Slaughter's Hound

Harry Rigby #2

by Declan Burke

“I glanced up but he’d already jumped, a dark blur plummeting, wings folded against the drag like some starving hawk out of the noon sun, some angel betrayed. He punched through the cab’s roof so hard he sent metal shearing into the petrol tank. All it took was one spark. Boom . . .” Harry Rigby is right there, an eye-witness when Finn Hamilton walks out into the big nothing nine stories up, but no one wants to believe Finn is just the latest statistic in Ireland’s silent epidemic. Not Finn’s mother, Saoirse Hamilton, whose property empire is crumbling around her; and not Finn’s pregnant fiancé, Maria, or his sister Grainne; and especially not Detective Tohill, the cop who believes Rigby is a stone-cold killer, a slaughter’s hound with a taste for blood . . . Welcome to Harry Rigby’s Sligo, where death comes dropping slow.

Genres: Crime, Noir, Ireland, Mystery Thriller

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Declan Burke is the author of four novels: Eightball Boogie and Slaughter's Hound, both featuring the private eye Harry Rigby; Absolute Zero Cool; and The Big O.

Crime Always Pays, a comedy crime caper, will be published by Severn House in 2014.

He is also the editor of Down These Green Streets, a collection of essays, interviews and short fictions about the rise of Irish crime writing.

With John Connolly, he is the co-editor of Books To Die For, a collection of essays by the world's leading crime writers on the subject of their favourite crime novels and authors.

Eightball Boogie, Absolute Zero Cool and Slaughter's Hound were all shortlisted in the crime fiction category for the Irish Book Awards.

Absolute Zero Cool won the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award at Crimefest 2012.

Praise for Declan Burke:

“A fine writer at the top of his game.”
Lee Child.

“Prose both scabrous and poetic.”
Publishers Weekly.

“Proust meets Chandler over a pint of Guinness.” The Spectator.

“A sheer pleasure.” Tana French.

“A hardboiled delight.” The Guardian.

“Imagine Donald Westlake and Richard Stark collaborating on a screwball noir.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review).

“The effortless cool of Elmore Leonard at his peak.” Ray Banks.

“Among the most memorable books of the year, of any genre, was ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL.” Sunday Times.

“The writing is a joy.” Ken Bruen.

“A cross between Raymond Chandler and Flann O’Brien.” John Banville.

Reviews

[Keith Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ex-PI Harry Rigby’s life is a mess. Recently released from a psychiatric prison after killing his brother, he now drives a taxi and delivers drugs as a sideline. He’s estranged from his ex-wife and a son who may or may not be his. Events take a turn for the worse when close friend Finn Hamilton commits suicide, throwing himself from a building and almost taking Harry with him.

Now it seems everyone is after Harry. The police, led by Detective Tohill, immediately suspect Harry’s involvement, however much he protests. Finn’s mother Soairse, matriarch of a crumbling business empire, and Grainne, her daughter, both demand his help to find the truth behind Finn’s death, whilst in the background Gillick, Saoirse’s oily lawyer, manipulates everyone for his own ends. And Harry owes the gang leaders for the drugs he was carrying to Finn.

Before Harry is crushed between these powerful forces he must find out what is really going on…

Occasionally there are books that get me into trouble. Big trouble. By this I mean I spend too much time reading and not enough with the family. Slaughter’s Hound was one of these rarities – over several days I did little else other than keep my nose in my Kindle. Frankly I should have known better having been recently consumed by Mr. Burke’s excellent The Big O.

To the book itself. Slaughter’s Hound starts, literally, with a bang when Finn throws himself off a high building onto Harry’s car. Rewind in time and the story runs up towards the suicide and then beyond. Initially the pace is steady as Harry tentatively feels his way around - he’s not been a PI for a while and is reluctant to get drawn into a world he no longer wants to inhabit for people he doesn’t like.

However, in the latter half the tempo rises, Slaughter’s Hound becomes an increasingly compelling read. There’s twist after turn – more crosses and double crosses than a well-stocked graveyard.

The sense of place is powerful, Burke’s narrative style is set against the perfect backdrop of recession torn Ireland, where the wealthy rub shoulders with the criminal set – necessity born out of situation.

Then there’s Harry’s reaction to the events going on around him and how they impact on his life. He becomes increasingly violent in an eye for an eye principle. This lends a significant additional dimension to what’s already a multi-layered story and lifts Slaughter’s Hound even further above the norm.

The characters are strong enough to carry the weighty story on their shoulders with ease. However I would defy you to actually like any of them, even Harry as he wields an increasingly heavy hand in retribution.

There’s a gritty, dark humour here too. Plenty of cracking one-liners, such as:

The traffic was slower on Strandhill Road for some reason, the cars dawdling along like a fat kid early for school.

Okay it’s not quite one line, but you get my drift.

Finally, Slaughter’s Hound is quite different to The Big O in almost every respect. Both are excellent in their own right and demonstrates Mr. Burke’s writing ability.

Overall another excellent read from a highly talented author.

**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**

[Paul Secor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good

There are any number of good lines throughout this book:

"... there was a catch in her throat when she said the word 'please' that suggested she'd licked it off a leper's tongue."

"The Beretta went into my belt alongside the .38 Special. Getting crowded back there now, a Gatling gun short of starting a revolution."

The Bad

There are portions of dialogue which are somewhat unrealistic and portions of the narrator's thoughts which lean toward pseudo-philosophy - both of which could have cut out or at least been tightened up.

On page 318, a character whom Harry Rigby (the protagonist) is kidnapping, says: "Rigby, ... You don't know what you're doing."
"I'll figure it out."
I had the sense that Declan Burke was doing the same - making up the plot of this book up on the fly. It's one thing for a character to be out of control, but I expect an author to be in control.

The Ugly

If you're going to write a mystery, even a noir mystery such as this one, it's not a good idea to make your protagonist a psychopath. And Harry Rigby is as close to being a psychopath as just about any other character in this novel is. That didn't work for me.

[J.J. Toner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Declan's writing is to die for. His snapshot descriptions of Sligo and surrounds betray his obvious love of the place. The plot I thought a tad far-fetched and every bit as tortuous as Chandler's. It seems the obscure plot is an essential requirement of the noir detective story. Who knew? If I get to be reincarnated when I die, I will demand to come back as D. Burke so that I can write like this. The guy is a genius of the written word - no question about it.

[Ned Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was a rare fine night for a stroll down by the docks, the moon plump as a new pillow in an old-fashioned hotel and the undertow in the turning tide swushing its ripples silvery-green and a bird you’ve never heard before chirring its homesick tale of a place you might once have known and most likely now will never see, mid-June and almost midnight and balmy yet, the kind of evening built for a long walk with a woman who likes to take long walks and not say very much, and that little in a murmur you have to strain to catch, her laughter low and throaty, her humour dry and favouring lewd, eyes like smoky mirrors of the vast night sky and in them twinkles that might be stars reflecting or the first sparks of intentions that you’d better fan with soft words and a gentle touch in just the right place or spend the rest of your life and maybe forever wondering what might have been, all for the want of a soft word and a touch gentle and true.
It was that kind of evening, alright. That kind of place."
Despite this Bulwer Lytton gone berserk opening paragraph, this is a fine piece of school-of-Chandler crime fiction set in a very noir Sligo. Hard-boiled as they come, with plenty of Irish humour to leaven the complexities of a plot that outdoes The Big Sleep. Brutality sits alongside poetry. "The Romans were no fools. Strangers come her to wither and die. Celt, Dane, Norman and English, they charged ashore waving their axes and swords and we gave up our blood and took the best they have, and when they sank into our bogs we burned them for heat and carved our stories from their smoke and words."

[Michael Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has so many twists that every time I thought I'd figured out what was what and who was who, I was wrong. The writing is unclogged with junk and filled with clear presentation of a story by a talented writer. Burke's book never disappoint and this one's to be added to my collection of Irish writers.The book is a mystery, a love story, a story about family and friends. It leaves nothing out and rips at your heart and tingles your mind. A good read that's hard to put down and you don't want it to end.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was impressed with the writing style and dark humor, "like a turd on a communion wafer,". "The ripe side of fifty, luscious as a ripe mango". "A pope doodling a hail. Mary". But then it wasn't so funny anymore and tho there were lots of twists and turns I got lost with the characters who was who and how they fit and what about Tohill the cop?

IT WAS READABLE AND there's something to be said about his writing style I Guess I've read worse, but wouldn't recommend it or read another one of his books.

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked his first book on featuring Harry Rigby, but this one has less to offer. Some good dialogue and dark humor initially, but the black humor is not enough when it’s combined with a weak storyline, with lots of not particularly interesting twists.

[Tommy Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Stuff. A compelling read, but a shattered individual.

[Kelly]

Did not finish this one.

[Dana King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slaughter’s Hound, Declan Burke’s follow-up to 2004’s Eightball Boogie, picks up after Harry Rigby has been released from detention for killing his brother. Not prison, exactly. Much of Harry’s time was spent in mental institutions, which seems like easy time to many of his new associates, who wonder what he did to cop such a sweet deal.

No longer a PI, Harry drives a cab and does assorted semi-legal errands. While delivering a few bags of grass to his friend Finn Hamilton, Harry is shocked to see…

That’s as far as I go. Burke doesn’t tease. The inciting incident of the story is right there in the opening scene. You’d hate me later for spoiling it now. Anything I’d write telling you what happened would deny you some of the pleasure of reading the book’s superior description.

Burke is a literary chameleon, moving between types of stories and styles with apparent ease. In Eightball Boogie, he sometimes tried too hard and often for the clever simile, creating a somewhat uneven effect, given the darkness of the story at heart. Since then he’s published an Elmore Leonard-esque free-for-all (The Big O) and a daring bit of meta-fiction (the award-winning Absolute Zero Cool), both of which showed different aspects of the sureness his writing displays in Slaughter’s Hound. (Much of his “free” time between novels was taken up with editing two essential additions to the critical literature about crime fiction, 2011’s Down These Green Streets, and the recently released Books To Die For.)

The writing in Slaughter’s Hound is dead-on and perfect for the situation. Burke is able to capture the occasional absurdity of Rigby’s early situation and inexorably ratchet up the tension to the darkness that captures the end of the book. It’s done so transparently you’ll not quite notice the darkening of the prose until a key incident halfway through tells you there won’t be much fun from here on. (I’m not going to tell you what that is, either. Deal.)

Burke’s style is a seamless blend of Raymond Chandler and Ray Banks, filtered through the sensibilities of the author. Rigby has a little of the knight errant qualities of Philip Marlowe—updated to the 21st Century—blended with any number of Banks’s tragic anti-heroes, creating a character you’ll root for to the end, even though his means will make you want to turn away at times.

Slaughter’s Hound is not for everyone. Rigby’s actions become progressively more violent until gruesome is not too strong a word. It’s a risk worth taking for those who like their crime fiction to look at the effects of a story’s events on both the doer and those who have been done. Slaughter’s Hound is Burke’s most viscerally affecting book, and makes one look forward to see in which direction he’ll go next.

[Aine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Rigby returns (after Eight Ball Boogie, which I haven't read but should have! Spoiler ahead - read the prequel first)

Harry has been released from the Dundrum Hospital for the criminally insane, having killed his brother Gonzo. He has returned to Sligo where he is making ends meet as a taxi-driver, with a sideline in other deliveries. The suicide of his friend, Finn, minutes after they catch-up in an amiable conversation, makes little sense to Harry. He is soon caught up with Finn's family and girllfriend, the McConnell Brothers for whom he has lost both their car and drugs, and his own family where he was hoping to make up for lost time with his son, Ben.

Slaughter's Hound is another dark, funny and clever novel (following the genuinely spectacular Absolute Zero Cool). Burke's noir style is unusual in Irish writing, and it made even more original by dipping it in Irish history, culture and observational humour. It is the mark of a great book that there came a chapter end where I really didn't want to turn the page. I didn't want to know what I already knew had happened. A little further left of edgy than I want; the stealth viciousness of this author is what makes his books so fantastic.

[Seana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dark tale, and it gets progressively darker as it goes along. In the middle, it reminded me a bit of Ross MacDonald, and also of his Irish literary descendent, Declan Hughes, with its tale of doomed families and the ruin that attends them. But there is a kind of go for broke quality to this book that I haven't really found in the aforementioned illustrious writers' work, and it took me till nearly the end of the book to realize that Burke has laid it all out for us in the very title of the work, and in a helpful author's epigram, in which he notes that the great warrior Cú Chulainn's name really means Hound of Ulster and that he owned a number of war hounds called archú, who were known for their love of slaughter. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen--a quiet stroll by the river this is not. Instead, it is a tale steeped in the tradition of the Irish myth cycles, where deeds are great, but, well, bloody. So don't say I didn't give you fair warning.

Full meandering review is here.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slaughter’s Hound is the sequel to Eight Ball Boogie, Burke’s first novel published in 2004. In the intervening time he’s published three other novels, the last of which, Absolute Zero Cool, was my read of 2011. Burke’s trademark as a wordsmith is in strong evidence in Slaughter’s Hound, the sense of place and characterisation is strong throughout, and the noir plot was nicely constructed. However, for me it was a book of two halves. After an excellent opening scene, the first half I found quite slow and ponderous and I struggled to get into the story. It lacked the pace, wit and action of his other work, sacrificed to in-depth characterisation and observational asides. The second half, in contrast, was excellent with dark humour, pathos, and twists and turns aplenty as it hurtled to its sinister, action-packed resolution. If the first half had been compressed into a third, then this would have been a really great read. As it stands, Slaughter’s Hound is a good, solid, noir tale, firmly rooted in North West Ireland.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

super nice modern noir of modern ireland. an ireland reeling from the crisis, but still moving lots of coke and smack, still stealing lots of cars, and still it seems, having an ongoing virulent outbreak of sick incest, psychopathic murderers/family ties, lots of ripping off the fisc, the mob, the poor, and any rich dudes who get in their way.
if you think you;ve had a couple of bad days, read this fast gritty fairly crazy crime/noir, as harry rigby has about the worst 3 days imaginable.
i saw this burke guy name-checked in a new declan hughes novel, hughes saying burke was kickass commentator of the modern black hearted ireland. it is good i think, i concur with hughes (no slouch hisownself).

[Jeffrey Bricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note that crime noir is a darker genre than your straight mystery novel. That fact neither adds nor detracts from the quality of the book. But the reader should be warned in advance you will face more dark twists and demented souls along the way. A strong narrative voice and a talented writer. Slaughters Hound is worth your time!

[Errol Hess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not agree with reviewers that Irish crime writer Burke is another Raymond Chandler. He is as skilled a writer as Chandler but his language skills are definitely his own, and as different as the times and culture about which he writes. My only issue with this book is that I figured it out before it ended.

[Tim Lockfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again with the drinking and drugging and the killing and the bad things happening. Literary and historic references keep it cultured. The acceptance by our hero that he's never going to win even if he does keep it Irish.

[Mike Prusaitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your run-of-the-mill detective stories. The protagonist isn't someone you'd necessarily call a good guy but it's hard not to root for him. I'd never have guessed what he was capable of until done. This book, I think, is aptly named.

[Andrew]

Good, But a Bit Much

Well written but so complicated and far fetched that it bordered on parody of the detective form. I have read other books by Burke and when he is controlled he is excellent. would still recommend it but not with gusto.

[Margaret Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has a very far fetched plot with a very dull first half after an ok opening, the second half is better. Harry Rigby is an unbelievable detective who is like a bad piss take of classic american crime fiction and the setting is ok but not much like the Sligo I know.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this twisted tale ... Buying his other books now.

[Daniel Mcintyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book it is typically irish and doesnt hold back. Has a very strong case for a cult following.

[David Drumgoole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The work of a genius. I love Raymond Chandler and this is just reading Raymond Chandler but in Ireland