march on, trying to find his way through the madness of "The Troubles" that engulfed his Ireland of the 1980's.
Hands down a great read.
4 1/2 Suffocating Stars
And yet our protagonist Detective Sean Duffy continues to march on, trying to find his way through the madness of "The Troubles" that engulfed his Ireland of the 1980's.
Hands down a great read.
4 1/2 Suffocating Stars
October 25, 2018
Η τρίτη περιπέτεια του Ντάφι είναι και η καλύτερη μέχρι τώρα.Ένα μυστήριο κλειστού δωματίου και μια ενδεχόμενη τρομοκρατική επίθεση απαιτούν την προσοχή του.Απολαυστικό!
September 26, 2024
About twenty people escaped from Her Majesty's Maze prison, and while most were recaptured, notorious IRA man Dermot McCann wasn't. When Sean Duffy was told to leave the force because he took the blame for someone else, he didn't enjoy the next few weeks. But when MI5 contacted him - Kate and Tom - and asked for his help in locating Dermot McCann, Duffy asked for something in return. So Duffy investigated the cold case of the death of a young woman four years prior. The police ruled it accidental but the coroner had an open finding, not convinced it wasn't murder. Finding her killer meant Duffy would get a tip off as to Dermot's whereabouts - and while they knew something devastating was planned, they had no idea of the when, where or how. Could the famous Sean Duffy find a killer as well as a terrorist?
Set in 1984, In the Morning I'll be Gone is 3rd in the Detective Sean Duffy series by Aussie/Irish author Adrian McKinty, and I enjoyed it. Duffy doesn't particularly follow the rules; he does his own thing to get the results he needs, and mostly he achieves them. I'm looking forward to more of Sean Duffy's story. Recommended.
Set in 1984, In the Morning I'll be Gone is 3rd in the Detective Sean Duffy series by Aussie/Irish author Adrian McKinty, and I enjoyed it. Duffy doesn't particularly follow the rules; he does his own thing to get the results he needs, and mostly he achieves them. I'm looking forward to more of Sean Duffy's story. Recommended.
March 18, 2017
A spot on conclusion to the Troubles Trilogy
Sean Duffy is back on the force but he is with the special branch MI5 and trying to locate a runaway IRA mastermind who used to be a friend of his.
There is always a side story and this one is a locked mystery... who killed Lizzy ? Would Sean be able to know the killer and solve a cold case, while at the same time capture a bomb mastermind
The book was so realistic that it felt more fact than fiction. Adrian does it again and delivers a realistic piece of fiction that takes the reader to the streets of Belfast, a stopover in Aberdeen, and a whole lot of action in Antrim and Brighton.
Sean Duffy is back on the force but he is with the special branch MI5 and trying to locate a runaway IRA mastermind who used to be a friend of his.
There is always a side story and this one is a locked mystery... who killed Lizzy ? Would Sean be able to know the killer and solve a cold case, while at the same time capture a bomb mastermind
The book was so realistic that it felt more fact than fiction. Adrian does it again and delivers a realistic piece of fiction that takes the reader to the streets of Belfast, a stopover in Aberdeen, and a whole lot of action in Antrim and Brighton.
December 18, 2019
Το τρίτο βιβλίο της σειράς με τον Σον Ντάφι,ήταν σαφώς ωριμότερο και πιο ατμοσφαιρικό από τα προηγούμενα.Ταραγμένη Ιρλανδία,αποδράσεις,βομβιστικές επιθέσεις,αλλά και πολιτικές πρακτικές στην πλάτη αθώων/ή και ρομαντικά αφελών,είναι τα κύρια συστατικά αυτής της ιστορίας.Ένα locked-room mystery πολύ ωραία τακτοποιημένο μέσα στην γενικότερη πλοκή,έδωσε μια ξεχωριστή και πιο ανθρώπινη υπόσταση στα χαρακτηριστικά του Ντάφι,μετατρέποντάς τον έτσι σε μια εξαιρετικά πολύπλευρη προσωπικότητα.
Ο λόγος στεγνός αλλά περιεκτικός,χωρίς εξάρσεις,χωρίς φιοριτούρες,δίνει το πρέπον ύφος,ώστε να μην αποπροσανολιστεί ο αναγνώστης ούτε μια στιγμή.
5⭐
Ο λόγος στεγνός αλλά περιεκτικός,χωρίς εξάρσεις,χωρίς φιοριτούρες,δίνει το πρέπον ύφος,ώστε να μην αποπροσανολιστεί ο αναγνώστης ούτε μια στιγμή.
5⭐
March 3, 2019
This is probably my favorite book in the Sean Duffy series so far. Sean is a walking liability, but I have grown quite fond of him. The story was fast-paced and well plotted and the writing engaging. The best part of this series, however, is McKinty's ability to make his characters seem very real and the setting of Northern Ireland in the 80s fascinating and shocking at once. Recommended!
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
August 9, 2019
3.5 Stars: Oh I do love the self-destructive law enforcement agent. In “In the Morning I’ll Be Gone”, Sean Duffy is a Royal Ulster Detective Inspector who fell from grace to Sergeant and then to retirement. The story begins with him enjoying his hash and booze. This is the 1980’s in Ireland when the IRA and the British Government are at war. The Catholics and the Protestants are at war. It’s a negative time in Ireland when people need to check the undercarriage of their cars to check for bombs.
Duffy is approached by two officials asking for his help to find an IRA leader who has escaped capture and known to organize devastating carnage. Duffy is suspect of the two “officials” because it seems, well, unseemly. Because he will be reinstated to full Detective Inspector, he agrees. Duffy’s tactics are known to be unorthodox and not within organizational guidelines, but the agency is desperate.
It’s an entertaining read. Duffy is that rogue cop that makes reading fun. Finding the IRA leader takes a turn into another investigation, which allows Duffy to use his maverick ways. It’s a quick and satisfying read.
Duffy is approached by two officials asking for his help to find an IRA leader who has escaped capture and known to organize devastating carnage. Duffy is suspect of the two “officials” because it seems, well, unseemly. Because he will be reinstated to full Detective Inspector, he agrees. Duffy’s tactics are known to be unorthodox and not within organizational guidelines, but the agency is desperate.
It’s an entertaining read. Duffy is that rogue cop that makes reading fun. Finding the IRA leader takes a turn into another investigation, which allows Duffy to use his maverick ways. It’s a quick and satisfying read.
February 11, 2014
The structure of trilogies must have some appeal for McKinty, not just because he has previous form. From the outside you can see that it could be quite a challenge to build a character's life and explore events in a proscribed number of books. And then it's over. For this reader it's a very bitter sweet experience. Especially when, from book number one, this series cemented itself as a big part of January's expectations.
Part of the appeal is obviously the central character Sean Duffy. An outsider in his own country and his own community, it's that viewpoint that makes him such an effective policeman. Not only is he not beholden, he sees everything in a slightly different manner. That idea of the cop as the ultimate outsider's nothing new, but there's something about the way that McKinty has built this scenario - within the framework of the Troubles - with the complications of religion, and ethnicity muddied further by cops versus crims, and the branches of the cops versus each other. It's a multi-layered environment drawn out elegantly by some clever, atmospheric and pointed story telling.
It also doesn't hurt that IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE opens with one of those openings we've come to expect:
"The beeper began to whine at 4.27pm on Wednesday, 25 September 1983. It was repeating a shrill C sharp at four-second intervals which meant - for those of us who had bothered to read the manual - that it was a Class 1 emergency. This was a general alert being sent to every off-duty policeman, police reservist and soldier in Northern Ireland. There were only five Class 1 emergencies and three of them were a Soviet nuclear strike, a Soviet invasion and what the civil servants who'd written the manual had nonchalantly called 'an extra-terrestrial trespass'."
From that moment on, until the final page is read, and the book is hugged just a little bit, the story builds. Set as it is in the time of the Troubles, there are cultural references throughout - music, clothes, and to the complications of life at that time. There's classical music references which cleverly reflect Duffy's mood and thinking, and there's humour. Beautifully dry, clever, dropped into the middle of conversations, type humour:
"I had to admit that he was impressive. You noticed the hair first. Kennedy hair was far in advance of anything Ireland had to offer. It was space-age hair. It was hair for the new millennium. Irish hair was stuck somewhere in 1927. Kennedy hair had put man on the fucking moon."
Built into all of the cultural and personality there is also a solid plot, interwoven with a good old fashioned locked room mystery. Which works - not just because of the timeframe, it's a good brain teaser. But the main focus remains that most difficult of issues, well known from the Troubles - terrorism and the IRA. Weaving the fictional into fact worked particularly well here, putting the timeframe into a definite context, and providing a real sense of the threat, and the grievance which gave rise to it.
If you're a fan of McKinty's books you'll also notice a Michael Forsythe cameo. Elegantly done and informative / clever into the bargain.
But then informative, clever, engaging and an undeniable favourite, IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE most definitely was. The only downside is that it's the third in the trilogy, and it's impossible not to feel very sad about that.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
Part of the appeal is obviously the central character Sean Duffy. An outsider in his own country and his own community, it's that viewpoint that makes him such an effective policeman. Not only is he not beholden, he sees everything in a slightly different manner. That idea of the cop as the ultimate outsider's nothing new, but there's something about the way that McKinty has built this scenario - within the framework of the Troubles - with the complications of religion, and ethnicity muddied further by cops versus crims, and the branches of the cops versus each other. It's a multi-layered environment drawn out elegantly by some clever, atmospheric and pointed story telling.
It also doesn't hurt that IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE opens with one of those openings we've come to expect:
"The beeper began to whine at 4.27pm on Wednesday, 25 September 1983. It was repeating a shrill C sharp at four-second intervals which meant - for those of us who had bothered to read the manual - that it was a Class 1 emergency. This was a general alert being sent to every off-duty policeman, police reservist and soldier in Northern Ireland. There were only five Class 1 emergencies and three of them were a Soviet nuclear strike, a Soviet invasion and what the civil servants who'd written the manual had nonchalantly called 'an extra-terrestrial trespass'."
From that moment on, until the final page is read, and the book is hugged just a little bit, the story builds. Set as it is in the time of the Troubles, there are cultural references throughout - music, clothes, and to the complications of life at that time. There's classical music references which cleverly reflect Duffy's mood and thinking, and there's humour. Beautifully dry, clever, dropped into the middle of conversations, type humour:
"I had to admit that he was impressive. You noticed the hair first. Kennedy hair was far in advance of anything Ireland had to offer. It was space-age hair. It was hair for the new millennium. Irish hair was stuck somewhere in 1927. Kennedy hair had put man on the fucking moon."
Built into all of the cultural and personality there is also a solid plot, interwoven with a good old fashioned locked room mystery. Which works - not just because of the timeframe, it's a good brain teaser. But the main focus remains that most difficult of issues, well known from the Troubles - terrorism and the IRA. Weaving the fictional into fact worked particularly well here, putting the timeframe into a definite context, and providing a real sense of the threat, and the grievance which gave rise to it.
If you're a fan of McKinty's books you'll also notice a Michael Forsythe cameo. Elegantly done and informative / clever into the bargain.
But then informative, clever, engaging and an undeniable favourite, IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE most definitely was. The only downside is that it's the third in the trilogy, and it's impossible not to feel very sad about that.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
January 22, 2023
This series has many elements that hold my attention in a police procedural: tight plotting, a distinctive setting (time and/or place), a protagonist who is “complicated”, and no inherent disrespect for women. This third entry did not let me down.
Although each book is set against the background of The Troubles in 1980’s Northern Ireland, there is always an additional crime to be solved. This time it is a cold case: if Sean Duffy can verify that a woman’s death was murder, and not the accident it appeared to be, and identify the killer, he will get a tip to locating an IRA bomber. That part is a locked room mystery, and McKinty gives due credit to all the great locked room mystery novels of the past 150 years as Duffy and a colleague search them for ideas about what could have happened.
McKinty writes well, above average for this type of book. There are probably flaws that I missed or ignored because the plot kept moving forward despite lulls in activity. But one thing I didn’t miss was the clue that ultimately resolved the locked room mystery. :-)
I’m in need of escapist reading right now, and this really hit the spot.
Although each book is set against the background of The Troubles in 1980’s Northern Ireland, there is always an additional crime to be solved. This time it is a cold case: if Sean Duffy can verify that a woman’s death was murder, and not the accident it appeared to be, and identify the killer, he will get a tip to locating an IRA bomber. That part is a locked room mystery, and McKinty gives due credit to all the great locked room mystery novels of the past 150 years as Duffy and a colleague search them for ideas about what could have happened.
McKinty writes well, above average for this type of book. There are probably flaws that I missed or ignored because the plot kept moving forward despite lulls in activity. But one thing I didn’t miss was the clue that ultimately resolved the locked room mystery. :-)
I’m in need of escapist reading right now, and this really hit the spot.
February 22, 2018
This was my favorite book in the series so far. I listened to the audio and the narrator has really grown on me. He does a brilliant job, especially with the humor. I don't think I've ever laughed this much while listening to a book. As always his descriptions of Ireland during the troubles is amazing, but this time he takes it even further, by describing how it feels like when in a bombed building. The locked room case was very intriguing, and I loved the ending of the book. So if you enjoy police mysteries, humor and gorgeous accents then add this to your list.
December 29, 2019
Αν η ασθένεια της σύγχρονης εποχής ήταν το άγχος και η βαρεμάρα, εμείς στη Βόρεια Ιρλανδία είχαμε βρει τη θεραπεία.
Η αδιάλειπτη παρουσία του θανάτου γκρέμιζε κάθε είδους φιλοδοξία, ανησυχία, διάθεση σαρκασμού και πλήξη, αφήνοντας στη σελίδα μια και μόνο λέξη: Ζήσε!!
Η βότκα γκιμλετ έχει γίνει τσάι με λεμόνι αλλά ο Νταφι εξακολουθεί την αντισυμβατική προσέγγιση των πραγμάτων, αλλά μοναδική που μπορεί να εξελίξει την προσπάθεια για να αντιληφθεί το που βρίσκεται και γιατί
Η αδιάλειπτη παρουσία του θανάτου γκρέμιζε κάθε είδους φιλοδοξία, ανησυχία, διάθεση σαρκασμού και πλήξη, αφήνοντας στη σελίδα μια και μόνο λέξη: Ζήσε!!
Η βότκα γκιμλετ έχει γίνει τσάι με λεμόνι αλλά ο Νταφι εξακολουθεί την αντισυμβατική προσέγγιση των πραγμάτων, αλλά μοναδική που μπορεί να εξελίξει την προσπάθεια για να αντιληφθεί το που βρίσκεται και γιατί
December 6, 2019
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Τέταρτο βιβλίο του Έιντριαν ΜακΚίντι που διαβάζω, τρίτο που ανήκει στη σειρά με ήρωα τον εξαιρετικά συμπαθητικό αστυνόμο Σον Ντάφι. Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα ιστορία με τα κατορθώματά του ήταν πέρυσι τον Δεκέμβριο, αλλά όχι με δική μου ευθύνη, μιας και οι εκδόσεις Οξύ άργησαν λιγάκι να βγάλουν το τρίτο βιβλίο. Ελπίζω το επόμενο να μην αργήσει τόσο πολύ, μιας και έχω αρχίσει να εθίζομαι για τα καλά με τον Σον Ντάφι και τη Βόρεια Ιρλανδία της δεκαετίας του '80.
Βρισκόμαστε στα τέλη του 1983 και ο Σον Ντάφι διώχνεται κακήν κακώς από την αστυνομία της Βόρειας Ιρλανδίας, μιας και τον είχαν στην μπούκα για τον τρόπο που έκανε τη δουλειά του. Όμως μια μέρα η MI5 του χτυπά την πόρτα και του δίνει πίσω τη δουλειά και τον βαθμό του, γιατί χρειάζονται τις ικανότητές του: Ο διαβόητος τρομοκράτης του IRA Ντέρμοτ ΜακΚαν απέδρασε από τις φυλακές του Μέιζ και πιθανότητα σχεδιάζει ένα μεγάλο τρομοκρατικό χτύπημα στην Αγγλία. Εκτός των άλλων, είναι παλιός γνώριμος του Σον Ντάφι. Οι έρευνες του Ντάφι σκοντάφτουν σ'έναν μυστηριώδη θάνατο μιας νέας κοπέλας που έγινε πριν τέσσερα χρόνια, με τη λύση της υπόθεσης να μοιάζει απαραίτητη για να βρεθεί εγκαίρως στα ίχνη του Ντέρμοτ ΜακΚαν. Με λίγα λόγια, δυο σε ένα, νοικοκυρεμένα.
Για ασήμαντες λεπτομέρειες δεν έβαλα πέντε αστεράκια στα δυο προηγούμενα βιβλία της σειράς, όμως τώρα δεν θα διστάσω και θα βάλω πέντε αστεράκια σ'αυτό, γιατί πραγματικά με ενθουσίασε. Ουσιαστικά πρόκειται για δυο μυστήρια στην τιμή του ενός, με το ένα μυστήριο μάλιστα να είναι αυτό ενός κλειδωμένου δωματίου, που πάντα με ιντρίγκαρε (αν και οφείλω να πω ότι δεν έχω διαβάσει και τόσα πολλά). Η γραφή του ΜακΚίντι παραμένει σε υψηλά επίπεδα ποιότητας, δηλαδή εξακολουθεί να είναι κοφτή και κυνική, με γλαφυρές περιγραφές και ωραίους διαλόγους. Μιλάμε τώρα για βιβλία που έχουν όλο το πακέτο: Πλοκή, χαρακτήρες, ατμόσφαιρα και ξεχωριστή γραφή, οπότε η αναγνωστική απόλαυση είναι εγγυημένη.
Τέταρτο βιβλίο του Έιντριαν ΜακΚίντι που διαβάζω, τρίτο που ανήκει στη σειρά με ήρωα τον εξαιρετικά συμπαθητικό αστυνόμο Σον Ντάφι. Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα ιστορία με τα κατορθώματά του ήταν πέρυσι τον Δεκέμβριο, αλλά όχι με δική μου ευθύνη, μιας και οι εκδόσεις Οξύ άργησαν λιγάκι να βγάλουν το τρίτο βιβλίο. Ελπίζω το επόμενο να μην αργήσει τόσο πολύ, μιας και έχω αρχίσει να εθίζομαι για τα καλά με τον Σον Ντάφι και τη Βόρεια Ιρλανδία της δεκαετίας του '80.
Βρισκόμαστε στα τέλη του 1983 και ο Σον Ντάφι διώχνεται κακήν κακώς από την αστυνομία της Βόρειας Ιρλανδίας, μιας και τον είχαν στην μπούκα για τον τρόπο που έκανε τη δουλειά του. Όμως μια μέρα η MI5 του χτυπά την πόρτα και του δίνει πίσω τη δουλειά και τον βαθμό του, γιατί χρειάζονται τις ικανότητές του: Ο διαβόητος τρομοκράτης του IRA Ντέρμοτ ΜακΚαν απέδρασε από τις φυλακές του Μέιζ και πιθανότητα σχεδιάζει ένα μεγάλο τρομοκρατικό χτύπημα στην Αγγλία. Εκτός των άλλων, είναι παλιός γνώριμος του Σον Ντάφι. Οι έρευνες του Ντάφι σκοντάφτουν σ'έναν μυστηριώδη θάνατο μιας νέας κοπέλας που έγινε πριν τέσσερα χρόνια, με τη λύση της υπόθεσης να μοιάζει απαραίτητη για να βρεθεί εγκαίρως στα ίχνη του Ντέρμοτ ΜακΚαν. Με λίγα λόγια, δυο σε ένα, νοικοκυρεμένα.
Για ασήμαντες λεπτομέρειες δεν έβαλα πέντε αστεράκια στα δυο προηγούμενα βιβλία της σειράς, όμως τώρα δεν θα διστάσω και θα βάλω πέντε αστεράκια σ'αυτό, γιατί πραγματικά με ενθουσίασε. Ουσιαστικά πρόκειται για δυο μυστήρια στην τιμή του ενός, με το ένα μυστήριο μάλιστα να είναι αυτό ενός κλειδωμένου δωματίου, που πάντα με ιντρίγκαρε (αν και οφείλω να πω ότι δεν έχω διαβάσει και τόσα πολλά). Η γραφή του ΜακΚίντι παραμένει σε υψηλά επίπεδα ποιότητας, δηλαδή εξακολουθεί να είναι κοφτή και κυνική, με γλαφυρές περιγραφές και ωραίους διαλόγους. Μιλάμε τώρα για βιβλία που έχουν όλο το πακέτο: Πλοκή, χαρακτήρες, ατμόσφαιρα και ξεχωριστή γραφή, οπότε η αναγνωστική απόλαυση είναι εγγυημένη.
March 22, 2020
3.5 stars
I love having an audio series that’s a sure thing.
Most of the Sean Duffy books are light on the violence yet you always come away knowing how Ireland felt during the Troubles. The violence is on the periphery like a constant companion but with this one Sean became so entangled it’s no wonder he drinks so much.
Sean’s career is well and truly down the toilet.
He is thinking of moving to Spain where he can live more comfortably on his police pension. But when several IRA prisoners (including an old school acquaintance) escape the Maze prison MI-5 comes calling. Sean is all of a sudden in a position to negotiate himself back into his job but that will mean he has to find Dermot……
This search for Dermot diverges the story into multiple trails, all of them very entertaining to listen to. Especially the locked room mystery.
A very satisfying audio experience
I love having an audio series that’s a sure thing.
Most of the Sean Duffy books are light on the violence yet you always come away knowing how Ireland felt during the Troubles. The violence is on the periphery like a constant companion but with this one Sean became so entangled it’s no wonder he drinks so much.
Sean’s career is well and truly down the toilet.
He is thinking of moving to Spain where he can live more comfortably on his police pension. But when several IRA prisoners (including an old school acquaintance) escape the Maze prison MI-5 comes calling. Sean is all of a sudden in a position to negotiate himself back into his job but that will mean he has to find Dermot……
This search for Dermot diverges the story into multiple trails, all of them very entertaining to listen to. Especially the locked room mystery.
A very satisfying audio experience
April 23, 2022
Just so good. Really exceptional crime writing within a singular political and social context, all of which leaves its mark on the characters and plot. I don't understand why this guy's not bigger than what he is. This novel is even better than the last one I read.
I read an interview where McKinty said that he had sent the manuscript for this novel to his publisher and they said it was good, but he'd have to rework the ending so that he wasn't killing off his main character. Just as well for us McKinty's publisher had everyone's interests in sight.
Despite the fact that McKinty resides in Melbourne, Australia now, it's still freaking hard to get my hands on all his novels in a public library.
I can see I'm going to be on a McKinty bender now. The next one ready to go.
I read an interview where McKinty said that he had sent the manuscript for this novel to his publisher and they said it was good, but he'd have to rework the ending so that he wasn't killing off his main character. Just as well for us McKinty's publisher had everyone's interests in sight.
Despite the fact that McKinty resides in Melbourne, Australia now, it's still freaking hard to get my hands on all his novels in a public library.
I can see I'm going to be on a McKinty bender now. The next one ready to go.
November 12, 2018
This is McKinty’s 3rd offering in the crime series featuring Sean Duffy, and it is the best one yet. Of note, narrator Gerald Doyle is excellent in transporting the listener to Ireland during the time of The Troubles. Duffy is called in by MI5 to help find Dermot McCann who has escaped from the notorious Maze prison along with scores of other IRA members. Sean and Duffy were childhood friends and Sean knows the family.
Duffy’s former mother-in-law is still seething that the police have not solved the murder of her daughter Lizzie who died four years ago. She is willing to help Duffy IF he solves this cold case first. Enter a murder mystery story involving the infamous ‘locked door’ conundrum. How could a murder take place when the victim is found in a locked room impervious to entrance or exit by another?
Once he has solved that, Sean and MI5 are back to hunting down Dermot McCann. McCann appears to have set his sights on a dramatic act of terrorism targeting PM Margaret Thatcher. Recommend this excellently written series.
Duffy’s former mother-in-law is still seething that the police have not solved the murder of her daughter Lizzie who died four years ago. She is willing to help Duffy IF he solves this cold case first. Enter a murder mystery story involving the infamous ‘locked door’ conundrum. How could a murder take place when the victim is found in a locked room impervious to entrance or exit by another?
Once he has solved that, Sean and MI5 are back to hunting down Dermot McCann. McCann appears to have set his sights on a dramatic act of terrorism targeting PM Margaret Thatcher. Recommend this excellently written series.
June 27, 2016
I like these Sean Duffy books because they're dealing with serious issues but with a lot of humor, like the running joke about Spandau Ballet. And this one has an embedded locked room mystery, which is ridiculous, but all the characters in the book know it's ridiculous and talk to each other about The Rue Morgue, and that makes it fun instead of annoying.
May 2, 2021
Amazing
A great book—hands down! Fast paced and multiple twists. It kept me guessing throughout.
Sean Duffy is an outstanding lead character who is very easy to like.
Well, this one has me hooked. I am off to find other Adrian McKinty books.
My highest recommendation
A great book—hands down! Fast paced and multiple twists. It kept me guessing throughout.
Sean Duffy is an outstanding lead character who is very easy to like.
Well, this one has me hooked. I am off to find other Adrian McKinty books.
My highest recommendation
January 20, 2022
'In the Morning I'll be Gone' by Adrian McKinty is a terrific novel, the third, in the Detective Sean Duffy mystery series! The books have continuing threads about Sean's personal and professional life, so I recommend readers begin with book one, The Cold Cold Ground.
Duffy works as a police officer in Northern Ireland. The books take place in the 1980's during Northern Ireland's civil war between the Catholics and the Protestants. The series is heavy with the atmosphere of an urban guerrilla war, beautifully interwoven into the other, more police-type, mysteries. At the same time the British were wavering uncertainly between plunging in like bulls in a glass shop to support whoever they thought could stop the terrorism and pulling out of Northern Ireland completely. The dozens of terrorist gangs fighting each other and the British, and all of them killing supposed collaborators, made the job of ordinary police work the same as wrestling someone unknown in a bog in the middle of a maze designed with shrubbery consisting of nettles and thorns, with the occasional mine hidden here and there, and no light except maybe that reflected by the moon. Northern Ireland was a dystopic Mad Max wasteland, literally.
I have copied the cover blurb as it is accurate:
"A spectacular escape and a man-hunt that could change the future of a nation - and lay one man's past to rest. Sean Duffy's got nothing. And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. So when MI5 come knocking, Sean knows exactly what they want, and what he'll want in return, but he hasn't got the first idea how to get it. Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning. From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?"
I love this particular blurb because while accurate, it gives nothing away of what has been going on in the previous novels or much of what is happening in this book in 'The Troubles' trilogy. I also love the cynical Sean Duffy, who is both Master and Blaster (Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome movie reference - hehe) when required.
Duffy works as a police officer in Northern Ireland. The books take place in the 1980's during Northern Ireland's civil war between the Catholics and the Protestants. The series is heavy with the atmosphere of an urban guerrilla war, beautifully interwoven into the other, more police-type, mysteries. At the same time the British were wavering uncertainly between plunging in like bulls in a glass shop to support whoever they thought could stop the terrorism and pulling out of Northern Ireland completely. The dozens of terrorist gangs fighting each other and the British, and all of them killing supposed collaborators, made the job of ordinary police work the same as wrestling someone unknown in a bog in the middle of a maze designed with shrubbery consisting of nettles and thorns, with the occasional mine hidden here and there, and no light except maybe that reflected by the moon. Northern Ireland was a dystopic Mad Max wasteland, literally.
I have copied the cover blurb as it is accurate:
"A spectacular escape and a man-hunt that could change the future of a nation - and lay one man's past to rest. Sean Duffy's got nothing. And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. So when MI5 come knocking, Sean knows exactly what they want, and what he'll want in return, but he hasn't got the first idea how to get it. Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning. From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?"
I love this particular blurb because while accurate, it gives nothing away of what has been going on in the previous novels or much of what is happening in this book in 'The Troubles' trilogy. I also love the cynical Sean Duffy, who is both Master and Blaster (Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome movie reference - hehe) when required.
September 16, 2016
In this third book in the series Sean Duffy has been demoted despite solving his last case in spectactular fashion but embarrassing the powers that be by putting some FBI noses out of joint. The book opens with a mass jail outbreak of 38 IRA prisoners and Sean being called into work in full riot gear to set up police road breaks. Eventually half the escapees would be rounded up, with the rest managing to escape over the border to regroup and plan new attacks on the British forces in Northern Ireland. When M15 discovers that Sean was at school with one of the escapees, the notorious Dermot McCann, and was a friend of the family, he is recruited to help track him down.
I think this was the best in the series so far. Sean Duffy is in fine form, checking for bombs under his BMW, listening to his excellent collection of music from classical to jazz, pop and rock and smoking the odd bit of illicitly gained weed. Although a bit of a slow burner as Sean tries to get someone to talk to him about Dermot and gets involved in solving a murder in a locked room, the writing is always sharp and witty and the plot moves along well and the ending certainly delivers with a big bang. I really enjoy the way McKinty weaves his plots into the politics and historical events of the 80s and paints a vivid picture of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Great writing, great characters. Highly recommended!
I think this was the best in the series so far. Sean Duffy is in fine form, checking for bombs under his BMW, listening to his excellent collection of music from classical to jazz, pop and rock and smoking the odd bit of illicitly gained weed. Although a bit of a slow burner as Sean tries to get someone to talk to him about Dermot and gets involved in solving a murder in a locked room, the writing is always sharp and witty and the plot moves along well and the ending certainly delivers with a big bang. I really enjoy the way McKinty weaves his plots into the politics and historical events of the 80s and paints a vivid picture of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Great writing, great characters. Highly recommended!
May 20, 2020
4,5/5
Είσαι λατρεία ρε Ντάφυ... Αν και ελαφρώς κατώτερο από τα δύο πρώτα, παραμένει σταθερή αξία. Αν δεν τα έχετε διαβάσει, κάντε το. Χθες.
Είσαι λατρεία ρε Ντάφυ... Αν και ελαφρώς κατώτερο από τα δύο πρώτα, παραμένει σταθερή αξία. Αν δεν τα έχετε διαβάσει, κάντε το. Χθες.
December 13, 2014
Sean Duffy is the proverbial outsider: a Catholic cop in a protestant force, and a traitor/peeler to his boyhood IRA friends. After being demoted to foot patrol from detective for pissing off the hierarchy in the prior novel, Duffy is framed for a deadly hit and run, where he was only a passenger. He is forced to resign from the police force to save his pension. After moping around, he is rescued by MI5 to help track down a prison escapee IRA bomber, Dermot McCann, who has been given additional training and resources by Libya. MI5 thinks his former relationship with McCann and his ex-wife will allow him to penetrate the tightly knit community of IRA supporters. Duffy catches a break when a bereaved mother promises to deliver her former son-in-law if Duffy can re-open the cold case of her youngest daughter, whose death was ruled accidental. Much to his surprise, the investigating cop appears to have been through, but his doggedness eventually solves a classic locked room murder. Satisfying end to a trilogy.
March 14, 2014
The third in the Sean Duffy trilogy. This is a misnomer. There is a fourth one coming in 2015. This one is not your typical Irish Noir, it is more of a police procedural. There is very little violence other than at the end of the book, unlike previous ones. Like the past McKinty books it is a great read and keeps your attention throughout the book. Duffy is kicked out of the RUC and he is recruited by MI5 to find an IRA bomb maker that has escaped from Maze prison. While doing this he is asked to investigate a cold case by the mother in law of the IRA bomb maker. It is fast paced and the plot is clever and well crafted.
For those of you who have read all of the author's books, especially the Forsythe saga, you will see a character in the first part of the book that appeared in that series. He is a young version of that character and makes a very short appearance.
For those of you who have read all of the author's books, especially the Forsythe saga, you will see a character in the first part of the book that appeared in that series. He is a young version of that character and makes a very short appearance.
December 21, 2019
Another great read, taking place about a year or so after the last one. Great story and characters, great narrator, and generally fun and educational.
December 14, 2016
Wow!
Adrian McKinty sure knows how to write crime fiction that keeps me reading for hours.
Adrian McKinty sure knows how to write crime fiction that keeps me reading for hours.
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