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Stefan Gillespie #3
The City in Darkness
Christmas 1939. In Europe the Phoney War hides carnage to come. In Ireland Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie keeps tabs on Irishmen joining the British Forces. It's unpleasant work, but when an IRA raid on a military arsenal sends Garda Special Branch in search of guns and explosives, Stefan is soon convinced his boss, Superintendent Terry Gregory, is working for the IRA.
At home for Christmas, Stefan is abruptly called to Laragh, an isolated mountain town. A postman has disappeared, believed killed, and Laragh's Guards are hiding something. Stefan is the nearest Special Branch detective, yet is he only there because Gregory wants him out of the way?
Laragh is close to the lake where Stefan's wife Maeve drowned years earlier, and when events expose a connection between the missing postman and her death, Stefan realises it wasn't an accident, but murder. And it will be a difficult, dangerous journey where Stefan has to finally confront the ghosts of the past not only in the mountains of Wicklow, but in Spain in the aftermath of its bloody Civil War, before he can return to Dublin to find the truth.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2016
About the author
Michael Russell
10 books49 followersMichael Russell was born in England. He grew up in one of those English-Irish families where the first stories he heard at his grandmother's knee were about murder, mayhem, Thompson Machine Guns and civil war in Ireland in the 1920s.
Determined to make himself unemployable, so that he could at least attempt to earn a living as writer, he studied Old English, Old Irish and Middle Welsh at Oxford before working for three years as a farm labourer in North Devon. His knowledge of farming (rather than writing) eventually got him a job as script editor on the English soap opera 'Emmerdale', in the days when it was still called 'Emmerdale Farm'. He went on to become a television writer and producer, writing for such programmes as 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'Eastenders', 'Between the Lines', 'The Bill', 'Midsomer Murders', 'A Touch of Frost'.
By the time he decided to write his first novel he was living in Ireland and it seemed inevitable that he would combine a passion for crime fiction with the stories about Ireland between the First and Second World Wars that he had once heard from his grandmother. The result was 'The City of Shadows'.
Source: Excerpt from Amazon author profile
Determined to make himself unemployable, so that he could at least attempt to earn a living as writer, he studied Old English, Old Irish and Middle Welsh at Oxford before working for three years as a farm labourer in North Devon. His knowledge of farming (rather than writing) eventually got him a job as script editor on the English soap opera 'Emmerdale', in the days when it was still called 'Emmerdale Farm'. He went on to become a television writer and producer, writing for such programmes as 'All Creatures Great and Small', 'Eastenders', 'Between the Lines', 'The Bill', 'Midsomer Murders', 'A Touch of Frost'.
By the time he decided to write his first novel he was living in Ireland and it seemed inevitable that he would combine a passion for crime fiction with the stories about Ireland between the First and Second World Wars that he had once heard from his grandmother. The result was 'The City of Shadows'.
Source: Excerpt from Amazon author profile
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 17, 2021
4.5 stars
Stefan Gillespie accidentally finds out more about his wife's death and needs to go to Spain to follow it up. It's 1939 and Spain has just come out of a civil war. Real historical events are woven into the story, which makes it a great read.
Stefan Gillespie accidentally finds out more about his wife's death and needs to go to Spain to follow it up. It's 1939 and Spain has just come out of a civil war. Real historical events are woven into the story, which makes it a great read.
November 18, 2016
As usual we have our back history at the beginning & opening gambits take us to County Wicklow in 1932 & then to the battle of Jarama in Feb 1937 during the Spanish Civil War before we’re brought into the present day – Dublin December 1939, during the phoney war period.
Interwar & i’ll include this book as it’s set in neutral countries is a favourite period of mine as a period of political intrigue & great upheaval. This novel covers (in no particular order) the IRA, G2, Special branch, German Abwehr, British intelligence, Ireland’s neutrality, Spanish Civil War..... The landscape of Dublin, County Wexford & Franco’s Spain feature along with smatterings of Gaelic which i’ve heard in my youth!
A little less politics of the time in this one which i did miss, with it ending up being more of a mystery/murder type of story set across the time period(s), enjoyable enough but maybe not as strong as the opening two in the series for me for that reason. A small niggle/gripe........ A bit of time was spent treading water in Ireland as the various agencies sneaked around each other & it got bogged down in internal politics but perhaps it was merely background for future conflicts or perhaps (more like!) I jus missed a few tricks..... I did find some of the convo’s a bit difficult to follow their reasoning?
The genial Stefan Gillespie makes this series thou’, a really likeable hero to root for! All in all it’s another very good entry to the series with a 4 stars rounded up from the high 3.*’s
Interwar & i’ll include this book as it’s set in neutral countries is a favourite period of mine as a period of political intrigue & great upheaval. This novel covers (in no particular order) the IRA, G2, Special branch, German Abwehr, British intelligence, Ireland’s neutrality, Spanish Civil War..... The landscape of Dublin, County Wexford & Franco’s Spain feature along with smatterings of Gaelic which i’ve heard in my youth!
A little less politics of the time in this one which i did miss, with it ending up being more of a mystery/murder type of story set across the time period(s), enjoyable enough but maybe not as strong as the opening two in the series for me for that reason. A small niggle/gripe........ A bit of time was spent treading water in Ireland as the various agencies sneaked around each other & it got bogged down in internal politics but perhaps it was merely background for future conflicts or perhaps (more like!) I jus missed a few tricks..... I did find some of the convo’s a bit difficult to follow their reasoning?
The genial Stefan Gillespie makes this series thou’, a really likeable hero to root for! All in all it’s another very good entry to the series with a 4 stars rounded up from the high 3.*’s
December 12, 2016
This new novel in the Stefan Gillespie series is well worth reading. Set in 1939 during the so-called 'Emergency', it focuses on events arising from the Spanish Civil War, involving Irish men on either side, on the IRA theft of most of the arsenal of the Irish Army from Phoenix Park in Dublin and subsequent attempts to recover the lost weapons, of the bond between the IRA and the Nazis - and most evocatively Gillespie's own investigation into the death of his wife many years previously, a death which now appears to have been murder. This is good, well-written stuff - the drawing together of the different plot threads is quite remarkably done. I found the cynical and Machiavellian Terry Gregory, Gillespie's boss, perhaps the most fascinating character.
October 14, 2020
After reading Michael Russell’s first two renditions of his Stefan Gillespie series I must say I was hooked. The third installment is entitled THE CITY IN DARKNESS and has reaffirmed my view that Russell has the unique ability to combine components of a thriller and spy novel in the context of historical fiction. Russell easily captures the reader’s attention and thus far all of his books have been extremely satisfying. The novel begins in 1932 as Stefan, his wife Maeve, and their three year old son, Tom are camping. Maeve decides to take a swim and that is the last Stefan will ever see of her. A childhood friend of Maeve sees her swimming in the lake and drowns her. This scene fills in the gap from the first two novels as Stefan thought Maeve’s death was an accident, but Russell develops a plot line where Stefan comes across evidence that his wife’s death may have been murder.
The action immediately shifts to the Spanish Civil War circa 1937 as Francisco Franco and his forces are approaching Madrid in a final effort to destroy the Republican government. Brigadier Frank Ryan, commander of the 15th International Brigade made up of 400 Englishmen and Irishmen are set to blunt Franco’s advance. As his wont, Russell creates a multi-layered disparate set of sub plots that can never seem to have any commonality. An IRA raid on the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park in 1939; the death of Stefan’s wife; events in the Spanish Civil War; the possibility that Stefan’s boss, Detective Superintendent Terry Gregory of the Special Branch might be in bed with the IRA; the actions of German Intelligence in trying to use Ireland against England; and the pending release of Frank Ryan from one of Franco’s prisons all are developed fully, but one wonders how they can all come together. A hint, as usual they all do.
Russell is extremely interested in atmospherics and everywhere that Stefan travels is fully explored. The beauty of the Portuguese and Spanish countryside is on full display as are the streets of Lisbon, Madrid, Burgos, and Salamanca. The comparison of the brightness of Christmas lights in Ireland in 1939 is juxtaposed to the darkness befalling Europe. The damage caused by the civil war is evident when Stefan arrives in Madrid. These and other descriptions provide a unique background for the novel.
THE CITY IN DARKNESS comes across as more of a spy novel than the first two installments in the series. Ireland’s G2, the German Abwehr, and British MI5 all play an important role as Stefan’s assignments keep shifting as at first he was in charge of investigating the number of Irish men who left to fight for England against Germany, but after the murder of a post man he finds himself in a complex investigation which accidentally provides information for what really happened to his wife seven years earlier.
Apart from Frank Ryan who had ties to the IRA and fought against Franco’s army, Russell creates a number of new characters that carry the novel. For example, Marie Duarte, Ryan’s partner. Billy Byrnes, the post man who disappears. Mikey Hagan, at fifteen fought in the Spanish Civil War whose life is saved by Ryan. Jimmy Collins, the man who knows the truth concerning the murder of three women. Simon Chillingham, a British diplomat turned spy. Leo Kerney the Irish ambassador to Spain. Florence Surtees, an artist who turns out to be someone completely different. A number of German intelligence agents and a host of others. Characters from the previous novels who reappear include Stefan’s parents and son, Katie O’Donnell, Stefan possible partner, Colonel Archer de Paor, head of Irish G2, Terry Gregory of Special Branch, and Stefan’s Garda partner, Dessie MacMahon.
At times Stefan feels like a pawn in a game of chess between de Paor and Gregory. As the novel evolves Stefan breaks away from his assigned tasks and strikes out on his own to accompany Ryan out of Spain once he is released, but more importantly to learn who was responsible for killing three women that include his wife Maeve. The cruelty and death fostered by the Spanish Civil War is an important background to events as is the possible role of Ireland as a German ally against England as World War II has just begun. Russell’s grasp of history is clear as he discusses the civil war and the role of Franco, as is his knowledge of the IRA and the politics that surround it.
Stefan is at a crossroads in his life as until he knew what happened to Maeve he could not move on. He blames himself for accepting her death as an accident and he realized if he were to achieve closure, he would have to do it himself before he could develop a meaningful relationship with Kate. The number of characters and the complexity of the story at times is hard to follow, but once you figure out where Russell is going with the plot it is engrossing and you wonder how it concludes. Interestingly, the missing post man aspect of the story is drawn from the still unsolved true-life disappearance of postman Larry Griffin in the village of Stradbally on Christmas Day, 1929.
This is an ambitious novel that blends police procedures, a spy novel, and a historical mystery that is comparable to the writing of Alan Furst and John Lawton. Obviously, I think a great deal of Russell’s approach to historical fiction as a thriller and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, A CITY OF LIES where Stefan finds himself on a dangerous mission in Berlin.
The action immediately shifts to the Spanish Civil War circa 1937 as Francisco Franco and his forces are approaching Madrid in a final effort to destroy the Republican government. Brigadier Frank Ryan, commander of the 15th International Brigade made up of 400 Englishmen and Irishmen are set to blunt Franco’s advance. As his wont, Russell creates a multi-layered disparate set of sub plots that can never seem to have any commonality. An IRA raid on the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park in 1939; the death of Stefan’s wife; events in the Spanish Civil War; the possibility that Stefan’s boss, Detective Superintendent Terry Gregory of the Special Branch might be in bed with the IRA; the actions of German Intelligence in trying to use Ireland against England; and the pending release of Frank Ryan from one of Franco’s prisons all are developed fully, but one wonders how they can all come together. A hint, as usual they all do.
Russell is extremely interested in atmospherics and everywhere that Stefan travels is fully explored. The beauty of the Portuguese and Spanish countryside is on full display as are the streets of Lisbon, Madrid, Burgos, and Salamanca. The comparison of the brightness of Christmas lights in Ireland in 1939 is juxtaposed to the darkness befalling Europe. The damage caused by the civil war is evident when Stefan arrives in Madrid. These and other descriptions provide a unique background for the novel.
THE CITY IN DARKNESS comes across as more of a spy novel than the first two installments in the series. Ireland’s G2, the German Abwehr, and British MI5 all play an important role as Stefan’s assignments keep shifting as at first he was in charge of investigating the number of Irish men who left to fight for England against Germany, but after the murder of a post man he finds himself in a complex investigation which accidentally provides information for what really happened to his wife seven years earlier.
Apart from Frank Ryan who had ties to the IRA and fought against Franco’s army, Russell creates a number of new characters that carry the novel. For example, Marie Duarte, Ryan’s partner. Billy Byrnes, the post man who disappears. Mikey Hagan, at fifteen fought in the Spanish Civil War whose life is saved by Ryan. Jimmy Collins, the man who knows the truth concerning the murder of three women. Simon Chillingham, a British diplomat turned spy. Leo Kerney the Irish ambassador to Spain. Florence Surtees, an artist who turns out to be someone completely different. A number of German intelligence agents and a host of others. Characters from the previous novels who reappear include Stefan’s parents and son, Katie O’Donnell, Stefan possible partner, Colonel Archer de Paor, head of Irish G2, Terry Gregory of Special Branch, and Stefan’s Garda partner, Dessie MacMahon.
At times Stefan feels like a pawn in a game of chess between de Paor and Gregory. As the novel evolves Stefan breaks away from his assigned tasks and strikes out on his own to accompany Ryan out of Spain once he is released, but more importantly to learn who was responsible for killing three women that include his wife Maeve. The cruelty and death fostered by the Spanish Civil War is an important background to events as is the possible role of Ireland as a German ally against England as World War II has just begun. Russell’s grasp of history is clear as he discusses the civil war and the role of Franco, as is his knowledge of the IRA and the politics that surround it.
Stefan is at a crossroads in his life as until he knew what happened to Maeve he could not move on. He blames himself for accepting her death as an accident and he realized if he were to achieve closure, he would have to do it himself before he could develop a meaningful relationship with Kate. The number of characters and the complexity of the story at times is hard to follow, but once you figure out where Russell is going with the plot it is engrossing and you wonder how it concludes. Interestingly, the missing post man aspect of the story is drawn from the still unsolved true-life disappearance of postman Larry Griffin in the village of Stradbally on Christmas Day, 1929.
This is an ambitious novel that blends police procedures, a spy novel, and a historical mystery that is comparable to the writing of Alan Furst and John Lawton. Obviously, I think a great deal of Russell’s approach to historical fiction as a thriller and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, A CITY OF LIES where Stefan finds himself on a dangerous mission in Berlin.
June 8, 2022
this so far is the best in the series as add the spying and the spanish civil war all connect to a killing in 1919
May 6, 2023
It's impossible to do justice to this extraordinary series. Great characters, great settings,insightful writing. I wish it was more widely read.
September 16, 2018
The City in Darkness is the third book in the Stefan Gillespie series set in 1930s/40s Ireland, with jaunts to other locations. In this book, Gillespie suspects his boss of involvement in an IRA raid on a military arsenal and investigates the disappearance of a postman, which segues into an investigation into the death of his wife. The trail leads him to Spain and the old Irish college at Salamanca and to efforts by the Irish ambassador to free Frank Ryan from one of Franco’s prisons. As usual, Russell uses Gillespie’s cases as a way to explore the wider politics and international incidents at the time. In this case, the involvement of Irish forces on both sides in the Spanish civil war, the role of German military intelligence in freeing IRA leader, internal politics between agencies in Ireland, the actions of the IRA during the war, and Ireland’s neutrality. Even the disappearance of the postman was a real event, though Russell spins it into a whole other story line. The result is an murder mystery with an interesting context, a nice sense of place and time, and an engaging plot. It did feel a little contrived in places, with the story shoehorned around real events, though this little detracted from the read. Overall, another good addition to a very good series.
April 16, 2017
A great addition to the Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie series - a mystery/thriller which switches between post Civil War Spain and the beginnings of World War II in the neutral Irish Republic.
The story opens with a very brief item in an Irish newspaper about a missing postman in rural Ireland, 1939. There follows a short chapter on the death of Gillespie's wife Maeve in 1932. But this version shows that - contrary to what Stefan was led to believe - it was no drowning accident
Forward 5 years to Frank Ryan - an Irishman fighting for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, who is becoming rapidly disillusioned with the political infighting he finds among men supposed to be comrades in the fight against Franco's fascists, who are aided by Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy. Forward again - a year or so - to Dublin, where Stefan has been seconded to Special Branch and is performing the thankless and, to his mind, useless task of discovering which Irishmen have gone off to fight on the side of Britain & France against Hitler's all-conquering Wehrmacht.
Meanwhile, his Special Branch colleagues are hunting down members of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) who have carried out a daring Christmas raid on the Irish Army's largest arsenal of guns and ammunition. Stefan has suspicions that his Special Branch boss, Terry Gregory is somehow involved with this spectacular theft. But, in the midst of this search for IRA men and stolen weapons, he is sent to investigate the possible murder of the missing postman. Almost by accident, he stumbles upon the postman's secret writings which point to blackmail of a murderer - someone who has killed more than once.
Michael Russell brilliantly captures the atmosphere of Ireland during the so-called "Phoney War" (the eight month spell which followed the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, and ended in Nazi Germany's attack on France and the Low Countries in May 1940).
The labyrinthine plot twists and turns, criss-crossing from President de Valera's Irish Republic to one of Franco's jails which holds Republican prisoners from the newly ended Civil War. Back home, Stefan tries determinedly to uncover secrets which many people, including senior policemen, would rather be kept hidden.
So far, I think this is the best in the Stefan Gillespie series and hope that Michael Russell will add more in the near future. An excellent read.
The story opens with a very brief item in an Irish newspaper about a missing postman in rural Ireland, 1939. There follows a short chapter on the death of Gillespie's wife Maeve in 1932. But this version shows that - contrary to what Stefan was led to believe - it was no drowning accident
Forward 5 years to Frank Ryan - an Irishman fighting for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, who is becoming rapidly disillusioned with the political infighting he finds among men supposed to be comrades in the fight against Franco's fascists, who are aided by Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy. Forward again - a year or so - to Dublin, where Stefan has been seconded to Special Branch and is performing the thankless and, to his mind, useless task of discovering which Irishmen have gone off to fight on the side of Britain & France against Hitler's all-conquering Wehrmacht.
Meanwhile, his Special Branch colleagues are hunting down members of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) who have carried out a daring Christmas raid on the Irish Army's largest arsenal of guns and ammunition. Stefan has suspicions that his Special Branch boss, Terry Gregory is somehow involved with this spectacular theft. But, in the midst of this search for IRA men and stolen weapons, he is sent to investigate the possible murder of the missing postman. Almost by accident, he stumbles upon the postman's secret writings which point to blackmail of a murderer - someone who has killed more than once.
Michael Russell brilliantly captures the atmosphere of Ireland during the so-called "Phoney War" (the eight month spell which followed the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, and ended in Nazi Germany's attack on France and the Low Countries in May 1940).
The labyrinthine plot twists and turns, criss-crossing from President de Valera's Irish Republic to one of Franco's jails which holds Republican prisoners from the newly ended Civil War. Back home, Stefan tries determinedly to uncover secrets which many people, including senior policemen, would rather be kept hidden.
So far, I think this is the best in the Stefan Gillespie series and hope that Michael Russell will add more in the near future. An excellent read.
December 23, 2016
A great story. I didn't want it to end.
Loosely based on real events, it was historically very interesting as well as gripping and exciting.
A few little complaints. The missing postman was lifted, as the author freely admits, from a real occurrence in Waterford. I didn't feel comfortable with the way the author moved it 150 or so kilometres from its real location.
There were a few, but not many
anachronisms. One that comes to my mind is a reference to "the leafy suburbs" of south county Dublin, a phrase straight from the property section of the daily papers. Forgive my quibbling.
Loosely based on real events, it was historically very interesting as well as gripping and exciting.
A few little complaints. The missing postman was lifted, as the author freely admits, from a real occurrence in Waterford. I didn't feel comfortable with the way the author moved it 150 or so kilometres from its real location.
There were a few, but not many
anachronisms. One that comes to my mind is a reference to "the leafy suburbs" of south county Dublin, a phrase straight from the property section of the daily papers. Forgive my quibbling.
March 14, 2021
There's often something about authors who write books in series: they get better as time goes on. That is certainly true of Michael Russell's The City in Darkness which is the third novel featuring Stefan Gillespie.
Here our hero, newly promoted to Inspector, finds himself assisting in the search for a missing postman. The trail leads to post Civil war Spain and links in with the murder of Stefan's own wife seven years previously. His enquiries lead him into the tumultuous times when Franco's victorious regime meted out brutal revenge on the losers. Add to this the Nazi presence as they try to quietly persuade neutral countries like Spain and the Irish Free state in joining their war with Britain and France.
The City in Darkness is a very complex tale, beautifully crafted and full of exceptionally well-drawn characters.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
Here our hero, newly promoted to Inspector, finds himself assisting in the search for a missing postman. The trail leads to post Civil war Spain and links in with the murder of Stefan's own wife seven years previously. His enquiries lead him into the tumultuous times when Franco's victorious regime meted out brutal revenge on the losers. Add to this the Nazi presence as they try to quietly persuade neutral countries like Spain and the Irish Free state in joining their war with Britain and France.
The City in Darkness is a very complex tale, beautifully crafted and full of exceptionally well-drawn characters.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
February 23, 2024
Having read the first 2 books in this series, I just found this really hard work. Maybe a bit too political for me & not understanding the various departments fully didn't help.
March 2, 2019
The City of Darkness is the third book in the Stefan Gillespie series written by Michael Russell and centered on Stefan Gillespie, a Detective Inspector in the Garda Síochána – the Irish Police.
It's 1939 and Garda Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie is assigned to monitoring Irishmen leaving to join the British forces. Despite his German ancestry, it is a job he finds questionable. He is reassigned when the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) raids a military arsenal. Much of the stolen ordnance is soon recovered, and lower subordinate is incarcerated for the crime, but senior men are still at large, and Gillespie has reason to think the I.R.A. have his superior Terry Gregory to thank for it.
Shortly afterwards he is moved away from Dublin to rural Laragh, where a postman, Byrne, has disappeared. Documents in his rooms suggest he knew the true story behind a number of local deaths, including the drowning of Maeve, his wife, years earlier, until then thought to be accidental. The key to the deaths lies in Spain, and fortuitously Gillespie has the opportunity to visit, as both protector and spy for Leopold Kerney, the Irish Ambassador to Spain.
Frank Ryan, a former I.R.A. man, was incarcerated in Borges after the civil war in Spain and for reasons unclear the Germans are helping to broker his escape and Kerney was the point of contact. Gillespie travels with Kerney with two mysteries to unravel.
The City of Darkness is written rather well. It is a brilliant mixture of wartime brutality, crime, and espionage at a very tense period of history, and the personal tale of a man struggling to unravel matters of crucial personal relevance, which makes it a rather difficult book to put down.
The complexities of the war in Spain, the Irish Government's attitude to the I.R.A. and to the parties in the European conflict, and the competing interests of the Irish military and the police Special Branch are all brought in to the story without being in any way didactic. Irish perspective and preoccupations give a refreshing slant on events normally viewed through the lens of the bigger powers.
All in all, The City of Darkness is written rather well and is a strong continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
It's 1939 and Garda Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie is assigned to monitoring Irishmen leaving to join the British forces. Despite his German ancestry, it is a job he finds questionable. He is reassigned when the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) raids a military arsenal. Much of the stolen ordnance is soon recovered, and lower subordinate is incarcerated for the crime, but senior men are still at large, and Gillespie has reason to think the I.R.A. have his superior Terry Gregory to thank for it.
Shortly afterwards he is moved away from Dublin to rural Laragh, where a postman, Byrne, has disappeared. Documents in his rooms suggest he knew the true story behind a number of local deaths, including the drowning of Maeve, his wife, years earlier, until then thought to be accidental. The key to the deaths lies in Spain, and fortuitously Gillespie has the opportunity to visit, as both protector and spy for Leopold Kerney, the Irish Ambassador to Spain.
Frank Ryan, a former I.R.A. man, was incarcerated in Borges after the civil war in Spain and for reasons unclear the Germans are helping to broker his escape and Kerney was the point of contact. Gillespie travels with Kerney with two mysteries to unravel.
The City of Darkness is written rather well. It is a brilliant mixture of wartime brutality, crime, and espionage at a very tense period of history, and the personal tale of a man struggling to unravel matters of crucial personal relevance, which makes it a rather difficult book to put down.
The complexities of the war in Spain, the Irish Government's attitude to the I.R.A. and to the parties in the European conflict, and the competing interests of the Irish military and the police Special Branch are all brought in to the story without being in any way didactic. Irish perspective and preoccupations give a refreshing slant on events normally viewed through the lens of the bigger powers.
All in all, The City of Darkness is written rather well and is a strong continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
September 19, 2018
Outstanding read. One of my books of the year.
The Stefan Gillespie books have so far been one of the better series of recent years and with "The City in Darkness" Michael Russell has produced an absolutely outstanding example of intelligent thriller writing.
Post independence Ireland, on the cusp of the Second World War, is a claustrophobic, archly conservative society still recovering from its bitter civil war. Stefan Gillespie, caught in a Special Branch job that he does not want, struggles not only with the twisted morality of his position but also with his role as a father to a son without a mother.
Here he is tasked with "policing" the police investigating a suspected murder of an universally disliked postman, against the background of an IRA arms raid on the national armoury,which may be more than what it first appears to be. On top of this, the murder investigation unearths information that sheds light on his wife's accidental death, which also may be more than it first appears to be.
Throw in the Spanish Civil War, international espionage and Nazi intrigue and you have on the face of it, a rather cluttered book. It's the skill of Michael Russell, that he can weave so many diverse threads into what is one of my books of the year.
"The City in Darkness" has a recurring motif of a dimming of the light which adds a poignancy to the story when you are reading it, well aware of what is to come. It is an extremely well written and we'll plotted book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book that leaves you thinking a long time after you have finished it.
The Stefan Gillespie books have so far been one of the better series of recent years and with "The City in Darkness" Michael Russell has produced an absolutely outstanding example of intelligent thriller writing.
Post independence Ireland, on the cusp of the Second World War, is a claustrophobic, archly conservative society still recovering from its bitter civil war. Stefan Gillespie, caught in a Special Branch job that he does not want, struggles not only with the twisted morality of his position but also with his role as a father to a son without a mother.
Here he is tasked with "policing" the police investigating a suspected murder of an universally disliked postman, against the background of an IRA arms raid on the national armoury,which may be more than what it first appears to be. On top of this, the murder investigation unearths information that sheds light on his wife's accidental death, which also may be more than it first appears to be.
Throw in the Spanish Civil War, international espionage and Nazi intrigue and you have on the face of it, a rather cluttered book. It's the skill of Michael Russell, that he can weave so many diverse threads into what is one of my books of the year.
"The City in Darkness" has a recurring motif of a dimming of the light which adds a poignancy to the story when you are reading it, well aware of what is to come. It is an extremely well written and we'll plotted book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book that leaves you thinking a long time after you have finished it.
March 25, 2020
In this third novel in the series, we get to know more of Stefan's history. Our hero is now a reluctant member of the Special Branch of the Irish police force. It's not a natural fit for him and he's not responding well to it, with his resentment seeping into his other relationships, particularly his girlfriend, Kate.
Just after Christmas, Stefan is sent to help local police investigate the case of a missing postman. As he looks into the postman, Stefan discovers a link between this case and the death of his wife, something he had believed a tragic accident. With the revelation that his wife may have been murdered, his investigation takes a very personal turn. It turns out there's a link with Irishmen who fought in the recent Spanish Civil War. And with his uncanny knack of always getting to be where he needs to be - however unlikely - Stefan ends up in Spain watching the back of the Irish ambassador in the very place where the Irishmen linked to his missing postmen can be found.
I enjoy these books and I like the solid, smart Stefan Gillespie, but sometimes it more than stretches credulity that a police inspector is plucked out of the ranks to travel to Europe, act as a spy and solve his murder mystery at the same time.
I liked the parts with Stefan in, although some bits dragged, but I didn't really need the backstory of Frank Ryan in the Spanish Civil War or his current story. He could have been more of a background character - unless he's going to make an appearance in a later book. I will pick up book four, but I think I might leave Stefan Gillespie to his own business for a while.
Just after Christmas, Stefan is sent to help local police investigate the case of a missing postman. As he looks into the postman, Stefan discovers a link between this case and the death of his wife, something he had believed a tragic accident. With the revelation that his wife may have been murdered, his investigation takes a very personal turn. It turns out there's a link with Irishmen who fought in the recent Spanish Civil War. And with his uncanny knack of always getting to be where he needs to be - however unlikely - Stefan ends up in Spain watching the back of the Irish ambassador in the very place where the Irishmen linked to his missing postmen can be found.
I enjoy these books and I like the solid, smart Stefan Gillespie, but sometimes it more than stretches credulity that a police inspector is plucked out of the ranks to travel to Europe, act as a spy and solve his murder mystery at the same time.
I liked the parts with Stefan in, although some bits dragged, but I didn't really need the backstory of Frank Ryan in the Spanish Civil War or his current story. He could have been more of a background character - unless he's going to make an appearance in a later book. I will pick up book four, but I think I might leave Stefan Gillespie to his own business for a while.
January 29, 2018
Stefan Gillespie returns in the third in Michael Russell's series of historical crime thrillers.
Having read both 'The City of Shadows' and 'The City of Strangers' in 2012 and 2013 respectively, I have been eagerly awaiting 'The City in Darkness' for several years, and it was certainly worth the wait. The opening scenes of a murder in rural Ireland and an insight the Spanish Civil War set up the juxtaposition of personal and political crimes that run through the Gillespie series. When we are reacquainted with Stefan Gillespie, he is an Inspector working for Special Branch and not entirely happy with the situation in which he finds himself.
Soon having reason to suspect his superior officer is involved with the IRA, Stefan finds himself conveniently requested to assist in the case of a missing postman who disappeared in a place where Stefan has ghosts of his own. His investigation leads to a personal revelation which shifts his focus and leaves him in mortal danger, while a request to safeguard the Irish Ambassador on a trip to Franco's Spain may also present Stefan with the opportunity to find the vital clues he needs.
'The City in Darkness' is a slow-burning cocktail of murder, corruption, espionage and betrayal, leading to a gripping climax back where it all began in rural Ireland. A superb, gripping thriller - I'm very much looking forward to reading 'The City of Lies'.
Having read both 'The City of Shadows' and 'The City of Strangers' in 2012 and 2013 respectively, I have been eagerly awaiting 'The City in Darkness' for several years, and it was certainly worth the wait. The opening scenes of a murder in rural Ireland and an insight the Spanish Civil War set up the juxtaposition of personal and political crimes that run through the Gillespie series. When we are reacquainted with Stefan Gillespie, he is an Inspector working for Special Branch and not entirely happy with the situation in which he finds himself.
Soon having reason to suspect his superior officer is involved with the IRA, Stefan finds himself conveniently requested to assist in the case of a missing postman who disappeared in a place where Stefan has ghosts of his own. His investigation leads to a personal revelation which shifts his focus and leaves him in mortal danger, while a request to safeguard the Irish Ambassador on a trip to Franco's Spain may also present Stefan with the opportunity to find the vital clues he needs.
'The City in Darkness' is a slow-burning cocktail of murder, corruption, espionage and betrayal, leading to a gripping climax back where it all began in rural Ireland. A superb, gripping thriller - I'm very much looking forward to reading 'The City of Lies'.
October 19, 2017
Third in a continuing series of excellent historical detective thrillers featuring principled 1930s Dublin cop Stefan Gillespie. I don’t know why I’ve never reviewed the previous books, but this one maintains the high standard, and this review can act as an overarching summary of the series so far.
The best thing about these books is that although on a surface level they are Irish-set murder mysteries, they have much wider international and socio-political ambitions. Each book spends much of its time away from Ireland: Germany and the USA previously and post-civil war Spain in this entry. Each book reflects real people and real political events that our hero has some kind of secondary plot involvement in, and the impressive level of historical research is reflected by convincing plots and detailed, authoritative scene-setting.
Russell is more than happy to dip his toes into the chaotic political waters of the 1930s and, even better, does not shirk from reflecting the murkier side of Irish life at this time; such as the considerable support for Hitler, the sometimes unhealthy influence of the Catholic Church and the continuing after-effects of the Irish Civil war. It helps too that his complex plots stand up to scrutiny, his characterisations are strong and his dialogue has the no-bullshit lyricism of Irish speech without resorting to stereotype.
Great work, and hope Russell keeps rolling them out.
The best thing about these books is that although on a surface level they are Irish-set murder mysteries, they have much wider international and socio-political ambitions. Each book spends much of its time away from Ireland: Germany and the USA previously and post-civil war Spain in this entry. Each book reflects real people and real political events that our hero has some kind of secondary plot involvement in, and the impressive level of historical research is reflected by convincing plots and detailed, authoritative scene-setting.
Russell is more than happy to dip his toes into the chaotic political waters of the 1930s and, even better, does not shirk from reflecting the murkier side of Irish life at this time; such as the considerable support for Hitler, the sometimes unhealthy influence of the Catholic Church and the continuing after-effects of the Irish Civil war. It helps too that his complex plots stand up to scrutiny, his characterisations are strong and his dialogue has the no-bullshit lyricism of Irish speech without resorting to stereotype.
Great work, and hope Russell keeps rolling them out.
July 9, 2024
A beautiful cover, a beautiful title and an interesting story mainly set in an Ireland I know very personally that is what I got reading this book. It is set in 1939 during the Phoney War and can be decided in two stories which are linked to each other, but we find out about this more towards the last part of the book. The first and biggest part is about Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie keeping tabs on Irishmen joining the British Forces, while he thinks his boss is working for the IRA. Stefan gets suddenly called to Wicklow mountains to help find a postman who disappeared and to investigate the guards. He is near the place where his wife died and finds a connection with the postman, leading to the realization that his wife was murdered. It leads him to the second part taking place in Spain, where he goes to try to confront his past and help liberate an Irish prisoner.
Besides the part in the Wicklow mountains which I found a bit boring and too long, this story was interesting, not revealing the information quickly and showed me an unknown part of these years in Ireland's history. Very well written and interesting characters.
Besides the part in the Wicklow mountains which I found a bit boring and too long, this story was interesting, not revealing the information quickly and showed me an unknown part of these years in Ireland's history. Very well written and interesting characters.
January 26, 2018
The 3rd in the series about Garda Special Branch DI Stefan Gillespie, set in Ireland and Spain over five months from December 1939, starting with the murder of a postman which eventually connects to the death of Gillespie’s wife in 1933. He visits Spain as a guard of the Irish ambassador, connecting to an ex-IRA man imprisoned after fighting for the Republicans. Apart from the annoying use of the anachronistic “pissed off”, which wasn't used until after WWII, this is an absorbing read with convincing characters, particularly his enigmatic boss, Gregory.
April 7, 2018
Comencé esta novela atraída porque está ambientada en Dublín/Glendalough, además con la segunda guerra mundial de fondo y porque en general disfruto de un thriller, sin embargo me ha costado terminarla, ya que no ha conseguido engancharme ni la historia ni sus intrigas ni su protagonista. Si la analizas con una perspectiva de género, suspenso completo. Los personajes femeninos son pocos y no terminan muy bien (exceptuando el interés amoroso del protagonista).
June 26, 2021
.Stephen Gillespie agent for the Irish foe of the IRA caught between the war with Germany. /many and the Republicans fighting to free Ireland from the British. An excellent read highly recommended. Diving right into the next book in the series. Ireland posturing to remain neutral like Spain. Yet the Nazi rampage continues and the battle of Britain is still ahead. Police procedural crime fiction romance.
February 16, 2026
Conflicting Loyalties
An unputtdownable read which investigates three murders on a simplistic basis whilst at the same time investigates the complex relations between the Irish and the Germans in their (the Irish) stance on neutrality.
All of this while the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath rumble on inextricably linking itself with member of the differing Irish factions whilst still maintaining neutrality makes for fascinating reading.
An unputtdownable read which investigates three murders on a simplistic basis whilst at the same time investigates the complex relations between the Irish and the Germans in their (the Irish) stance on neutrality.
All of this while the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath rumble on inextricably linking itself with member of the differing Irish factions whilst still maintaining neutrality makes for fascinating reading.
February 25, 2018
A disturbing novel, which questions the motivation of all the characters. It intertwines two themes, the political thriller and a murder mystery. Issues of loyalty, the states right to practice surveillance on citizens and the impact of personal experiences on reasoning all ebb and flow through this novel.
February 6, 2019
The third book in a series of four, Irish Inspector Stefan Gillespie is asked to solve the mystery of a missing postman. He ends up accompanying the ambassador to Spain to find what he needs to fully understand what is happening. Set during and just after the Spanish Civil War, Russell agains investigates the role the IRA played in world events as well as the history of the Irish Republic.
May 9, 2024
Published in 2016, 'The City in Darkness' is the 3rd in a series of crime/mystery novels featuring Stefan Gillespie of the Dublin Special Branch in late 1939. Somehow, the three threads of the death of Gillespie's wife seven years earlier, a missing postman, and Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War are combined into a brilliant tale.
April 13, 2025
Well written story with a plot that involves the Spanish Civil war and the IRA set just before the start of the second world war. Stefan Gillespie is a DC in the Irish Special branch and he's sent to investigate the disappearance of a postman. Links to the death of his own wife arise and he needs to solve it all.
June 16, 2017
Still a good read but my least favourite of the three I've read - could be old age catching up with me but when there are so many characters I find it hard to remember who is who - and this book had far too many.
December 17, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this book - another in the series about Ireland and its relationship with Britain and Germany. Some parts are hard to read because of the dark subject matter covered - but well worth reading.
July 23, 2018
I liked the premise of this book (I read #1 but could not find it on Goodreads), but I felt that the beginning moved very slowly. I enjoyed the protagonist and the some of the history written into his backstory.
April 24, 2019
Fascinating backstory and backdrop to this crime story set in WWII Ireland. So much subterfuge, deceit and underhandedness on so many levels, with the IRA and the Spanish Civil war playing major roles. Very enjoyable and well put together.
November 16, 2024
Very good. A good blend of history, police work and spycraft. Well written and creates a great sense of time and place. I haven't read any of the previous books in this series but will probably do so now.
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