The Dead

The Saxon & Fitzgerald Mysteries #1

by Ingrid Black

Five years ago, Ed Fagan disappeared and since then nothing has been heard from the serial killer known as the Night Hunter. Now, a Dublin newspaper has received a letter from someone claiming to be Fagan, and the message is chilling: he's going to kill again.
At first, the Dublin Police are inclined to dismiss the letter as the work of a crank. Then, the body of prostitute Mary Lynch is found, and it's only too clear that a murderer is at large again.

But is it Fagan?

Saxon, a former FBI agent still haunted by the events of five years ago, was writing a book about Fagan when he disappeared, and she is certain as anyone can be that the killer must be someone else. So while Detective Chief Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald and the rest of the DMP sniff at a cold trail, she somehow has to convince them to look beyond the obvious.
But in a city of shadows and secrets, that's never easy--especially when the truth is so surprising that even the most astute detective would be shocked into carelessness in the moment of discovery.

And as Saxon knows, it's never wise to be careless in the presence of a killer.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Ireland, Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2003

About the author

Ingrid Black is the pseudonym of Eilis O'Hanlon and Ian McConnel, a husband-and-wife writing team who live with their family in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They are the creators of ‘Saxon and Grace Fitzgerald’, former FBI agent and Detective Chief Superintendent with the Dublin Metropolitan Police’s Murder Squad.

Reviews

[Wilma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spannend...en intrigerend...het verhaal zit ingenieus in elkaar, je wordt regelmatig op het verkeerde been gezet...ik hou van Ierland en de verhalen die zich daar afspelen...spannende detective/thriller, tot de laatste pagina bleef ik geboeid...aanrader!!

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never drink whiskey with a murderer!

I usually prefer older mysteries, but several weeks ago I read this author's account of how the first two books in this series were plagiarized. Imagine writing a book that was well-received and even won a prestigious award, only to discover nine years later that a thinly-disguised version was being sold on Amazon as a Kindle e-book (and doing quite well, thank you) while someone else pocketed the profits! I was so fascinated by the story and so impressed with the author's talent and charm that I immediately bought this, the first in the Saxon/Fitzgerald series.

Saxon (she has no other name) is a former FBI agent who's ended up in Dublin, Ireland. She writes true-crime books, although her precarious emotional state leaves her little energy to devote to that career. She has a strange, love-hate relationship with police work. She left the FBI voluntarily and doesn't want to go back, but her fascination with crime keeps drawing her in. Being in a relationship with Chief Inspector Grace Fitzgerald of the Dublin Police Department means that she's constantly embroiled in murder investigations and police politics.

She came to Ireland to write a book about a suspected serial killer of young women and got to know him as well as anyone. Then he disappeared and the killings stopped. Now he's sending letters with hints as to who will be his next victim and the police are racing to interpret his clues to prevent more murders. Only Saxon knows that the man is dead and even she doesn't know the identity of his imposter.

I found the plot and the characters totally absorbing. Saxon is flawed, but vulnerable. Grace Fitzgerald struggles to do a difficult job with little cooperation from her male colleagues. The men themselves are successful at work, but their personal lives are train wrecks. Every chapter brings another tale of a wife neglected once too often who has given up and left. An occupational hazard for cops everywhere.

"Ingrid Black" is a husband-and-wife team. She's a newspaper columnist and he writes children's books. Although this book won the U.S. "Shamus" award for best first P.I. novel of 2005, they were both experienced writers before they teamed up and it shows. The writing is smooth as silk. This book was both critically well-received and a brisk seller and they followed up the next year with THE DARK EYE. I'm reading that one now and have already bought the third in the series. I can see I'm not going to get much else done until I finish them all. They're gripping stories and the Dublin setting is fascinating.

Best of all, the authors were confident enough in their skills not to resort to the explicit violence and non-stop sex that keeps me away from most modern mysteries. It's a return to the days when a writer had to have something to say and know how to say it, because he couldn't rely on shock tactics and get his books published. I'm LOVING this series.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicci French wilde er bij mij niet in. Het genre 'thriller' in het algemeen niet, eigenlijk. Maar dit boek stond in de kast en ik dacht de eerste bladzijden eens een kans te geven. Anderhalve dag later is het boek uit. Ik kon het niet weg leggen.

Een heerlijk boek om te lezen. Goed geschreven, netjes uitgewerkt plot, niet te gruwelijk (in tegenstelling tot wat de uitgever de lezer in de blurb wik laten geloven - hoezo is gruwelijk eigenlijk een aanprijzing?). Het was geen heel groot mysterie wie de moordenaar was, maar de schrijver kreeg het wel voor elkaar om me in de ontrafeling aan het twijfelen te brengen.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bookseller, toonaangevend tijdschrift voor het boekenvak, noemt Gevallen meisjes 'een verontrustende thriller'. De achterplattekst licht alvast een tipje van de sluier op: dit debuut, geschreven door een Iers echtpaar, gaat over een seriemoordenaar die enkele jaren geleden op onverklaarbare wijze verdwenen is. Het feit dat er plotseling brieven van hem in de krant verschijnen, om nog maar niet te spreken van dode vrouwen die weer exact op dezelfde plaatsen als de vorige keer gevonden worden, is dan inderdaad verontrustend.

Grace Fitzgerald heeft de leiding over het team dat tracht deze moordenaar, Ed Fagan, op te sporen. Het team wordt daarin bijgestaan door ene Saxon, Amerikaanse, ex-FBI en vriendin van Grace. Saxon wordt door de overige leden van het team niet met open armen verwelkomd. En Saxon heeft eigenlijk helemaal geen zin in een nieuwe jacht op deze moordenaar. Vijf jaar geleden was ze intens bij de man betrokken: ze schreef een boek over hem en had uiteindelijk een fataal aflopende ontmoeting met hem.
Dit boek past, laat ik daar maar eens mee beginnen, uitstekend binnen het fonds van Ambo|Anthos. Liefhebbers van het wat meer diepgaande werk, met duistere trekjes, zullen heel goed aan hun trekken komen. Wat bedoel ik met 'duistere trekjes´? Daar bedoel ik mee dat ons een blik wordt gegund in de zielenroerselen van de hoofdpersoon, en wij eigenlijk meer dan wij misschien willen weten leren over de motieven van de moordenaar. Het verhaal speelt zich af in Dublin in de winter, dus het weer helpt ook al niet mee. Zelfs de humor (die er toch werkelijk in zit) is van een nogal treurige aard. Natuurlijk is het leven voor Saxon in dit boek ook niet leuk, maar zij wordt omgeven door mensen die allemaal wel iets meegemaakt hebben waar ze nog dagelijks onder lijden.

Is het boek spannend, is dan de volgende vraag. Ja, het is spannend. Het is zelfs zo spannend dat de ontknoping wel een beetje érg als een verrassing komt. Een beetje onverwacht. Een beetje teveel gepuzzel. Maar dat is natuurlijk een kwestie van smaak. Origineel? Nou, niet helemaal. Ex-FBI agent, vrouw, geplaagd door mannelijke collega's en vol met twijfels. Een seriemoordenaar die verdwijnt en dan weer op lijkt te duiken. Dode prostituees. Echt origineel is het allemaal niet. Maar dat hoeft tenslotte ook niet, zeker niet voor een debuut. Het zit goed in elkaar, leest bijzonder goed weg en heeft een hoofdpersoon die karakter heeft.

[Kasey Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading mystery, suspense, and thrillers for as long as I can remember and have read a wide spectrum of authours. But I had never heard of Ingrid Black and downloaded her book during a free book promo. It was a few weeks before I actually started to read The Dead and was instantly hooked. The writing pulled me in and kept me there long into the early hours of the morning. Saxon, like all of us, is flawed but in a very real way. Her pondering about 'shall I stay or shall I go' applies to both Dublin and her relationship.
As a former undercover detective I am a sucker for female detectives as MCs yet as much as I thought I was firmly embedded in the story I still had to do a double take when I realised her relationship was with a female senior police officer. I was so taken aback that I could have missed it that I went back and started reading again, completely captivated on a different level.
As one expects, there were many twists and turns and some great character development with the secondary characters. I did not figure it out until it was revealed. I immediately downloaded the next book.
Highly recommended.

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the narrator started to eat eggs on rye in a Dublin cafe, I thought, oh no, another Irish detective story written for the US market.

But this book is much better than that. An ex FBi agent now living in Dublin blunders through an investigation alongside a realistic police team (more sinners than saints). There are loads of characters, story lines, red herrings and you need to keep somewhat on your toes.

I enjoyed this

[Sarah Jasmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly straightforward detective story, but goes up to four stars on the quality of the writing and the fabulous characters. Really enjoyable. I came across this after the Joanne Clancy affair, and have to say I'm almost grateful to her for bringing this to my attention! Looking forward to reading the rest of the series now.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was am interesting book but I wasn't really sure what to think of the ending. It was good and I do like how they did things.

I am still confused with the writer since it just isn't what I expected. I do like the dsi and think that the character was one of the best. It was interesting to see the interaction between the two.

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracker of a read. Loved the ex FBI character female living in Dublin. Clever story and need to look out for more

[Rain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started at 3 stars, but ran downhill to zero by the end. Usually with crime mysteries that I dont like, its either because I figured Who-dunnit way too early and get bored, or I end up just not caring enough to find out who-dunnit. In this case it was both. I could not buy-in to any of the characters, and the author (s) doesnt seem to have done any research.

[Greg Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! Prior to this the only author to grip me like this was Patricia Cornwell and the Scarpetta series. Thoroughly exciting book, forensically accurate without being boring or too jargonistic.
Very well recommended and look forward to reading another book by Ingrid Black!

[Conny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek: spannend tot laatste moment.

[Roberta Bianchessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

trama ben tessuta, forse un poco troppo lungo.
ottimo il colpo di scena finale

[Tania van de Bergh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kwam wat moeilijk op gang. Veel personages, bijna alsof het deel is van een reeks, waar je de eerste drie delen van hebt gemist.
Het plot ging dan weer heel snel en slordig uitgewerkt

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. The characters were compelling enough that I want to visit with them again, and this kept me reading past my bedtime.

[Jake Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8/5
Gripping and well written, but fell off towards the end. The big reveal was anticlimactic.
Still a good read

[Olivia Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book succeeds in most of the ways that count towards being a book in this genre, so if you’re a fan of detective novels, I’d say give it a read.

I struggled with the voicing of the book - I’m not a huge fan of characters who are written with the intent of them appearing ‘cool’, to me it produces the opposite effect.

There were quite a few underdeveloped ideas and relationships that I felt the book could’ve benefited from exploring further. Also, I found myself getting overly bombarded with information at a rate that felt a little difficult to keep up with, almost like I’d need to have had a full expositional novella into the social web of this world before being able to start at this point in the story. I also just felt a lot of the metaphors and descriptors were cliche and forced.

The ending was quite unsatisfying in my opinion. Although saying all of this, it flowed decently well and there was a fully fledged, functional world that was believable and interesting enough to attempt to understand.

[Rosario · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ingrid Black is a writing team made up by married couple Eilis O'Hanlon and Ian McConnel. I came across this novel after reading an article written by O'Hanlon last year, after the book had been plagiarised. The article itself was interesting, but I thought the book sounded even more so, so I bought it.

Saxon is a former FBI agent who used to specialise in serial killers. After writing a tell-all book that destroyed her relationship with her former colleagues, she ended up in Ireland, advising the Dublin police in the case of the Night Hunter serial killer. That case ended abruptly when main suspect Ed Fagan seemingly fell off the face of the earth. Saxon stayed, though, not least because of her relationship with Detective Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald.

And then, five years later, Fagan is back. Apparently. Someone is sending letters to the papers claiming to be him and directing the police to bodies, which start piling up. The only problem is, Saxon knows it can't be Fagan. Because five years earlier, she killed him.

This started out well, but ultimately foundered. The case was interesting enough in premise, but the execution of the investigation never really gelled. I think the problem was that we were seeing it from the point of view of Saxon, who although she's getting all of what's going on through her relationship with Grace (and that felt a bit off -this is the boss's lover who's been brought in as a consultant. Even though she's obviously got very relevant and valuable experience, it felt a bit Roarke-ish, and that has never sat well with me), is outside the investigation and doing her own thing. And it feels like she's basically flailing about, happening upon clues almost at random. There's no plan or coherence in how she investigates.

I think the bigger problem is that I disliked Saxon and had very little respect for her as an investigator. She is incredibly cavalier about doing stuff that could potentially get Fitzgerald into huge trouble, like breaking into the home of someone she suspects. She doesn't particularly think about it or every acknowledge the potential consequences of what she's doing on Fitzgerald. She also withholds the very crucial information of Ed Fagan being dead, even though she sees that quite a lot of effort on the police's part is being wasted -effort that, if well-directed, could have had a positive effect on the investigation.

There are also loose ends. At one point Saxon becomes convinced that Fagan must not have operated alone, and gives really compelling reasons for thinking so... compelling enough that I was shocked she hadn't considered that earlier. That gets dropped completely in the resolution.

And oh, that resolution. That's when my respect for Saxon hit rock bottom. This might be a bit spoilerish, although it does not reveal the identity of the killer, so be warned: Basically, what happens is that Saxon realises who the murderer must be, and confronts the person, armed with a gun. And then this person basically goes "oh, well, let's have a drink and I'll tell you all about it" and starts serving her scotch -which she drinks!! Refill after refill. And what do you know, the scotch has poison in it. Seriously!

The other disappointment was in the personal stuff. The romantic relationship between Saxon and Fitzgerald had the potential to be really interesting. Unfortunately, there's really not much there about that. They practically don't interact, other than talking about the case. There's really no chemistry, and the reader is given no clue to what they see in each other and why they're together.

This is all really too bad. The plot really had potential and the authors do succeed in creating a very atmospheric setting. Unfortunately, the story execution and the characters didn't deliver.

MY GRADE: A C-.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it enough to buy the next one, but there were issues with The Dead that prevent me from giving it more stars. Mostly an American protagonist and narrator who speaks like a native but hasn't lived in Ireland long enough to change her vocabulary. Except for the occasional mention of a river or a park "back home," there's nothing to indicate that she's not Irish. It seems like the authors crafted a character to make her quirky/memorable, but didn't worry about making her real all the way through. The cigar-smoking, partially-closeted (except that everyone knows) lesbian thing feels like a trope. I got the impression, although I could be totally wrong, that Saxon was written as a male character and her gender was changed to make her more interesting. (I couldn't care less about a characters' gender or sexuality, except when it comes across as a trope.)

Setting aside that roadblock, this was a decent mystery. Saxon is a former FBI agent* turned true-crime writer, living in Dublin and involved with a cop. She's pulled into an investigation of killings that appear to be the work of a dormant serial killer named Fagan. Saxon knows it can't be Fagan (because she killed him) and joins the investigation, while trying to keep her big secret. There were enough red herrings to make it interesting and the killer's identity was a bit of a surprise.

*Little things that bugged me: getting into the FBI is a lot of work, so Saxon quitting when she did was strange and the reasoning never made sense. I never did figure out how she supports herself, because she doesn't have a job, hasn't written in a while (I doubt her previous books bring in that kind of revenue), and she's on the current case as an unpaid consultant.

What brought me to this book was an article I read a while back about this book - among several - being plagiarized. I was intrigued, so I added the book to a list on Amazon. I bought it a few weeks ago and have been reading it off & on.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

American, now living in Dublin, former FBI agent, turned true crime writer and investigator Saxon revisits her past to investigate old and new murders. She investigated and had intentions of writing about famed Irish serial killer, Ed Fagan, but she never wrote the book. The killer escaped conviction and she killed him in self defense. Or did she? It seems as if he’s back or there’s a copycat. She and her girlfriend detective chief inspector Grace Fitzgerald investigate the new murders and the old. It’s never clear if Ed or his son or both did the earlier killings. The new killings are the work of the bored, unhappy forensic pathologist. Very good read. Love the writing style and the characters!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed Fagan went on a reign of terror, in Dublin, killing women but has been silent for 5 years. When a newspaper receives a letter claiming to be from Fagan saying he will kill more women the police initially don't take it seriously until the body of a prostitute is found. They then begin searching for Fagan. Saxon, a former FBI agent is convinced that it is not Fagain but a different killer but the police department are reluctant to look beyond the obvious.

This is the first in a series and is very enjoyable. There is plenty of potential for developing the characters introduced in this book and I will be looking out for more.

[Sieglinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago a serial killer struck Dublin and then disappeared. Now it seems that he is back. A crime journalist receives a letter announcing his return and the start of a new spree, and when the first body turns up the investigating team, headed by Chief Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald and assisted by former FBI agent Saxon, is in a race against time. Five murders have been promised for the week. Is it the work of that same notorious killer? Is it a copycat? And who are the remaining targets on his hit list?

[Annie McFox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book it was ok to read but I didn't really care about the characters, there was not really enough information about them to get to know them and care about what happened to them. The lead couple are not warm to each other and do not behave much like a couple.
There are sequels which are on kindle and pretty cheap but not sure I will be tempted.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book became my go-to lunch and commute book, and while that meant it took longer to read than I think it would have otherwise, I enjoyed it, and was happy to get back to it each time. The plot wasn't so serpentine as to lose me when I had to put it down for a while, but not so simple as to bore me -- an excellent middle ground! I think I'll pick up the next one...

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a misidentified serial killer in Dublin. I think this book started off stronger than it ended. Still worth the read, but I would probably focus on this series as it is needed for challenges vs. for the love of the writing.

[Skull · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few books with as many twists and turns as this one has. Everytime you think you know 'Whodunnit' another curve ball is thrown at you. The Book could not be more highly recommended by me!!

[Janet Paventy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, I will read more by this author

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great writing, in the end I just wanted it over. Saxon was just a badly conceived character and unbelievable and stupid, why do men make woman characters so idiotic.