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The Guns of Heaven: A Hard Case Crime Novel
On a visit to Northern Ireland, newspaper reporter Sam Briscoe meets with a mysterious IRA leader and agrees to deliver an envelope to his supporters in New York City. It's a decision with grave consequences - not just for Briscoe, but for his 11-year-old daughter as well. Because the bloody Irish conflict is about to come to the streets of New York, and Briscoe is the only man standing in its way...
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First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
Pete Hamill
110 books560 followersPete Hamill was a novelist, essayist and journalist whose career has endured for more than forty years. He was born in Brooklyn, N. Y. in 1935, the oldest of seven children of immigrants from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Catholic schools as a child. He left school at 16 to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a sheetmetal worker, and then went on to the United States Navy. While serving in the Navy, he completed his high school education. Then, using the educational benefits of the G.I. Bill of Rights, he attended Mexico City College in 1956-1957, studying painting and writing, and later went to Pratt Institute. For several years, he worked as a graphic designer. Then in 1960, he went to work as a reporter for the New York Post. A long career in journalism followed. He has been a columnist for the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and New York Newsday, the Village Voice, New York magazine and Esquire. He has served as editor-in-chief of both the Post and the Daily News. As a journalist, he covered wars in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Lebanon and Northern Ireland, and has lived for extended periods in Mexico City, Dublin, Barcelona, San Juan and Rome. From his base in New York he also covered murders, fires, World Series, championship fights and the great domestic disturbances of the 1960s, and wrote extensively on art, jazz, immigration and politics. He witnessed the events of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath and wrote about them for the Daily News.
At the same time, Hamill wrote much fiction, including movie and TV scripts. He published nine novels and two collections of short stories. His 1997 novel, Snow in August, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four months. His memoir, A Drinking Life, was on the same New York Times list for 13 weeks. He has published two collections of his journalism (Irrational Ravings and Piecework), an extended essay on journalism called News Is a Verb, a book about the relationship of tools to art, a biographical essay called Why Sinatra Matters, dealing with the music of the late singer and the social forces that made his work unique. In 1999, Harry N. Abrams published his acclaimed book on the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. His novel, Forever, was published by Little, Brown in January 2003 and became a New York Times bestseller. His most recently published novel was North River (2007).
In 2004, he published Downtown: My Manhattan, a non-fiction account of his love affair with New York, and received much critical acclaim. Hamill was the father of two daughters, and has a grandson. He was married to the Japanese journalist, Fukiko Aoki, and they divided their time between New York City and Cuernavaca, Mexico. He was a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
Author photo by David Shankbone (September 2007) - permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
At the same time, Hamill wrote much fiction, including movie and TV scripts. He published nine novels and two collections of short stories. His 1997 novel, Snow in August, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four months. His memoir, A Drinking Life, was on the same New York Times list for 13 weeks. He has published two collections of his journalism (Irrational Ravings and Piecework), an extended essay on journalism called News Is a Verb, a book about the relationship of tools to art, a biographical essay called Why Sinatra Matters, dealing with the music of the late singer and the social forces that made his work unique. In 1999, Harry N. Abrams published his acclaimed book on the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. His novel, Forever, was published by Little, Brown in January 2003 and became a New York Times bestseller. His most recently published novel was North River (2007).
In 2004, he published Downtown: My Manhattan, a non-fiction account of his love affair with New York, and received much critical acclaim. Hamill was the father of two daughters, and has a grandson. He was married to the Japanese journalist, Fukiko Aoki, and they divided their time between New York City and Cuernavaca, Mexico. He was a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
Author photo by David Shankbone (September 2007) - permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 7, 2012
Reporter Sam Briscoe meets up with an IRA leader in Northern Ireland and agrees to bring a letter back to the States. Unfortunately, some don't want that letter delivered and follow Briscoe back to New York to prevent the delivery...
Interesting tidbit: Pete Hamil was one of the men that disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after he shot RFK. I have to think that might be part of why this was selected to be part of the Hard Case Crime library. As far as Hard Case Crime books go, this one is on the likeable side of average. Once the story takes off, there's a good amount of suspense. Hamill throws twist after twist at you. Briscoe's a fairly typical detective story hero; smart mouth, takes a beating, and never gives up. The IRA angle sets it apart from a lot of stories written at the same time. It feels like a movie Mel Gibson would have done in the early 90's or one that Liam Neeson would do today, now that he's getting the Mel Gibson action roles now that Mel's off his rocker.
So why only a 3? It took too long to get moving. While I'm interested in the IRA and the conflict in Northern Ireland, I'm not so interested that I need a metric shit ton of IRA history while I'm reading a detective story. Other than that, it's not too bad. I wouldn't say it's an essential Hard Case by any means.
Interesting tidbit: Pete Hamil was one of the men that disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after he shot RFK. I have to think that might be part of why this was selected to be part of the Hard Case Crime library. As far as Hard Case Crime books go, this one is on the likeable side of average. Once the story takes off, there's a good amount of suspense. Hamill throws twist after twist at you. Briscoe's a fairly typical detective story hero; smart mouth, takes a beating, and never gives up. The IRA angle sets it apart from a lot of stories written at the same time. It feels like a movie Mel Gibson would have done in the early 90's or one that Liam Neeson would do today, now that he's getting the Mel Gibson action roles now that Mel's off his rocker.
So why only a 3? It took too long to get moving. While I'm interested in the IRA and the conflict in Northern Ireland, I'm not so interested that I need a metric shit ton of IRA history while I'm reading a detective story. Other than that, it's not too bad. I wouldn't say it's an essential Hard Case by any means.
May 20, 2015
*SPOILER ALERT*
This book was full of cliches. You got a journalist who antagonizes his enemy, has someone from the family get kidnapped, somehow can use guns/fight his way through trouble, has almost endless number of people who have connections on the upper level, has a disapproving ex wife, shares some intimate love with a person who betrays him, is part of a giant conflict that he did want but was dragged into it anyway, has a family member killed which reinforces his anger towards the enemy, and few others that I won't go into because, well, you get the point. You also got people who pretend to be nice but turn out to be bad guys because the world is full of deception.
I also hated the entire plot of this book. I had tough time just reading it. At one point I wanted to just quit it but I usually reserve that for bigger books so I went on.
This was a random find at a thrift store and I am sad to say that I should have left it there.
This book was full of cliches. You got a journalist who antagonizes his enemy, has someone from the family get kidnapped, somehow can use guns/fight his way through trouble, has almost endless number of people who have connections on the upper level, has a disapproving ex wife, shares some intimate love with a person who betrays him, is part of a giant conflict that he did want but was dragged into it anyway, has a family member killed which reinforces his anger towards the enemy, and few others that I won't go into because, well, you get the point. You also got people who pretend to be nice but turn out to be bad guys because the world is full of deception.
I also hated the entire plot of this book. I had tough time just reading it. At one point I wanted to just quit it but I usually reserve that for bigger books so I went on.
This was a random find at a thrift store and I am sad to say that I should have left it there.
June 8, 2017
This is one top-notch terrific book from beginning to end. Hamill strikes just the right tone. He begins with a reporter returning to Belfast to visit with his uncle and interview Steele, a leader of the IRA. Hamill does a great job of evoking Belfast of the early 80's. It feels so dark and filled with despair as he goes through military checkpoints and doesn't know who to trust. The action starts very quickly as the reporter is followed through the streets and must fight off his pursuers. Steele gives him an interview, but asks him to deliver a letter to someone in New York to help the cause. After leaving Belfast with the letter, the reporter heads to Geneva to visit with his daughter who is in a private school there, but he's been followed and his hotel room has been ransacked. Worst of all, whoever is pursuing him knows where his daughter is. Great stuff here. The reader really feels the angst of the ordinary guy caught up in international intrigue and his panic over how he can protect his young daughter all the way over there.
When the action heads to New York, the story takes the reader into the Irish bars, into bombings, and kidnappings, and religious fanaticism. The action never stops as someone is on the protagonist's trail every step of the way. Hats off to Hard Case Crime for introducing me to his work.
When the action heads to New York, the story takes the reader into the Irish bars, into bombings, and kidnappings, and religious fanaticism. The action never stops as someone is on the protagonist's trail every step of the way. Hats off to Hard Case Crime for introducing me to his work.
March 16, 2017
The guns of Heaven may just be the greatest thriller to come out of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Hamill is a superb writer and what he has to say about the Troubles would grace the pages of any serious novel.
As a hard boiled detective thriller the book has everything the genre requires, a complex plot, a flawed hero, religious zealots, gangsters, killers and a femme fatale to die for (are there any other kind?) and the pace of a Porsche.
This is the first book I've read by Pete Hamill and now I'm going to have to buy everything he's ever written. You should too.
As a hard boiled detective thriller the book has everything the genre requires, a complex plot, a flawed hero, religious zealots, gangsters, killers and a femme fatale to die for (are there any other kind?) and the pace of a Porsche.
This is the first book I've read by Pete Hamill and now I'm going to have to buy everything he's ever written. You should too.
October 23, 2014
An excellent, quick read. Plenty of believable action, although he did put silencers on revolvers, but that was the only issue I noticed. The story was fast paced & well written. The plot was believable & logical. The character was well drawn & perfect. I loved the ending.
June 22, 2012
Reading Pete Hamill offers an intriguing conundrum as to whether scenes or references are only meant to be fiction or whether they are autobiographical. As a journalist/writer penning the adventures of a journalist/writer named Sammy Briscoe, one gets the feeling that Hamill has trod this ground before. One can easily imagine him interviewing a mysterious IRA commander in some seedy Belfast hotel on the Catholic side and one can easily imagine that Dexter Gordon (the great saxophone player) would have told Hamill (as well as Briscoe in the novel) about getting rooms behind the old Apollo Theater where they could watch the female performers change.
Now, some of Guns of Heaven is formulaic. One expects the obligatory effort to get guns for the IRA and one suspects that the somewhat distant journalist will be brought into the fray when he perceives his daughter as vulnerable. Exactly how and when these formulaic events take place isn’t quite as one would expect and that keeps the reader enough off-balance that there is emotional investment. One problem that I often have with my suspended disbelief in thrillers which involve journalists and political/criminal intrigue is that I can’t understand the rationale for each journalistic protagonist to be involved in the situation. Why would a journalist take on a terrorist or intelligence network at their own game on her/his own dime? Well, it is still a question in Guns of Heaven, but Hamill gives us several clues as to why Briscoe has skin in the game. Briscoe doesn’t want to be involved, but there are deaths that make it personal.
In addition, the villain (though immediately recognizable from a certain French detective axiom) is relatively typical in that said antagonist is, in turn, being manipulated by a standard conspiratorial bugaboo. Do multiple stereotypes equate to freshness? Not usually, but this is so deftly orchestrated that I was caught up in the story and drawn into something entirely different than the trope of visitor to Northern Ireland asked to deliver a message that I thought I was getting into.
This novel is important for more than the story. Some years ago, a Canadian theologian studying at Trinity College in Dublin recommended Terence P. McCaughey’s Memory & Redemption: Church, Politics and Prophetic Theology in Ireland to me in order to understand “The Troubles” and read some interesting ideas about the type of ecumenical theology that could, feasibly, address the divided culture. In that work, I read that, “The sense of being trapped in a historical cul-de-sac encourages the notion that the end is at hand.” (p. 44) The theologian wrote of desperation, but Hamill as a novelist emoted the desperation. If you want to study “The Troubles,” I urge you to try out the McCaughey book. If you want to “feel” that era and its residue in modern Irish culture, I urge you to read Guns of Heaven
Now, some of Guns of Heaven is formulaic. One expects the obligatory effort to get guns for the IRA and one suspects that the somewhat distant journalist will be brought into the fray when he perceives his daughter as vulnerable. Exactly how and when these formulaic events take place isn’t quite as one would expect and that keeps the reader enough off-balance that there is emotional investment. One problem that I often have with my suspended disbelief in thrillers which involve journalists and political/criminal intrigue is that I can’t understand the rationale for each journalistic protagonist to be involved in the situation. Why would a journalist take on a terrorist or intelligence network at their own game on her/his own dime? Well, it is still a question in Guns of Heaven, but Hamill gives us several clues as to why Briscoe has skin in the game. Briscoe doesn’t want to be involved, but there are deaths that make it personal.
In addition, the villain (though immediately recognizable from a certain French detective axiom) is relatively typical in that said antagonist is, in turn, being manipulated by a standard conspiratorial bugaboo. Do multiple stereotypes equate to freshness? Not usually, but this is so deftly orchestrated that I was caught up in the story and drawn into something entirely different than the trope of visitor to Northern Ireland asked to deliver a message that I thought I was getting into.
This novel is important for more than the story. Some years ago, a Canadian theologian studying at Trinity College in Dublin recommended Terence P. McCaughey’s Memory & Redemption: Church, Politics and Prophetic Theology in Ireland to me in order to understand “The Troubles” and read some interesting ideas about the type of ecumenical theology that could, feasibly, address the divided culture. In that work, I read that, “The sense of being trapped in a historical cul-de-sac encourages the notion that the end is at hand.” (p. 44) The theologian wrote of desperation, but Hamill as a novelist emoted the desperation. If you want to study “The Troubles,” I urge you to try out the McCaughey book. If you want to “feel” that era and its residue in modern Irish culture, I urge you to read Guns of Heaven
June 1, 2017
It’s got a reporter, fist fights, bars, guns, car chases, a sexy dame begging for more, a kidnapping, betrayal, a bombing, the Irish Republican Army, weapons dealers, and an over-the-hill boxer. It is published by Hard Case Crime. Waddaya expect? It’s pulp fiction.
According to The New York Times Book Review, 4-16-2017: “Pete Hamill has written for New York newspapers and magazines since 1960 and has published 22 books, including the novels “Snow in August’ and Forever.” He is a writer in residence at the Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.”
Well, that may be accurate, but it misses the point. His parents emigrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the mid-1960s Hamill corresponded from Vietnam, after spending 5 months in Ireland. He was one of four men who disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Hamill is no stranger to conflict. Another item in his curriculum vitae: In 1975, he won a Grammy Award for "Best Liner Notes" on Bob Dylan's album Blood on the Tracks.
I like the art noir cover by Larry Schwinger. It’s a big improvement over the earlier cover, but not as steamy as covers by the late Glen Orbik.
According to The New York Times Book Review, 4-16-2017: “Pete Hamill has written for New York newspapers and magazines since 1960 and has published 22 books, including the novels “Snow in August’ and Forever.” He is a writer in residence at the Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.”
Well, that may be accurate, but it misses the point. His parents emigrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the mid-1960s Hamill corresponded from Vietnam, after spending 5 months in Ireland. He was one of four men who disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Hamill is no stranger to conflict. Another item in his curriculum vitae: In 1975, he won a Grammy Award for "Best Liner Notes" on Bob Dylan's album Blood on the Tracks.
I like the art noir cover by Larry Schwinger. It’s a big improvement over the earlier cover, but not as steamy as covers by the late Glen Orbik.
March 2, 2023
I had sworn off books featuring Tough Guys who Drink Hard and Screw Every Woman but they pop up occasionally when I read my monthly Hard Case Crime novels. This one is better than most, with Pete Hamill’s excellent New York touches, some quality twists and a thoughtful meditation on violence. A bit too Die Hard-y near the end for my taste but I guess that was to be expected. Still a fun read.
March 16, 2017
Written more than 30 years ago, this slim book is less a crime story than it is a "ripped from the headlines" IRA thriller. It features a 40ish newspaper reporter sent to Belfast to do a story about a mysterious IRA commander who might turn the tide in the struggle against British occupation. The reporter is half-Irish, so he also meets up with his uncle, who is a lifelong IRA member. Danger ensures.
What I couldn't figure out is why, even though his uncle is murdered, and he knows he's being sought by either British intelligence and/or the UVF, he nonetheless takes a planned trip to see his daughter at her Swiss boarding school. (Apparently in the 1980s, divorced print journalists could afford to send their kids to Swiss boarding schools?) Naturally, she becomes a target in the mayhem that follows.
The remaining two-thirds of the book takes place in and around New York -- and if there's one reason to read the book, it's for the depiction of early '80s NYC. It's a pulpy tour through Irish bars, the Plaza Hotel, derelict jazz joints, and the like. The story lurches around unconvincingly though, eventually involving a weirdo televangelist family. I finished it to see how it would all go down, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone. Readers looking for crime fiction set amidst the Troubles would be much better served by seeking out Adrian McKinty's series featuring Det. Sean Duffy.
What I couldn't figure out is why, even though his uncle is murdered, and he knows he's being sought by either British intelligence and/or the UVF, he nonetheless takes a planned trip to see his daughter at her Swiss boarding school. (Apparently in the 1980s, divorced print journalists could afford to send their kids to Swiss boarding schools?) Naturally, she becomes a target in the mayhem that follows.
The remaining two-thirds of the book takes place in and around New York -- and if there's one reason to read the book, it's for the depiction of early '80s NYC. It's a pulpy tour through Irish bars, the Plaza Hotel, derelict jazz joints, and the like. The story lurches around unconvincingly though, eventually involving a weirdo televangelist family. I finished it to see how it would all go down, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone. Readers looking for crime fiction set amidst the Troubles would be much better served by seeking out Adrian McKinty's series featuring Det. Sean Duffy.
February 26, 2019
I don't know that I've ever hated the main character of a book more than I did this one.
October 16, 2024
Hamill drops us into the middle of adventure. Sam Briscoe is our protagonist and he’s a man down on his luck. His wife left him and his kid is in some boarding school in Europe. Lucky for Briscoe he’s a first generation American, and has family in Ireland - where thanks to the IRA there’s a story. He gets his paper to pay his way to Europe to cover the story, and on his return trip home he works it out so he has a lay over near his daughter and can see her.
The fucking oppressive British, unethical behavior on Briscoe’s part, gangsters, kidnapping - and as always, murder most foul. Briscoe meets a high ranking member of the IRA and agrees to bring a letter back to NY. Next thing we know he’s being followed across countries and oceans. There are fist fights, and car chases and explosions; double and triple crosses and some bland sexy scenes.
If the story had stayed in Europe and focused on Ireland and the IRA it would most likely have been the five star story it started out as. Instead were brought back to New York, Irish Americans, love of the old country, and the weight of it all fades even as the sex and the violence kick up a notch.
It’s fine. But that’s it. Fine. I wanted to read the plight of the oppressed Irish throughout. I wanted this to be about a reporter who got sucked back into old family grudges and debts, but instead it became another detective noir. Which is fine. I just wanted more Ireland and proper IRA, none of this watered down American idealist IRA.
The fucking oppressive British, unethical behavior on Briscoe’s part, gangsters, kidnapping - and as always, murder most foul. Briscoe meets a high ranking member of the IRA and agrees to bring a letter back to NY. Next thing we know he’s being followed across countries and oceans. There are fist fights, and car chases and explosions; double and triple crosses and some bland sexy scenes.
If the story had stayed in Europe and focused on Ireland and the IRA it would most likely have been the five star story it started out as. Instead were brought back to New York, Irish Americans, love of the old country, and the weight of it all fades even as the sex and the violence kick up a notch.
It’s fine. But that’s it. Fine. I wanted to read the plight of the oppressed Irish throughout. I wanted this to be about a reporter who got sucked back into old family grudges and debts, but instead it became another detective noir. Which is fine. I just wanted more Ireland and proper IRA, none of this watered down American idealist IRA.
March 5, 2022
“We were in the outskirts of the city now, and the weather-stained brick walls were covered with the foot-high graffiti of civil war. REBELS BEWARE and NO IRA HERE and FUCK THE POPE.”
I figured there was no way to go wrong with an Irish, pulp fiction, hardboiled detective novel… and I figured right.
I’ve always been a sucker for Hard Case Crime novels… the stories always pack a punch and the covers are always incredible. This book was no exception. It was exactly what I expected and exactly what I hoped it would be: a gritty, violent, shoot ‘em up, mystery… but it actually dove a little deeper into the IRA, Irish history, and the war in Ireland than I was anticipating (which was an added bonus). Either way, I loved every single sentence in this book and it was a great way to start Irish Heritage Month off with a bang.
I figured there was no way to go wrong with an Irish, pulp fiction, hardboiled detective novel… and I figured right.
I’ve always been a sucker for Hard Case Crime novels… the stories always pack a punch and the covers are always incredible. This book was no exception. It was exactly what I expected and exactly what I hoped it would be: a gritty, violent, shoot ‘em up, mystery… but it actually dove a little deeper into the IRA, Irish history, and the war in Ireland than I was anticipating (which was an added bonus). Either way, I loved every single sentence in this book and it was a great way to start Irish Heritage Month off with a bang.
February 17, 2024
Sam Briscoe is a reporter from the United States come to Belfast to write about the war there. The bloody war that has split Ireland in two. The IRA, the UVF, the SAS. Protestants versus Catholics. The whole bloody mess.
His uncle is murdered, he’s being followed, and his daughter is caught up in the middle of it. That part of the book is pretty good! But I was really bored with all the detail given to the conflict in Ireland. 800 years of Irish history, and a lot of it seemed to be on these pages! I was very much into the crime, the chase, and the action! I just wasn't reading this for a history lesson.
“She’s safe. Other people are dead, but my daughter is safe. That’s it. The game’s over.”
His uncle is murdered, he’s being followed, and his daughter is caught up in the middle of it. That part of the book is pretty good! But I was really bored with all the detail given to the conflict in Ireland. 800 years of Irish history, and a lot of it seemed to be on these pages! I was very much into the crime, the chase, and the action! I just wasn't reading this for a history lesson.
“She’s safe. Other people are dead, but my daughter is safe. That’s it. The game’s over.”
January 23, 2021
AUTHOR Hamill, Pete
TITLE The Guns of Heaven
DATE READ 01/19/21
RATING 3.5/C+
FIRST SENTENCE
GENRE/ PUB DATE/FORMAT/LENGTH Fiction/1984/Audio Hoopla/5 hr 57 min
SERIES/STAND-ALONE SA
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 10/120
GROUP READ
TIME/PLACE Ireland & NY / 1980's
CHARACTERS Sam Briscoe/journalist
COMMENTS Sam Briscoe is a newspaper journalist visiting Northern Ireland … when he gets involved w/ more than work story -- it becomes personal. His relationship w/ his political activist uncle has put his 11-yr-old daughter at risk.
TITLE The Guns of Heaven
DATE READ 01/19/21
RATING 3.5/C+
FIRST SENTENCE
GENRE/ PUB DATE/FORMAT/LENGTH Fiction/1984/Audio Hoopla/5 hr 57 min
SERIES/STAND-ALONE SA
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 10/120
GROUP READ
TIME/PLACE Ireland & NY / 1980's
CHARACTERS Sam Briscoe/journalist
COMMENTS Sam Briscoe is a newspaper journalist visiting Northern Ireland … when he gets involved w/ more than work story -- it becomes personal. His relationship w/ his political activist uncle has put his 11-yr-old daughter at risk.
April 9, 2020
Hotshot reporter Pete Ham...er, Sam Briscoe, has gone to Northern Ireland to write one of his award winning thumbsuckers on the state of Ireland. Because the dark mysterious IRA terrorist gives him a good soul-revealing interview, Sammy decides to agree to haul a mysterious letter back to some guy in New York. The result? Murder, mayhem and some sex for our hero with a distraught colleen whose boyfriend gets killed. Who is the real villain here? The IRA, the pro-UK terrorists, or just Religion in general?
Yeah, this is 1982, and it is thin, cliched and ultimately annoying and pathetic. Our author has a lot of dislikes and we hear about them all between the murder and mayhem.
Yeah, this is 1982, and it is thin, cliched and ultimately annoying and pathetic. Our author has a lot of dislikes and we hear about them all between the murder and mayhem.
August 4, 2023
Listen this is Pete Hamill we're talking about.
But this book was awful. I couldn't wait to finish it.
The main protagonist, newspaper reporter Sam Briscoe, is perhaps the most unlikeable and overtly unbelievable character I've ever read about. Like, I hated him. With this book's Irish overtones, I'd label him an arsehole.
Actually, none of the characters are compelling enough to like.
Ugh. I had higher hopes given the plot, but alas, not to be.
But this book was awful. I couldn't wait to finish it.
The main protagonist, newspaper reporter Sam Briscoe, is perhaps the most unlikeable and overtly unbelievable character I've ever read about. Like, I hated him. With this book's Irish overtones, I'd label him an arsehole.
Actually, none of the characters are compelling enough to like.
Ugh. I had higher hopes given the plot, but alas, not to be.
October 6, 2019
This book does not attempt to break new ground in the crime genre. I've seen some reviewers claim that it's pretty boilerplate, but well written. And? You buy a little paperback, you're done reading it in 2 hours, and it's supposed to be Proust? Nah. This is an exciting story, well told, and satisfying like a good hamburger.
December 25, 2023
Loved Pete Hamill. So much so that I could stomach this tale of a reporter turning into Rambo to avenge his uncle and rescue his daughter, things that don’t often happen to reporters. But his hard-boiled style and his understanding of The Troubles in Northern Ireland were compelling enough for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2025
An enjoyable read. I can see why some people don't vibe with the longer dive into Irish politics and the IRA and things like that, but I didn't know much about it, so it was appreciated. Another solid HCC.
August 23, 2017
Very enjoyable and very hard boiled. Too busy reading to remember to update my progress.
July 5, 2018
Sure, I like my detectives to be smart-asses .... but after the repeatedly world-weary explanations of Irish history, my appetite for a crime novel disappeared. DNF.
May 28, 2022
Solid noir thriller. Competently done, not really breaking any new ground. Still, a good, quick read.
May 3, 2024
The last chapter was better than the other chapters.
January 14, 2025
A good noir tale wrapped up in ideas that are as relevant today as they were in the early 80s.
February 11, 2025
A terrific story, well told and well written. Nicely paced with a little of everything and a good ending.
June 3, 2025
3.5 stars.
August 28, 2025
Almost read this entire book on a short flight. Written in the gumshoe detective style but deals with the connection between organized crime and the IRA. Docked some points for the suspension of disbelief I had to pull of multiple times when the main character knows and can get meetings with all of the most powerful criminals in NYC because he wrote a popular editorial column.
January 8, 2017
Good story if a fairly straightforward a-b-c plot. Hamill was a news man just like his main character so the prose has a nice economy to it.
November 30, 2014
Newspaper reporter Sam Briscoe passes by Ireland en route to Switzerland to see his daughter, interviews an IRA leader for a quick St. Patrick’s Day piece, and agrees to pass a sealed envelope on to a barkeeper back in New York. Only, as the bar erupts minutes after he leaves, Briscoe finds that his life, and the life of his daughter, may indeed be in jeopardy. Following this is a rough-and-tumble chase through New York to uncover the truth, and save Briscoe’s daughter from harm, before these mystery bombers can finish whatever they’re doing.
To be honest, this piece had a fairly slow start, and didn’t really get off the ground until Briscoe returned to New York, despite some creepy stalkers following him and his daughter in the Swiss alps. The setting to this one interested me most: Ireland and New York have such strong texture, and even Switzerland feels has character… albeit not as much as the Big Apple or Belfast. (Little surprise; Hamill is a New Yorker who uses New York as the setting in his novels.) Hamill has a definite gift with his narration, which made up for the slow start, at least making things interesting. After the novel gets going, it gets going; Briscoe is quickly enmeshed in the plots, and there’s quite a bit at stake.
The '80s time-capsule feel was something I ended up liking; it’s a good history lesson thriller, hot-button issues tied to a page-turning crime novel. Hamill’s gifted with strong prose, making up a nice hardboiled thriller; his dialogue is sharp, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s snappy exchanges and witty retorts. I felt the connections between the IRA camp and their allies in America was muddled and needed clarity, and it took a long time—almost forever—to get moving. Hamill’s a great writer, at least, and his prose kept drawing me on; eventually I found an exciting page-turner in the second act, and dove into that in a few nights. Despite its small flaws, the book was enjoyable and a good, quick read.
(Full review found here.)
To be honest, this piece had a fairly slow start, and didn’t really get off the ground until Briscoe returned to New York, despite some creepy stalkers following him and his daughter in the Swiss alps. The setting to this one interested me most: Ireland and New York have such strong texture, and even Switzerland feels has character… albeit not as much as the Big Apple or Belfast. (Little surprise; Hamill is a New Yorker who uses New York as the setting in his novels.) Hamill has a definite gift with his narration, which made up for the slow start, at least making things interesting. After the novel gets going, it gets going; Briscoe is quickly enmeshed in the plots, and there’s quite a bit at stake.
The '80s time-capsule feel was something I ended up liking; it’s a good history lesson thriller, hot-button issues tied to a page-turning crime novel. Hamill’s gifted with strong prose, making up a nice hardboiled thriller; his dialogue is sharp, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s snappy exchanges and witty retorts. I felt the connections between the IRA camp and their allies in America was muddled and needed clarity, and it took a long time—almost forever—to get moving. Hamill’s a great writer, at least, and his prose kept drawing me on; eventually I found an exciting page-turner in the second act, and dove into that in a few nights. Despite its small flaws, the book was enjoyable and a good, quick read.
(Full review found here.)
December 5, 2007
Knowing a bit about Pete Hamill will explain this book. Son of Irish Catholic Immigrants from NY, he was a reporter for the NY Post, and covered the conflicts in Norther Ireland. What would you imagine he would write a story about if he were to write a crime-fiction novel? If you guessed something about a newspaper reporter jazz afficianado from NY involved in the Irish conflict but also with a dislike for televangelism (and perhaps religion and the inherent conflicts within), you'd be dead on. And really bored. Like I was. This marks the first misstep by Hard Case Crime. I hope it's the only one, as I have 3 more books sitting on my desk. It had some okay action sequences with a backdrop of the most boring main plot ever. Many of the paperback books I own from the 70s and 80s have cigarette ads smack dab in the middle of them. Ol' Pete here must've been gunning for that endorsement from RJ Reynolds because for some reason he mentions every cigarette brand by name-- repeatedly. If there were a literary equivalent to holding up a product and winking into the camera, he would've discovered it. "He took out a Vantage Menthol, now with improved fresh taste but still lower tar than the leading brand, lit it with his Bic brand lighter, and was whisked away to flavor country..."
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