Buried

Katie Maguire #6

by Graham Masterton

Beside the old woollen mill in Blarney, Cork, a worker's cottage guards its secrets. In 1921, a mother, father and their two young children disappeared from this house. And now, ninety-five years later, their mummified bodies have been discovered under the floorboards.

The gunshot wounds in each skull look like the mark of the IRA. But as DS Katie Maguire investigates, the flames of old rivalries flare up once more. Because in this part of Ireland, where people neither forget nor forgive, the past can never stay buried...

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

441 pages, ebook

First published February 1, 2015

About the author

Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh in 1946. His grandfather was Thomas Thorne Baker, the eminent scientist who invented DayGlo and was the first man to transmit news photographs by wireless. After training as a newspaper reporter, Graham went on to edit the new British men's magazine Mayfair, where he encouraged William Burroughs to develop a series of scientific and philosophical articles which eventually became Burroughs' novel The Wild Boys.

At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.

Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.

Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.

He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.

Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.

He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this without knowing it was a series. In fact I just assumed it was a horror novel. And while horrific at times it was a really good police procedural set in Ireland. I am now on the hunt for the earlier ones. PS: there was numerous mentions of what I think were past events in previous books so if you are non-spoiler types don't read out of order. PPS: you will be tempted to start talking like an Irish policeman (or criminal) while reading... just don't.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The DS Katie Macguire series has been my summer binge-worthy read of late. Graham Masterton dazzles with this collection of novels that take place in Ireland, with crimes that could only be pulled from the police blotter. Great narrative flow and a strong collection of core characters provide significant entertainment for the reader, as long as they come with an open mind. As I keep pushing through the books, I am constantly amazed at the quality of the writing and the new ideas Masterton provides to keep things fresh and enticing. Masterton has done it again with another thriller that pulls on two time periods.

Detective Sergeant Katie Macguire has been through a great deal in her personal life of late, all of which is simmering on the back burner as she tries to continue working. Crime in Cork does not take a break, with her current case surrounding illegal cigarette sales. The kingpin has quite the layer of protection around him, but DS Macguire hopes to penetrate it and stop the sales quickly.

After a botched arrest leaves one Garda dead and others injured, DS Macguire receives a stern warning to stand down or something drastic might take place, citing her ex-lover, John, as a potential target. While DS Macguire is smart, she also does not take orders from a crime boss and begins plotting her next step.

When John is kidnapped and taken in return for DS Macguire’s sgreement to stop the investigation, the pressure is amped up. A former Garda agrees to go undercover, partially due to a romantic connection to DS Macguire, but also because this may be the only way to bring down a significant criminal in Cork. It will take a task force and all the support of the Garda to make calculating moves and end a brutal hostage taking.

All the while, the bodies of an entire family are unearthed under an old home. The local lore was that the family moved to America over nine decades ago, but their support during the Irish uprising might also have led to their deaths. While there is no way the murderer is still alive, DS Macguire wants the crime solved and a name brought forth to put all to rest. When an ancestor learns of the crimes, he takes matters into his own hands and pulls the past through to the present, with new criminal acts that cannot go unnoticed. Some grudges are simply not buried and left to linger in the mist. Masterton does a wonderful job pulling things together and leaving some new cliffhangers for series fans to enjoy in this piece. I am ready to devour the next novel in short order.

While I have a large ‘To Be Read’ pile, I have been known to take a risk and pull a collection off the middle and hope that the hype that came when it was mentioned to me is still high. Graham Masterton’s DS Katie Macguire series is one of those for me, mixing a strong Irish police procedural with complex characters and crimes that jump off the page. Masterton has proven himself time and again, doing so once more with this novel. His balancing of many plot lines is seamless and leaves the reader hungering for more information about both storylines as the novel progresses.

Masterton has mastered the art of storytelling and puts on a show for his readers herein. The narrative works well and eases between the many crimes taking place, as well as the subplots that work to tell the larger story. Strong character development is at the heart of the novel, building from chunks in past novels, particularly the drama DS Katie Macguire has found herself handling. Masterton layers plot twists throughout and offers climactic revelations just before closing the story. This forces the reader to come back, which is also done easily by the quality of the published tome. His time living in Ireland is apparent, as the story is full of Irish idioms that add depth to an already stellar piece of work. This series is a must read, particularly those who were patient enough to begin with the opening novel. I cannot wait to see where things are headed and how DS Macguire with handle some of the new hurdles put before her.

Kudos, Mr. Masterton, as you make my summer reading experience all throw more enjoyable.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[John Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An all embracing thriller!

This story had everything, IRA and Loyalist killers, psychopathic gangsters, corrupt police officers and vigilante justice. All mixed together in a thrilling, edge of seat type of story, that even had a satisfactory ending. Death comes to all who wait!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buried – Another Katie McGuire Masterclass

The Katie McGuire series is rapidly becoming one of the best police procedural thriller series around today. Graham Masterton has a real ear for the genuine Irish burr which he has always used to full effect throughout the previous outing of Katie McGuire and continues with this one.

Detective Superintendent Katie McGuire is feisty principle character, a red headed dynamo who is not afraid to take on corruption, bullying and downright lies – and that is just in the Cork Garda station. Once again Masterton gives us a masterclass in thriller writing, with plenty of twists and turns and plenty of guts. It is little wonder that he is one of the most exciting thriller writers of the moment, who writes with style, who is always original and simply a brilliant story teller.

In Blarney, outside of Cork, a couple of workers on renovating an old millworkers cottage, when they discover a secret that it has been hiding for over 90 years. A family are found under the floorboards and looking by the bullet holes they have been executed, but by whom and when are the questions Katie McGuire has to ask. At the same time, she needs to tread very carefully she does not want to stir up a hornet’s nest of historic hatreds.

At the same time, she is forced to confront a bully criminal who is involved with Irish terrorism, and who is suspected of murdering or knowing who did, of one of her detectives. At the same time, she is also investigating his cigarette smuggling and Bobby Quilty is not a very happy criminal. Even though everyone in Cork knows Quilty is a criminal he is able to walk out of court every time for a variety of reasons, most of them crooked.

Throughout the investigation she is aware that Quilty is always one step ahead of the Guards and she knows she will have to find the mole who is helping him. It is when Quilty takes her ex-boyfriend, John, hostage does she understand the depths he will go to protect himself and his enterprises and helps to drive her on even more.

As her investigations continue she knows that whatever she does she needs to find the mole at the station, take out Bobby Quilty and rescue her John. All this throws up some of the motives and actions that she takes and would probably be illegal if uncovered, but that is artistic licence for you.

With unpredictable twists and turns, Buried is a great crime thriller that is a pacey read that will take us on a course of memory and the ability to forgive and forget. Another great crime thriller from a brilliant storyteller, who always delivers on every level of excitement and intrigue.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first reading of a novel by Graham Masterton, and therefore my first in the Katie Maguire series which is now 6 volumes old. Well, it gave me much to chew on. There are two parallel story lines, one the discovery of a family buried beneath the floorboards of their home in the distant past with all the marks of a "political" murder. The other concerns a present day Cork hoodlum who appears to be beyond the law, involved with smuggling cigarettes from international sources, a hidden organization named the Authentic IRA, and many unproven crimes, including murder. Katie, a Deputy Superintendent in the Garda, is one of many who woud like to bring him down. But she is also tasked with solving the old murder without stepping on political toes.

Hmmm.....many thoughts about this novel, pro and con. A main character that I would definitely be interested in reading more of but a high level of graphic violence that is beyond what I want in a crime novel. I have actually stopped reading some other authors for that reason. An interesting plot that does go beyond the realm of reality before it finishes. I can accept some stretching in a mystery/crime novel, but this seemed to go way beyond the point of credulity. And then there was the gratuitous sex scene. Now I have nothing against a well done relationship between consenting adults, but this one gave the appearance of having been placed there to meet a perceived need and was also coldly clinical. The author also has written horror novels and some sex manuals in the past and these may have seeped into his writing here.

I do believe there is a very good novel here trying to get out but there is too much dependence on the extreme violence and graphic description of same and too little reliance on building the characters into truly believable characters.

Rating 2.5 to 3*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to take a point off for the main character doing something not normal for her, but I really liked it overall. 4.5 out of 5 for me.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sixth entry in the Katie Maguire series is another excellent crime novel. The discovery of murder victims who have been hidden under the floorboards for a century and Maguire's pursuit of a slippery and very nasty gangster provide two fascinating plots. When Masterton wrote horror books, he never held back, and he has carried on that fine tradition following his switch to the crime genre.

I love Masterton's style, whatever the genre. He write easy to read, fast flowing prose and doesn't worry about what his mother might have thought. Some may not like his graphic details and although he makes me wince sometimes (and always has), I like it that he recognises he is writing about nasty stuff and lets it out.

I enjoyed Buried so much that I nearly gave it a rare (for me) 5 star rating. However, there were a couple of plot points that didn't quite sit right with me. One was that Maguire completely trusted someone she barely knew with checking the person out, which is unlikely for a high ranking police officer. I'd just about got over that and was thinking about 5 stars again after the thrilling final chapters, when a letter surfaced that was a bit too pat for me.

Despite these two (in my opinion) flaws, Buried is still a great story with a well rounded cast of characters. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a gritty crime thriller that doesn't pull any punches. I'll leave the cosy mysteries for someone else's bookshelf.

[Kasia (Kącik z książką) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coraz bardziej lubię i cenię sobie twórczość Grahama Mastertona. Nie horrory, z których jest najbardziej znany, lecz cykl thrillerów o irlandzkiej detektyw nadkomisarz Katie Maguire. Mimo że Pogrzebani to już szósty tom, można od niego rozpocząć przygodę z serią, ponieważ każda książka stanowi zamkniętą całość, przynajmniej w kontekście prowadzonych przez główną bohaterkę śledztw. Jednak ze względu na dosyć skomplikowane prywatne życie Katie, warto poznawać jej perypetie od początku, więc lepszym rozwiązaniem jest jednak lektura poszczególnych książek w porządku chronologicznym, zwłaszcza że – jak wspomniałam na początku – cykl nie tylko nie rozmienia się na drobne, a wręcz zyskuje. Miłośnicy mocnych thrillerów z pewnością nie będą nim rozczarowani!

Cała recenzja:
http://www.kacikzksiazka.pl/2017/05/p...

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Maguire is a police officer in Ireland, dealing with what seems to be the worst of the worst. A murdered family is found under the floorboards of their home, ninety years after they were killed. At the same time Maguire and the Garda are trying to bring down local kingpin Bobby Quilty, more so after a young detective is killed during the investigation. You can tell that Masterton made his name as a horror writer from the occasional stomach churning descriptions of people's deaths. This was the sixth outing for Maguire but I didn't feel like I'd lost out by not having read the first five. I'll be going back now to catch up with what's happened previously.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my! Buried presents a hit-and-run, shootings, bombings, sexual and physical abuse of women, and torture---all in grand, graphic, and gory detail. The violence is over the top, even for the genre and has an intimacy about it that is upsetting to me. While I found many things to like about this book, I will have to think long and hard before reading another Masterton novel. Further, I'm not sure who I know that I could recommend this one to.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this quickly. It's definitely my least favourite in the Katy Maguire series so far. I have book seven on a bookcase but I'm not sure I'm going to read it. I think the series has run its course now. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love Graham Masterton's books he's one of my favourite authors.. Two stars from me. Sorry Graham.

[Gav Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more it went on the more I just wanted to finish it. Started off great but by the end I felt it just waffled from one scene to the next with a very flimsy plot line. By the end I was bored unfortunately.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story but graphic violence was overdone. Skipped those descriptions.

[Joe Geesin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Largely a well written and good read, let down by a couple of points. These include something mid-book going predictably wrong, something happening to a 'new face' that happened in a previous book, and the case being cleared up by Kate going solo / rogue. In the main I loved it but it lacked the structure and final twist of the earlier books.

[Alicja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mocne 4,5 ⭐️ Trochę inna historia niż te, które już przeczytałam z tej serii. Kocham Katie

[Tyrah Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boringgggg

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and 1 / 2 stars

**For the faint of heart—There is graphic violence and torture in this novel.

Detective Superintendent and her team start this novel with two cases. Little do they know that it is going to turn into a matter of three cases.

Four people and their two dogs are found under the floorboards of an old building that is being renovated. The people are almost mummified and Katie suspects that the bodies are very old. The forensic anthropologist confirms this and that the bodies are ninety-five years old. The neighbor tells them a story about her neighbors, the Langtry’s. Her mother and grandmother knew them well. They disappeared one day never to be seen again. The bodies due turn out to be theirs.

At the same time, Katie and her team are desperately trying to catch Bobby Quilty. He is a very bad man who specializes in violence, torture, smuggling and all sorts of other nefarious deeds. The police know it is him, but the accusations slide of Quilty like he is made of Teflon. When a police officer gets killed and another gets injured while trying to arrest one of Quilty’s cigarette sellers, Katie becomes more determined than ever to catch the man.

When a raid goes very badly, and two of Katie’s good friends are captured by Quilty, Katie suspects that he must have been tipped off. She doesn’t know who the person is, but they have to work at the police station. Now she has three cases to work.

Purely by accident Katie witnesses a scene that gives a clue to the identity of the rat in her station. Meanwhile Quilty’s followers are dropping like flies – all shot to death.

Katie joins up with Alan, a former police officer from Belfast who has a major bone to pick with Quilty. Together they track Quilty’s movements. Katie sets up the person suspected of passing information to Quilty. The person falls for the bait. They follow Quilty to Belfast and in an exciting and action-packed “raid” Katie and Alan move in on Quilty.

Mostly things turn out well for Katie and her team.

This book is very well written and plotted. It is written in a linear fashion. That is to say one event closely follows another in a straight line. It is very action-packed and violent. I like Katie for the most part, but it irritates me just a little that she goes off on her own sometimes without too much thinking or backup. She’s kind of a rogue cop in some ways. But she gets the job done, that’s for sure. I also like the members of her team; they get along well with Katie and each other. They respect Katie for her original thinking and take-no-holds attitude.

Graham Masterton is an exceptional writer. I truly enjoy his books and will continue to read them for as long as he writes. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Katie Maguire series.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish you could give half stars in this rating system. I have given 3 stars but this was really a 2.5 star novel.

I left writing a review for this novel as I wanted to think about it.

I found this novel below par for one of Graham Masterton's novels, and as such it took me a long time to read. Masterton's novels, while entertaining, I feel are hard to read due to the visceral violence & cloying sense of corruption.
Now I like a bit of gore as much as the next person, but the in depth description of violence perpetrated against children was more than a step too far. He could quite as easily have described what had happened to the children in a less repugnant way, and he lost me completely at that point for quite some time.
I understand these books are fiction but the plotline on this went so far out of the bounds of reality that I was saying to myself "Seriously? That's just ridiculous!"
An altogether disappointing read.

[Menion · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's still a good read, like all the ones in the series. But, for the first time, Katie comes off as incompetent as a police officer, not to mention a little shallow. Maybe it is just a difference in how US and Irish cops operate. Not to give too much away, but I imagine that if a US cop was kidnapped and the other cops knew the location, the lack of guards, and that one of their own was being brutalized, I seriously doubt they would wait days to do something. However, that's exactly what Katie does, and it seems pathetic. Could you really leave another human to get abused, just to build a case? Just go in shooting, save them and damn the consequences.
Also worth noting: the cops take a beating in this one. It's a wonder Irish cops can function, and not be allowed to carry guns. If they tried that here most city cops would not last long, and all hell would break loose.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's happened. Katie Maguire has started to get under my skin. An interesting story that delves more into Ireland's troubled past (and present) more than the the novels. However Katie ruined this for me. She has become highly selfish, rash and at times downright idiotic. I really feel that her portrayal in this book really let the plot down. Protagonists are not meant to be perfect, their flaws are what entices us as readers. However; when those flaws begin to mar a whole plot you have a problem. The next instalment arrives later this year, maybe Katie will have done some soul searching by then and come back at the character I enjoyed reading in the earlier novels.

[Books 'n' All Promotions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately this series is getting very unrealistic this one would have made a decent short story but as a full length book I don't think it worked. The characters that were developing nicely in previous books are now decidedly 'iffy' Katie started out as a very well put together guard but is now a very flaky vigilante and Johns poor mother who died in book 1 but came back to life around book 3 now has Alzheimer's!!! Add to that an ending that wasn't actually an ending I doubt I will read any more which is a shame because it was getting very good at one point.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book by Graham Masterton, his books never lose your interest from start to finish, and one thing I love about them, is that although the Katie Magure books are a series, each book is finished off properly, and do not just come to a sudden halt, leaving you disappointed, I spent a good part of the book with my hand clamped over my mouth and my heart racing, a truly brilliant author who I can't recommend enough, if you like Crime Fiction books, then these are the ones to read.,

[Slávek Rydval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klasická kriminálka ze skotského pera z oblasti Corku a okolí. Na to, že jsem tam strávil nějaký čas, tak mi to nic neříkalo (ano, i Blarney jsem několikrát byl). Ostatně proč na přebalu je nějaká hora? Proč tam třeba není právě hrad z Blarney? Ale nevadí. Hlavní hrdinka je pěkná zrzavá Irka, to by mohlo stačit. Na druhou stranu popis těch drsnějších scén se blíží více realitě svou drsností a hlavně neukecaností. To se mi zamlouvalo. Stejně tak to odsejpalo, takže na odpočinkové čtení nadprůměrné dílo. Jediné, co mě fakt vytáčelo, bylo časté „jsi si“ namísto „seš“.

[ronald hogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointed

I have read a lot of Graham Masterton and mostly found them gripping and interesting .
However this one dragged for me , and I was puzzled as to why .
Without giving the plot away I couldn't understand why McGuire dragged her feet when two people she "loved" we're being tortured and in fear of their lives.
The plot is unbelievable and I am not keen to read another Katie McGuire book. She gets on my nerves.

[Paul Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced beginning, with assault and murder of cops, discovery of the buried remains of a family executed in the 1920s, nasty gangsters. At first I was getting into this. And then, somewhere along the way, my interest waned. The plot started to get a bit too ridiculous, the bodies were piling up too fast; and a dreadfully written sex scene, that made me cringe. By the end I was fed up with it, and could hardly wait to get to the end.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a pretty convoluted plot with holes in it the size of Alaska...

Katie continues to make poor choices in her personal life and Cork’s criminals are now resembling something out of Superman.

That said, I enjoyed it enough to finish it.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this. Too gory and graphic for my taste.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series....

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful police procedural in the Maguire series, set in Cork, with Katie having to match the violent terror of her main criminal adversary

[Anne Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katie Maguire is dangerous. Various individual subordinates have been lost to the bad guys along the way in the previous five books in the series. In number six local supervillain, Bobby Quilty, abducts someone Katie cares about very much, someone who’d disappeared from her life abruptly a few months before but who seems ready now to talk. Before this person has the chance, they are gone and Bobby Quilty’s men are not trustworthy babysitters. Bobby contacts Katie and leaver her in no doubt that unless she stops interfering with his businesses, selling black market cigarettes and the recent murder of another of Katie’s men, then she won’t be seeing her old friend ever again. For once, Katie’s hated superior officer, Jimmy O’Reilly, does Katie a favour by insisting that the Customs officers should go after Quilty not the Guards. That saves Katie a lot of explaining to do about her apparent about face regarding pursuing Quilty. Of course, that doesn’t really mean Katie is going to knuckle under. Instead she asks someone else she cares about and who cares deeply about her to go under cover to try to discover the missing person’s whereabouts. Will Katie save everyone or will she lose even more people she loves?

Meanwhile, the other main strand to the plot starts when workmen doing up an old property take up the living room floorboards and make a horrifying discovery. The bodies of two adults and two children are lying there. They have all been shot in the head. The bodies have been there since the 1920’s judging by the clothes so just finding out who they are, never mind who killed them or why, proves to be quite a puzzle. With the sectarian violence that still exists in Ireland, it’s not long before a group decide that an eye must be taken for an eye and a present day family sons finds themselves in mortal danger. There’s an old proverb along the lines of in a kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king. When it comes to sectarian violence, everyone is blind.

Katie feels the pressure on all fronts. With the help of a detective from Northern Ireland who’s life was ruined by Bobby Quilty, Katie puts together a plan to kill several birds with one stone. As the plan involves a litany of illegal acts, Katie and Alan Harte go rogue. Several birds do die in the plan’s execution. I warned you Katie Maguire is dangerous.