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Jack Taylor #4
The Dramatist
“Outstanding … Ireland’s version of Scotland’s Ian Rankin.” – Publishers Weekly
It seems impossible, but struggling detective Jack Taylor is finally sober – off the booze, pills, powder, and nearly off cigarettes too.
The main reason he's been able to keep clean: his dealer's in jail, which leaves Jack without a supplier.
So when that dealer calls him to Dublin and asks for a favour in the soiled, sordid visiting room of Mountjoy Prison, Jack wants to tell him to take a flying leap.
He soon discovers the dealer's sister is dead and the guards have called it "death by misadventure."
The dealer is convinced that can't be true and begs Jack to investigate and see what he can find out.
It's exactly what Jack does for a living, with varying levels of success.
But even so, he's reluctant, maybe because of who's asking or maybe because of the bad feeling growing in his gut.
Never one to give in to bad feelings or common sense, Jack agrees to the favour, though he doesn’t begin to fathom the shocking, deadly consequences he has set in motion…
But he and everyone he holds dear will find out soon, sooner than anyone knows, in The Dramatist , the lean and lethal fourth entry in Ken Bruen's award-winning Jack Taylor series.
Praise for Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor Series
“Quirky, quality fiction.” Observer
“Ken Bruen is hard to resist, with his aching Irish heart, silvery tongue and bleak noir sensibility — all on display in The Dramatist .” The New York Times
“Deserving of five stars is Ken Bruen’s The Dramatist … This is the fourth outing for the failed cop, and probably the best since The Guards." Time Out
Ken Bruen born in Galway in 1951, is the award-winning author of seventeen novels, including the breakthrough Jack Taylor series. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and South America. His Jack Taylor novels have been widely published internationally, in the USA and Australia and in translation in several countries including France, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Russia, the Netherlands and Albania.
It seems impossible, but struggling detective Jack Taylor is finally sober – off the booze, pills, powder, and nearly off cigarettes too.
The main reason he's been able to keep clean: his dealer's in jail, which leaves Jack without a supplier.
So when that dealer calls him to Dublin and asks for a favour in the soiled, sordid visiting room of Mountjoy Prison, Jack wants to tell him to take a flying leap.
He soon discovers the dealer's sister is dead and the guards have called it "death by misadventure."
The dealer is convinced that can't be true and begs Jack to investigate and see what he can find out.
It's exactly what Jack does for a living, with varying levels of success.
But even so, he's reluctant, maybe because of who's asking or maybe because of the bad feeling growing in his gut.
Never one to give in to bad feelings or common sense, Jack agrees to the favour, though he doesn’t begin to fathom the shocking, deadly consequences he has set in motion…
But he and everyone he holds dear will find out soon, sooner than anyone knows, in The Dramatist , the lean and lethal fourth entry in Ken Bruen's award-winning Jack Taylor series.
Praise for Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor Series
“Quirky, quality fiction.” Observer
“Ken Bruen is hard to resist, with his aching Irish heart, silvery tongue and bleak noir sensibility — all on display in The Dramatist .” The New York Times
“Deserving of five stars is Ken Bruen’s The Dramatist … This is the fourth outing for the failed cop, and probably the best since The Guards." Time Out
Ken Bruen born in Galway in 1951, is the award-winning author of seventeen novels, including the breakthrough Jack Taylor series. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and South America. His Jack Taylor novels have been widely published internationally, in the USA and Australia and in translation in several countries including France, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Russia, the Netherlands and Albania.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2003
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About the author
Ken Bruen
132 books850 followersKen Bruen was an Irish writer of hardboiled and noir crime fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
December 3, 2016
This is the fourth book in the Jack Taylor series of novels, and the fifth one that I've read. And the seventh book of Ken Bruen's I've gotten through in the past couple of months.
There is something predictable about Bruen. There are set ups and scenes he uses over and over again, and there are almost stock characters, or at least character types he keeps bringing out. But, even with a certain level of predictability he still packs a huge punch. Even, though as a reader I feel a little ashamed afterwards at falling for the bait over and over again. I don't think this is too much of a spoiler, but over and over and over again he tricks me into letting down my guard and thinking that at least something is turning out alright before delivering some devastating blow. I think what makes it so effective, even if unrelenting it how much it is used is that there are no limits on where or who the awfulness is going to occur. I've been reading Bruen and Dennis Lehane, sort of switching off between them lately, and both authors seem to take a sadistic delight in how much they can punish their characters. Maybe I should find some nice upbeat life affirming shit to read soon.
Soon, I'll be on to the next one in this series to see how the ending of this one has fucked up Taylor's life even more than it is already screwed up.
There is something predictable about Bruen. There are set ups and scenes he uses over and over again, and there are almost stock characters, or at least character types he keeps bringing out. But, even with a certain level of predictability he still packs a huge punch. Even, though as a reader I feel a little ashamed afterwards at falling for the bait over and over again. I don't think this is too much of a spoiler, but over and over and over again he tricks me into letting down my guard and thinking that at least something is turning out alright before delivering some devastating blow. I think what makes it so effective, even if unrelenting it how much it is used is that there are no limits on where or who the awfulness is going to occur. I've been reading Bruen and Dennis Lehane, sort of switching off between them lately, and both authors seem to take a sadistic delight in how much they can punish their characters. Maybe I should find some nice upbeat life affirming shit to read soon.
Soon, I'll be on to the next one in this series to see how the ending of this one has fucked up Taylor's life even more than it is already screwed up.
August 27, 2019
The 4th book
Galway
Two Students
Death
Booze
Drugs
Redemption
Jack Taylor going trough hell to reach the light
Galway
Two Students
Death
Booze
Drugs
Redemption
Jack Taylor going trough hell to reach the light
March 4, 2017
Description: Seven months after his mother's stroke, and continuing on his path of sobriety and healthier living, Jack is called on to investigate the death of a female university student, Sarah Bradley, who has fallen from a roof while dressed in theatre costume. A ring of paper around her wrist contains an apparent suicide note written in her blood, and Gardaí assume the death to be drug related. Jack is hired by university professor Eugene Gorman to investigate the case, suspecting that the girl was murdered. Jack sends Cody undercover, posing as a university student, to gather information on Bradley's fellow students, as well as one particularly suspicious tutor, Professor Doyle. Meanwhile, Kate has a new boss, DS Griffin, who is overseeing her promotion into a detective. Griffin, however, is less than pleased with Kate's association with Jack and warns him to stay clear of Kate – and the investigation. When a second girl is found dead in similar circumstances, the owner of a local bookshop, who deals in heroin, becomes prime suspect.
3.5* The Guards
4* The Pikemen (tv only)
4* The Magdalen Martyrs
CR The Dramatist
3.5* The Guards
4* The Pikemen (tv only)
4* The Magdalen Martyrs
CR The Dramatist
November 25, 2019
Jack is sober throughout this book, yet the read was depressing with just a couple of bright spots. Then even those two turned dark. I’m not ready to drop the series yet, though. I have to see how long this man can survive in the hellhole he creates for himself.
Bruen’s books have a certain style that makes them short. Choppy sentences, short sentences each on their own line, pages containing quotations from other authors create a quick read.
Bruen’s books have a certain style that makes them short. Choppy sentences, short sentences each on their own line, pages containing quotations from other authors create a quick read.
October 4, 2016
Sometimes I wonder why I am hooked on this series. It upsets me, depresses me and gets inside my mind. I simply care too much about Jack Taylor and his ability/inability to stay sober/clean. The writing is exceptionally tight and sharp in these novels which is something I truly appreciate. The mysteries are often secondary to Jack's life, the people he encounters and Galway. It is noir at its finest.
The ending of this novel, which I quite literally knew was coming in some form, broke me. And yet, I will return for another installment. Ah, Ken Bruen, you've got me.
The ending of this novel, which I quite literally knew was coming in some form, broke me. And yet, I will return for another installment. Ah, Ken Bruen, you've got me.
August 6, 2021
Série na Netflix
August 16, 2019
Wow......I was going to say that I couldn't believe that we got through a Jack Taylor novel without drinking binges, and I like Jack when he's sober.
Until that gut-punch at the end. Seriously, Ken, how could you!?
Until that gut-punch at the end. Seriously, Ken, how could you!?
June 27, 2025
If I learned anything from reading Ken Bruen’s The Dramatist, it’s that Ireland is a crap hole. Not really, but that’s the way it seems after reading this Noir-ish mystery novel. It’s all the protagonist’s fault. His name is Jack Taylor, and he used to be a guard (the Irish term for a policeman). He got kicked out a few years ago and now he’s a self-destructive and guilt-wracked drunkard, cocaine addict, and reluctant sometimes-P.I. Most of his friends and acquaintances are equally depressing. Indeed, it seems as though everyone on the Emerald Isle is riding the long downward slide of despair. Or maybe it’s just the main character’s nihilistic world view seeping into the narration. By all rights old Jack should have killed himself two books ago. No luck on that front, though. The Dramatist is the fourth book of what is now a nine book series. Hard to imagine how Bruen could eek enough self-destruction out of the character to fill five more books, but there you go.
When the story begins, Jack is riding a wave of good fortune. He’s been sober for six months—no booze, no cocaine, only five cigarettes a day and lots and lots of coffee. He’s even attending mass regularly. But before you go getting all excited about Jack’s new lease on life, wait a tick until you hear the reason for the new-found sobriety. Turns out his cocaine dealer was sent to prison for ten years, and he couldn’t find another dealer. Therefore he was forced to quit, and while he was at it, he thought he’d try getting off the sauce, too. So now ‘ole Jack’s crap-tastic life is just a little less crap. But this is a Ken Bruen novel, so you know things can only go downward from here.
Jack’s only friends in the world are a married couple that run a bar. They have a daughter, a three year old Downs syndrome child whom Jack babysits from time to time. It was through these friends that Jack met his drug dealer (some friends, right?), and it is also through them he gets word that this same drug dealer wants to talk to him. So against his better judgment, he makes the trip to Dublin and the prison where this lowlife is incarcerated. He tells Jack that his sister, a college student back at the local university, recently died from a fall down a flight of stairs. It’s been ruled an accident by the police, but he doesn’t think their explanation holds water. He wants Jack to investigate, and applies a little leverage (otherwise known as money) to make him take the job.
So off Jack goes to impersonate insurance men and police officers and rummage through the muck of what’s left of a promising young girl’s life. During the course of his investigation he finds two disturbing things: 1) the girl was found with a book by John Millington Synge beneath her body (Synge was an Irish dramatist, author, and poet who played a large role in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 1800s, early 1900s), and 2) there was another girl who died days earlier from a fall down a flight of steps, and wouldn’t you know it? There was a copy of Synge found underneath her body as well. Looks like there’s a serial killer on the loose!
Other events come into play as Jack continues to investigate. There’s a vigilante group known as the Pikemen that begin assaulting citizens for perceived crimes, and they try (unsuccessfully) to recruit Jack. He also starts dating a middle-aged woman and (shocker of all shockers) strikes up a healthy relationship with her. As his investigation progresses, it becomes apparent that these murders are motivated by something within Synge’s work, prompting Jack to do a lot of research and reading on the subject. There’s some other stuff in there too, but in the process Jack manages to sleuth out the killer and bring him to justice. I won’t tell you the how’s and why’s of it all, ‘cos that would spoil the surprise.
But Bruen can’t leave it at that. After all, this is Noir—or something close to it. Things can’t end happily. And since this is Jack Taylor-style Noir, Bruen has to trot out a backhoe in order to handle all the crap he heaps on Jack’s head. One day after things have cooled off, Jack is babysitting his friends’ little Downs syndrome girl. His attention is momentarily drawn to something else, and before he knows it the little girl has toddled out the open window, falling several stories to the pavement below. No joke.
I mean, WTF?! Really, Ken? You had to kill off the mentally challenged baby at the end of your story? You couldn’t just, I don’t know, have Jack’s new relationship go sour? Couldn’t have him go on a bender and fall off the wagon? You had to go that route? Of all of the things you could have possibly done, you had to choose to kill off the kid with Down’s syndrome? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pissed because you killed off a handicapped baby. I’m pissed because you did it so pointlessly. It had no bearing on the story as a whole; it was only a vehicle with which to make Jack’s life suck harder.
And speaking of that, did you notice how at the beginning I called in a “Noir-ish” mystery? Noir is one of the “in” terms in literature these days (right below “young adult”, “dystopia”, and “paranormal”), and, like most literary fads, the term has been applied to a far-ranging array of works that perhaps don’t deserve the epithet. Contrary to popular belief, Noir is not the idea that the world is utter crap. Modern “noir” has a tendency to devolve into a treatise on why our entire existence is a fruitless endeavor full of suckitude. But that’s not Noir. That’s Nihilism. Noir is the idea that our base human emotions (fear, jealousy, lust) lead to the downfall of man, that life sucks because of our own human failings. That’s the difference. It’s not cruel and meaningless misfortunes heaped upon one another ad nauseum, and it’s not a little handicapped girl falling out of a window at the end of a story for no other reason than to make the main character’s life more miserable.
And that brings me to my next point. What is it with mystery authors these days? It’s like they’re competing to see who can create the most screwed up protagonists they can. I know I’m only one reader, and so my opinion might as well be mud, but if any of you authors are out there and reading this review, please-oh-please just knock it off. Realistic, flawed characters are great. I love them. But when your character is so broken he can hardly function (honestly, by all rights Jack Taylor should have offed himself a long time ago), it becomes just a wee bit tedious. I’m not saying that I want my protagonists to be all farts and sunshine, I just want you to tone it down a little bit. Can you do that for me? Or at least say you’ll try? I’d settle for that at this point.
With all this bitching and moaning I suppose most of you are thinking that I didn’t like the book—but I did. I really did. Bruen is an amazing writer. His voice, his style, his diction, his characterization, his dialogue, his imagery, they’re all top notch. He’s got a real talent for mood and aura. When it comes to dark mysteries, he’s one of the best. There were just some things that kept me from enjoying the novel to its fullest. You’ve heard a couple reasons already, but the mystery portion of the book I felt was also a little rushed. Not enough investigation went on for my tastes. I know it was a short book, and there’s only so much investigation you can get into something this length (especially when most of your time is spent building your protagonist up just so you can knock him down again), but I couldn’t help but feel like it needed to be longer. This one gets three stars from me. I’m not going swear off Ken Bruen novels or anything, but I do think I’ll pass on the next Jack Taylor installment. I don’t even want to know what new misfortune is waiting for poor Jack.
When the story begins, Jack is riding a wave of good fortune. He’s been sober for six months—no booze, no cocaine, only five cigarettes a day and lots and lots of coffee. He’s even attending mass regularly. But before you go getting all excited about Jack’s new lease on life, wait a tick until you hear the reason for the new-found sobriety. Turns out his cocaine dealer was sent to prison for ten years, and he couldn’t find another dealer. Therefore he was forced to quit, and while he was at it, he thought he’d try getting off the sauce, too. So now ‘ole Jack’s crap-tastic life is just a little less crap. But this is a Ken Bruen novel, so you know things can only go downward from here.
Jack’s only friends in the world are a married couple that run a bar. They have a daughter, a three year old Downs syndrome child whom Jack babysits from time to time. It was through these friends that Jack met his drug dealer (some friends, right?), and it is also through them he gets word that this same drug dealer wants to talk to him. So against his better judgment, he makes the trip to Dublin and the prison where this lowlife is incarcerated. He tells Jack that his sister, a college student back at the local university, recently died from a fall down a flight of stairs. It’s been ruled an accident by the police, but he doesn’t think their explanation holds water. He wants Jack to investigate, and applies a little leverage (otherwise known as money) to make him take the job.
So off Jack goes to impersonate insurance men and police officers and rummage through the muck of what’s left of a promising young girl’s life. During the course of his investigation he finds two disturbing things: 1) the girl was found with a book by John Millington Synge beneath her body (Synge was an Irish dramatist, author, and poet who played a large role in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 1800s, early 1900s), and 2) there was another girl who died days earlier from a fall down a flight of steps, and wouldn’t you know it? There was a copy of Synge found underneath her body as well. Looks like there’s a serial killer on the loose!
Other events come into play as Jack continues to investigate. There’s a vigilante group known as the Pikemen that begin assaulting citizens for perceived crimes, and they try (unsuccessfully) to recruit Jack. He also starts dating a middle-aged woman and (shocker of all shockers) strikes up a healthy relationship with her. As his investigation progresses, it becomes apparent that these murders are motivated by something within Synge’s work, prompting Jack to do a lot of research and reading on the subject. There’s some other stuff in there too, but in the process Jack manages to sleuth out the killer and bring him to justice. I won’t tell you the how’s and why’s of it all, ‘cos that would spoil the surprise.
But Bruen can’t leave it at that. After all, this is Noir—or something close to it. Things can’t end happily. And since this is Jack Taylor-style Noir, Bruen has to trot out a backhoe in order to handle all the crap he heaps on Jack’s head. One day after things have cooled off, Jack is babysitting his friends’ little Downs syndrome girl. His attention is momentarily drawn to something else, and before he knows it the little girl has toddled out the open window, falling several stories to the pavement below. No joke.
I mean, WTF?! Really, Ken? You had to kill off the mentally challenged baby at the end of your story? You couldn’t just, I don’t know, have Jack’s new relationship go sour? Couldn’t have him go on a bender and fall off the wagon? You had to go that route? Of all of the things you could have possibly done, you had to choose to kill off the kid with Down’s syndrome? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pissed because you killed off a handicapped baby. I’m pissed because you did it so pointlessly. It had no bearing on the story as a whole; it was only a vehicle with which to make Jack’s life suck harder.
And speaking of that, did you notice how at the beginning I called in a “Noir-ish” mystery? Noir is one of the “in” terms in literature these days (right below “young adult”, “dystopia”, and “paranormal”), and, like most literary fads, the term has been applied to a far-ranging array of works that perhaps don’t deserve the epithet. Contrary to popular belief, Noir is not the idea that the world is utter crap. Modern “noir” has a tendency to devolve into a treatise on why our entire existence is a fruitless endeavor full of suckitude. But that’s not Noir. That’s Nihilism. Noir is the idea that our base human emotions (fear, jealousy, lust) lead to the downfall of man, that life sucks because of our own human failings. That’s the difference. It’s not cruel and meaningless misfortunes heaped upon one another ad nauseum, and it’s not a little handicapped girl falling out of a window at the end of a story for no other reason than to make the main character’s life more miserable.
And that brings me to my next point. What is it with mystery authors these days? It’s like they’re competing to see who can create the most screwed up protagonists they can. I know I’m only one reader, and so my opinion might as well be mud, but if any of you authors are out there and reading this review, please-oh-please just knock it off. Realistic, flawed characters are great. I love them. But when your character is so broken he can hardly function (honestly, by all rights Jack Taylor should have offed himself a long time ago), it becomes just a wee bit tedious. I’m not saying that I want my protagonists to be all farts and sunshine, I just want you to tone it down a little bit. Can you do that for me? Or at least say you’ll try? I’d settle for that at this point.
With all this bitching and moaning I suppose most of you are thinking that I didn’t like the book—but I did. I really did. Bruen is an amazing writer. His voice, his style, his diction, his characterization, his dialogue, his imagery, they’re all top notch. He’s got a real talent for mood and aura. When it comes to dark mysteries, he’s one of the best. There were just some things that kept me from enjoying the novel to its fullest. You’ve heard a couple reasons already, but the mystery portion of the book I felt was also a little rushed. Not enough investigation went on for my tastes. I know it was a short book, and there’s only so much investigation you can get into something this length (especially when most of your time is spent building your protagonist up just so you can knock him down again), but I couldn’t help but feel like it needed to be longer. This one gets three stars from me. I’m not going swear off Ken Bruen novels or anything, but I do think I’ll pass on the next Jack Taylor installment. I don’t even want to know what new misfortune is waiting for poor Jack.
April 10, 2017
Jack Taylor number four. I'm on a roll. More dark, disturbing, hard-boiled entertainment. Hang on just a minute. Lemsip and yoghurt. Daily fare for a re-invented Jack?! Not drinking, no drugs, virtually quit smoking and - yeah - that's correct - attending mass fairly regularly! Has Jack finally succumbed to a life less wired? Huh? So why the hell do you keep getting beaten up?! Are you still the 'finder' everyone admires, albeit in a rather disingenuous fashion? Who the hell are the Pikemen? Are they for real or just a fantasy of Irish imagination? And Cathy persuades you to visit your ex-dealer serving a six stretch in Mountjoy prison. He wants you to 'find out' about his sister's questionable death. Fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Really? How are things going off the booze, Jack? Coping? Your one redemption in life is being Godfather to the daughter of Jeff and Cathy. Serena May, a child with Down's syndrome. You love that child; you babysit and you read to her. A shining star in your bleak life.
And then, those last few pages. That stunning, horrific, conclusion. A few lines of prose that will rip your heart out. Left me gasping, distraught. Read those lines over and over. Oh dear God, no....
Ken Bruen has an undeniable talent for noir. His prose shines. This is entertainment, for me, of the highest order. It's black, it's Irish. But that ending. I have to move on to number five in the series.
What the hell happens to Jack.......
And then, those last few pages. That stunning, horrific, conclusion. A few lines of prose that will rip your heart out. Left me gasping, distraught. Read those lines over and over. Oh dear God, no....
Ken Bruen has an undeniable talent for noir. His prose shines. This is entertainment, for me, of the highest order. It's black, it's Irish. But that ending. I have to move on to number five in the series.
What the hell happens to Jack.......
May 13, 2012
Jacket notes: "The impossible has happened: Jack Taylor is living clean and dating a mature woman. Rumour suggests he is even attending mass... The accidental deaths of two students appear random, tragic events, except that in each case a copy of a book by John Millington Synge is found beneath the body. Jack begins to believe that "The Dramatist," a calculating killer, is out there, enticing him to play...."
As stated several times before, I love this Jack Taylor series by Ken Bruen. This book in the series is no exception. The quick, short chapters make each of these novels a fast book to read. And in each one, Jack Taylor is pushed to the limit when it comes to testing his morality and facing his addictions.
In this book, Jack seems to have gotten the upper hand over drink, drugs, and nicotine. But don't think he's walking the straight and narrow with it comes to fighting the bad guys. Jack has his own way of dealing with the law and deciding what is right and what is wrong just because he thinks it is.
The ending of this book will rip out your heart. Just when you think there is nothing else sad and bad that can happen to Jack...it does. Took my breath away and gives me even more incentive to read the next book...so I can get over what happened in this one.
As stated several times before, I love this Jack Taylor series by Ken Bruen. This book in the series is no exception. The quick, short chapters make each of these novels a fast book to read. And in each one, Jack Taylor is pushed to the limit when it comes to testing his morality and facing his addictions.
In this book, Jack seems to have gotten the upper hand over drink, drugs, and nicotine. But don't think he's walking the straight and narrow with it comes to fighting the bad guys. Jack has his own way of dealing with the law and deciding what is right and what is wrong just because he thinks it is.
The ending of this book will rip out your heart. Just when you think there is nothing else sad and bad that can happen to Jack...it does. Took my breath away and gives me even more incentive to read the next book...so I can get over what happened in this one.
September 3, 2007
THE DRAMATIST (Unlicensed investigator-Ireland-Cont) – Ex
Bruen, Ken – 4th in series
Brandon, 2004 – Trade paperback
Jack Taylor is clean and sober and fighting hard to stay that way. A drug dealer, now serving time, hires Jack to investigate the death of his sister. Under her body was a book by Synge, into which the words "The Dramatist" had been written on the title page. When a second student dies with a copy of the same book, it's clear these are not random acts.
*** Ken Bruen's writing is exceptional. It's tight, involving, brutal, funny, and tragic all at the same time. While there is a mystery here, it is really the study of Jack that is the focus. Although I recognized the killer fairly early on, and I saw the end coming just before it happened, it made the end no less shattering. This is not an emotionally easy series to read, and certainly not for the cozy reader, but one I cannot rate highly enough.
Bruen, Ken – 4th in series
Brandon, 2004 – Trade paperback
Jack Taylor is clean and sober and fighting hard to stay that way. A drug dealer, now serving time, hires Jack to investigate the death of his sister. Under her body was a book by Synge, into which the words "The Dramatist" had been written on the title page. When a second student dies with a copy of the same book, it's clear these are not random acts.
*** Ken Bruen's writing is exceptional. It's tight, involving, brutal, funny, and tragic all at the same time. While there is a mystery here, it is really the study of Jack that is the focus. Although I recognized the killer fairly early on, and I saw the end coming just before it happened, it made the end no less shattering. This is not an emotionally easy series to read, and certainly not for the cozy reader, but one I cannot rate highly enough.
April 2, 2017
From IMBd:
A female student dies from a fall from the roof of the university. She is dressed in a theatre costume and wears a ring of paper with a quote from the play "Deirdre of the Sorrows" typed within. When drugs are found in the young woman's blood, the Police assume suicide as the cause of death. The Literature Professor of the dead student believes that his student has been murdered and asks Jack for help.
4* The Guards (Jack Taylor, #1)
3* The Magdalen Martyrs (Jack Taylor, #3)
4* The Dramatist (Jack Taylor, #4)
3* Cross (Jack Taylor, #6)
A female student dies from a fall from the roof of the university. She is dressed in a theatre costume and wears a ring of paper with a quote from the play "Deirdre of the Sorrows" typed within. When drugs are found in the young woman's blood, the Police assume suicide as the cause of death. The Literature Professor of the dead student believes that his student has been murdered and asks Jack for help.
4* The Guards (Jack Taylor, #1)
3* The Magdalen Martyrs (Jack Taylor, #3)
4* The Dramatist (Jack Taylor, #4)
3* Cross (Jack Taylor, #6)
September 20, 2024
3.5 stars. This is definitely not everyone's cup of tea - beautifully written, but this Irish noir crime series is relentlessly dark and depressing, and the ending of this instalment was absolutely gut-wrenching. I really enjoy the audio narration by Gerry O'Brien.
April 18, 2018
I’ve spent much of my time reading the first four of Bruen’s Jack Taylor books trying to figure out what makes them so good. The plots do matter – the twist at the end of The Killing of the Tinkers pushed that one back into elite territory, and I found myself gripped at the end of The Magdalen Martyrs too.
And this one definitely falters in the plot department. Where we’ve had political complications and individuals with deep and troubled backgrounds, this one turns on a too-conventional serial killer (so he’s obsessed with John Millington Synge) and a socially conservative paramilitary group of guards. Neither is anywhere near as satisfying as we’ve seen.
Still, while I find this one a definite step down, I still very much enjoyed it, and that’s lead me to another theory about what makes Bruen so good here:
When Hemingway developed what I understand as the hardboiled style – when he created the tone that Hammett and Chandler refined into genre – he did so laconically. Hemingway fights with language; he teaches us to leave most things implied rather than said. Hammett picked up on that most dramatically, leaving real (and sometimes haunting) gaps in his explanations. Sam Spade and the Continental Op are some sick and twisted guys, a fact we don’t see that clearly for a long time because they keep so much to themselves.
As the genre evolved, though, the challenge for each new writer became how to give us a sense of an inner monologue. If a mystery unfolds too quickly, it has no power. While it’s unfolding, though, our detectives have to deal with something. Lots of good writers have given their detectives intense personal lives to wrestle with – like Lawrence Block, Walter Mosley, or dozens of other solid hardboiled success stories. Still, there’s always the difficulty of giving the hero someone to talk to. Without the still profound skill of a Hemingway, we need to hear something from the guy who’s doing the sleuthing.
What Bruen does with Jack Taylor – and, from what I’ve seen, with some of his other heroes as well – is give him an inner “dialogue.” That is, because Jack is always reading something, he’s never entirely alone with his thoughts. Bruen name-drops other writers in what I take as a generous appreciation of his colleagues (he does that so well in Bust that I took 3-4 good recommendations from him) but also as a solution to the what-does-my-detective-do-when-no-new-crime-is-happening conundrum.
I don’t know that I could pull it off myself. For one thing, my life is already too saturated with books, and my challenge as a writer is to find real-world things to refer to. Making books so central a touchstone would just add to the weakness I’m always fighting.
But Bruen gives the impression that he knows the hopeless streets and the alcoholism of Jack’s experiences. His novels work because he doesn’t seem to be showing off when he veers into pictures of the bottom side of addiction and despair. He seems to know it, and literature is one of the ways he’s kept from succumbing to it.
Anyway, I’m still on this train, and I’ll get to the next one in the series pretty soon. I’m hoping the somewhat lazy plotting gets a makeover, and I’m hoping I won’t get too frustrated by the lengthening descriptions of what’s happened to Jack in earlier episodes.
And, above all, I hope I can forgive Bruen for [SPOILER] what he does to Jeff and Cathy’s baby in the closing pages. That may set up some freshly inspired self-loathing, but it may also mark one gimmick in a series that I find I no longer have the patience for.
And this one definitely falters in the plot department. Where we’ve had political complications and individuals with deep and troubled backgrounds, this one turns on a too-conventional serial killer (so he’s obsessed with John Millington Synge) and a socially conservative paramilitary group of guards. Neither is anywhere near as satisfying as we’ve seen.
Still, while I find this one a definite step down, I still very much enjoyed it, and that’s lead me to another theory about what makes Bruen so good here:
When Hemingway developed what I understand as the hardboiled style – when he created the tone that Hammett and Chandler refined into genre – he did so laconically. Hemingway fights with language; he teaches us to leave most things implied rather than said. Hammett picked up on that most dramatically, leaving real (and sometimes haunting) gaps in his explanations. Sam Spade and the Continental Op are some sick and twisted guys, a fact we don’t see that clearly for a long time because they keep so much to themselves.
As the genre evolved, though, the challenge for each new writer became how to give us a sense of an inner monologue. If a mystery unfolds too quickly, it has no power. While it’s unfolding, though, our detectives have to deal with something. Lots of good writers have given their detectives intense personal lives to wrestle with – like Lawrence Block, Walter Mosley, or dozens of other solid hardboiled success stories. Still, there’s always the difficulty of giving the hero someone to talk to. Without the still profound skill of a Hemingway, we need to hear something from the guy who’s doing the sleuthing.
What Bruen does with Jack Taylor – and, from what I’ve seen, with some of his other heroes as well – is give him an inner “dialogue.” That is, because Jack is always reading something, he’s never entirely alone with his thoughts. Bruen name-drops other writers in what I take as a generous appreciation of his colleagues (he does that so well in Bust that I took 3-4 good recommendations from him) but also as a solution to the what-does-my-detective-do-when-no-new-crime-is-happening conundrum.
I don’t know that I could pull it off myself. For one thing, my life is already too saturated with books, and my challenge as a writer is to find real-world things to refer to. Making books so central a touchstone would just add to the weakness I’m always fighting.
But Bruen gives the impression that he knows the hopeless streets and the alcoholism of Jack’s experiences. His novels work because he doesn’t seem to be showing off when he veers into pictures of the bottom side of addiction and despair. He seems to know it, and literature is one of the ways he’s kept from succumbing to it.
Anyway, I’m still on this train, and I’ll get to the next one in the series pretty soon. I’m hoping the somewhat lazy plotting gets a makeover, and I’m hoping I won’t get too frustrated by the lengthening descriptions of what’s happened to Jack in earlier episodes.
And, above all, I hope I can forgive Bruen for [SPOILER] what he does to Jeff and Cathy’s baby in the closing pages. That may set up some freshly inspired self-loathing, but it may also mark one gimmick in a series that I find I no longer have the patience for.
January 22, 2018
This is book 4 in the Jack Taylor series which the TV show is based upon. I hesitate to say I enjoy these books because they are somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster, depressing, upsetting, even maddening at points and The Dramatist is no exception. It would be easy to say that Jack Taylor is his own worst enemy but unfortunately that isn’t the case, he has plenty of enemies.
This book starts with Jack in an unusual place, cold stone sober, off drink and drugs and trying to limit the cigarettes. His dealer is in prison and asks for a favor that drags Jack into a case that no one else even thinks is a case yet. Amid all that Jack deals with his mother, who is at the end of her tortured life, the jealous husband of an old lover, and a vigilante crew, seeking justice in their own way. The resolution is just as depressing and upsetting as Jack Taylor’s life.
I keep reading these because the writing is just that good, the sense of place is completely immersive, and Jack Taylor is a complex and engaging character. I will definitely keep reading this series, but I would caution anyone starting it that it pretty much has to be read in order. Galway is developed as a “small village” and Jack runs into people from previous books constantly. I think it would be difficult to understand all the nuances of the interactions without having read the earlier books.
This book starts with Jack in an unusual place, cold stone sober, off drink and drugs and trying to limit the cigarettes. His dealer is in prison and asks for a favor that drags Jack into a case that no one else even thinks is a case yet. Amid all that Jack deals with his mother, who is at the end of her tortured life, the jealous husband of an old lover, and a vigilante crew, seeking justice in their own way. The resolution is just as depressing and upsetting as Jack Taylor’s life.
I keep reading these because the writing is just that good, the sense of place is completely immersive, and Jack Taylor is a complex and engaging character. I will definitely keep reading this series, but I would caution anyone starting it that it pretty much has to be read in order. Galway is developed as a “small village” and Jack runs into people from previous books constantly. I think it would be difficult to understand all the nuances of the interactions without having read the earlier books.
June 1, 2012
At page 135, I decided to waste no more of my life reading this book, and while taking a huge breath of relief, shut the cover forever. I almost never totally abandon a book in such a fashion, but at page 135 I still was not at all intrigued by the plot and I still felt I could care less what happened to the "epic" Jack Taylor. Additionally the events that had transpired in the book to this point were so dull that between chapters I found immense relief in setting the book down to stare at the wall, which proved to be much more interesting than returning to The Dramatist. Two thumbs down.
DISCLAIMER: Although I vehemently disliked The Dramatist, I am not going discard Ken Bruen as a gifted writer. I have read and immensely enjoyed the 3 books co-authored by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr. This is my first endeavor into Bruen's solo work, and I am going to give one more book a try before I decide that I do not like his solo writing. Additionally, the author seemed to write this book in Irish dialect, which I found made reading the book somewhat laborious, and made me dislike the experience that much more. Perhaps if I were more familiar with Irish dialect, I would have disliked this book less.
DISCLAIMER: Although I vehemently disliked The Dramatist, I am not going discard Ken Bruen as a gifted writer. I have read and immensely enjoyed the 3 books co-authored by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr. This is my first endeavor into Bruen's solo work, and I am going to give one more book a try before I decide that I do not like his solo writing. Additionally, the author seemed to write this book in Irish dialect, which I found made reading the book somewhat laborious, and made me dislike the experience that much more. Perhaps if I were more familiar with Irish dialect, I would have disliked this book less.
July 1, 2017
Having been to Ireland as the guest of a film festival and having driven about the whole country, (no great feat), I must say, I don't recognize any of the places in PI, Jack Taylor's world. Jack's creator may as well have thrown in a couple of werewolves and vampires for the hell of it because the Ireland that I saw was no more like like 1940's Los Angeles or Detroit of pick-your-time than Disneyland. Noire-ville? The city of Galway, where these Jack Taylor books take place, is an arts center and a tourist destination. It's a popular day trip from Dublin. I'm sure Galway has an underbelly; Disneyland has an underbelly, but if Ken Bruen wants to write mysteries that could believably take place in Galway, he should have a protagonist who is a nun. Maybe one with a sidekick who is a leprechaun.
Anyway, Ken Bruen, you really are the most audacious liar. And you really can write. One word on the ending of "The Dramatist": Jayzus. The reason I will never read this book again. And the reason I don't have to.
Anyway, Ken Bruen, you really are the most audacious liar. And you really can write. One word on the ending of "The Dramatist": Jayzus. The reason I will never read this book again. And the reason I don't have to.
January 6, 2013
As always Bruen packs quite a punch in a small, tight package. I can't say much for fear of spoilers but suffice it to say the book leaves the reader with glimpses into Irish life with a disturbing feeling of growing unease and yet eager to read more about Jack Taylor, a former guard in Galway, Ireland. Jack's demons won't let him alone for long and we can't stop looking ...
August 26, 2008
Makes Hell Look Like a Happy Place
There is some small injustice in describing Ken Bruen's "The Dramatist" as simply "noir". While all of Bruen's writing is bleak - in-your-face crime fiction with no regard for inane political correctness or modern niceties, "The Dramatist" reads like a chainsaw to the gut - an emotional tour de force that will leave fragments of Bruen's broken prose haunting your subconscious weeks after you've turned the last page. Yeah, this is black - Stygian black, about as dark as fiction gets.
Galway ex-Guard Jack Taylor is back, who as a favor to his imprisoned former drug dealer is pulled into the investigation of the death of a college student. The apparently accidental fall down a boarding house staircase, while tragic, looks benign enough. Except for the unexplained volume of Irish playwright J.M. Synge ("A Playboy of the Western World") tucked under her body. But what seems to initially be an unexplained coincidence turns sinister when a similar fate visits another student. As expected from Burke, the mystery of the apparent murders, while compelling, fades a bit into the background under the ferocity and intensity of the irreverent and unrepentant Jack Taylor. And as always, the ridiculously well read Bruen spices this bare-knuckled tale with an eclectic collection of quotes from Synge (as expected), Robert Crais, James Lee Burke, Sean Burke, Matthew Stokoe, and several more. The Irish melancholy and fatalism reads as thick as a Galway sea fret as Taylor lumbers through the crimes and busted love affairs as well, leading to a climax that while fitting with the tone and timbre, nonetheless hit me like a two-by-four between the eyes.
The prolific Bruen continues to write like nobody in the business today. I'll concede, if you enjoy beautiful action hero-type people straight from People Magazine, complete with neat and happy little endings to wrap them up, then Bruen's jagged tales of sparsely written brutality may have you billing OT with your analyst. But if you're looking for that off-the-beaten track maverick who'd prefer to rewrite the genre than follow the pack, get to know this guy.
There is some small injustice in describing Ken Bruen's "The Dramatist" as simply "noir". While all of Bruen's writing is bleak - in-your-face crime fiction with no regard for inane political correctness or modern niceties, "The Dramatist" reads like a chainsaw to the gut - an emotional tour de force that will leave fragments of Bruen's broken prose haunting your subconscious weeks after you've turned the last page. Yeah, this is black - Stygian black, about as dark as fiction gets.
Galway ex-Guard Jack Taylor is back, who as a favor to his imprisoned former drug dealer is pulled into the investigation of the death of a college student. The apparently accidental fall down a boarding house staircase, while tragic, looks benign enough. Except for the unexplained volume of Irish playwright J.M. Synge ("A Playboy of the Western World") tucked under her body. But what seems to initially be an unexplained coincidence turns sinister when a similar fate visits another student. As expected from Burke, the mystery of the apparent murders, while compelling, fades a bit into the background under the ferocity and intensity of the irreverent and unrepentant Jack Taylor. And as always, the ridiculously well read Bruen spices this bare-knuckled tale with an eclectic collection of quotes from Synge (as expected), Robert Crais, James Lee Burke, Sean Burke, Matthew Stokoe, and several more. The Irish melancholy and fatalism reads as thick as a Galway sea fret as Taylor lumbers through the crimes and busted love affairs as well, leading to a climax that while fitting with the tone and timbre, nonetheless hit me like a two-by-four between the eyes.
The prolific Bruen continues to write like nobody in the business today. I'll concede, if you enjoy beautiful action hero-type people straight from People Magazine, complete with neat and happy little endings to wrap them up, then Bruen's jagged tales of sparsely written brutality may have you billing OT with your analyst. But if you're looking for that off-the-beaten track maverick who'd prefer to rewrite the genre than follow the pack, get to know this guy.
May 5, 2008
Oh my. After reading this installment of the Jack Taylor series, I am hard pressed to figure out how much worse things can get for Jack. I've long said that making Jack Taylor's acquaintance through reading is like watching a train about to wreck on its tracks...you know that something terrible is about to happen, but the reality of how bad it's going to be keeps you watching. But frankly, I wasn't prepared for this one.
As the novel opens, Jack's drug dealer (the very well-dressed, erudite young man) is in prison, put away for six years. He makes it known through Cathy that his sister had been killed and the crime scene made to look like an accident. He wants Jack to investigate. All that was found that was even a little off was a copy of a work by John Millington Synge near the body. However, Jack doesn't see murder, and besides, he has his hands full with the husband of an ex-lover. Add to this a crazy vigilante group and a newly-found woman, and you understand why Jack takes his time about getting to the drug dealer's problem. But when a second young woman dies the same way, and a book by Synge is found underneath her body, Jack's forced to take notice.
I love these books, I love these characters, and although Taylor is pitiful (and I do mean just absolutely pitiful), I can't get enough of this guy.
Highly recommended -- if you're after it for the mystery aspect only, you'll miss so much more in this series. I think people who've been following the series will enjoy it (my guess, before I read the next in the series it's a turning point) and will want as I did to read it soon after the Magdalen Martyrs. These books all turn on Jack Taylor's character -- not the element of the whodunits embedded into the story by the author.
Fabulous - and I'm off to order the next. Do NOT read this one without the 3 previous behind you.
As the novel opens, Jack's drug dealer (the very well-dressed, erudite young man) is in prison, put away for six years. He makes it known through Cathy that his sister had been killed and the crime scene made to look like an accident. He wants Jack to investigate. All that was found that was even a little off was a copy of a work by John Millington Synge near the body. However, Jack doesn't see murder, and besides, he has his hands full with the husband of an ex-lover. Add to this a crazy vigilante group and a newly-found woman, and you understand why Jack takes his time about getting to the drug dealer's problem. But when a second young woman dies the same way, and a book by Synge is found underneath her body, Jack's forced to take notice.
I love these books, I love these characters, and although Taylor is pitiful (and I do mean just absolutely pitiful), I can't get enough of this guy.
Highly recommended -- if you're after it for the mystery aspect only, you'll miss so much more in this series. I think people who've been following the series will enjoy it (my guess, before I read the next in the series it's a turning point) and will want as I did to read it soon after the Magdalen Martyrs. These books all turn on Jack Taylor's character -- not the element of the whodunits embedded into the story by the author.
Fabulous - and I'm off to order the next. Do NOT read this one without the 3 previous behind you.
May 24, 2016
Ken Bruen's 'The Dramatist' easily captured my attention. The main character, ex-guard Jack Taylor, is charmingly frank. The dialogue is fast and terse. There is a sweeping tension that carries the story forward.
I wanted to love the novel.
I ended up liking it.
[Spoilers ahead]
The ending is reminiscent of Jean-Paul Sartre and Peter S. Beagle (A Fine and Private Place in particular). Jack Taylor is sober, clean, and nearly off cigarettes. His life's still a mess but, during the course of the novel, we see him pull himself together. Then ... that ending.
THE ending.
I admit, I went through A Sartre phase. I've enjoyed Peter S. Beagle. I love a good, dark story.
But perhaps my age has left me feeling bitter with that surprise twist ending where nothing that has happened during the course of the novel has made a single bit of difference. The character is right back where he was in the beginning (worse off, you could say).
At another time, I would have loved the twist. Now, I was left slightly bereft and disappointed.
[Spoliers Ended]
The Dramatist is a good read, and a good introduction to Ken Bruen's series if one is picking it up for the first time. In the past, I would've given him 4.5-5 stars. Today, 3. I'll split the difference at 4.
I wanted to love the novel.
I ended up liking it.
[Spoilers ahead]
The ending is reminiscent of Jean-Paul Sartre and Peter S. Beagle (A Fine and Private Place in particular). Jack Taylor is sober, clean, and nearly off cigarettes. His life's still a mess but, during the course of the novel, we see him pull himself together. Then ... that ending.
THE ending.
I admit, I went through A Sartre phase. I've enjoyed Peter S. Beagle. I love a good, dark story.
But perhaps my age has left me feeling bitter with that surprise twist ending where nothing that has happened during the course of the novel has made a single bit of difference. The character is right back where he was in the beginning (worse off, you could say).
At another time, I would have loved the twist. Now, I was left slightly bereft and disappointed.
[Spoliers Ended]
The Dramatist is a good read, and a good introduction to Ken Bruen's series if one is picking it up for the first time. In the past, I would've given him 4.5-5 stars. Today, 3. I'll split the difference at 4.
December 26, 2013
My bromance with Ken Bruen and his Jack Taylor character continues. You know how sometimes there is an author or character that just hits all the right notes? This is mine. Frankly, I could care less about the cases involved in the story, I want to know more about Taylor. There is a case involving the Pikemen, a vigilante group and some quirky things going on with two deaths and books by J.M. Synge but for me it's all about Jack. He is sober throughout the majority of the story and watching him cope with that as he works his way around the cases is fascinating to me. His internal monologue as he decides how to respond to situations is what keeps me coming back for more. Oh, and what a brutal ending!
July 30, 2012
I liked hanging out with Jack Taylor; I'm a sucker for a flawed hero of the talkative variety. He is paralyzed by addiction and remorse, but he doesn't blame others, and that's refreshing. He sits around a lot then all of sudden something possesses him and he moves quickly and dramatically. That rhythm is disconcerting -- feels a lot like life. For awhile I liked all the pop music and literature that weave through every scene, but it got to be too much. I'll definitely be reading another of the Jack Taylor mysteries at some point, but not today.
August 5, 2017
This is more a series that explores the psyche of the tormented Jack Taylor than a mystery series. We all know that Jack has more demons than two ordinary people. But Jack hasn't too much trouble with the mystery of finding the killer of two girls but he does have a lot of trouble dealing with issues from his past. He is clean and sober through most of the book until a catastrophic event at the end changes everything. I love Jack and Ken Bruen does a wonderful job of creating this marvellous character. I can't wait for the next one.
April 14, 2013
This isn't really my genre but I'm totally hooked on Ken Bruen. He's often compared to Ian Rankin, a good writer, but nothing compared to Bruen. I would say if anything, and comparisons are usually odious, he's an Irish Raymond Chandler. Jack Taylor is a wonderful creation and so is the dark world he inhabits and I love his literary pretentions and Bruen's literary references. I cannot recommend his books highly enough.
February 10, 2014
Well, I am done with Ken Bruen and these books. I was fine with this book until the end. I have no issue with the protagonist (Jack Taylor)and his inability to make a choice that is healthy for him or for others around him. I, while annoyed, was okay with Jack Taylor's ability and even one could say desire to piss all over his friends and friendships. However, when Ken Bruen allowed Jack to cause the death of Serena May I was done. I will not be reading ANY Ken Bruen books ever again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2009
I'm always amazed at how some writers can open up worlds with so few worlds. This is a dark one, but with humor, and the ending knocks the wind out of you.
March 29, 2013
Very upsetting series. Drunks are not my favorite people. Jack Taylor is well read with acid humor, but watching him flame out book after book is wearing.
March 18, 2015
WoW!!!!! What an ending! I'm speechless! This series definitely keeps me on my toes.
November 10, 2025
Це книга із серії: герою набагато гірше, ніж мені, тож це мене заспокоює. Як і в попередніх книгах серії, це не зовсім детектив, а скоріше нуар про розгубленого, загубленого та зломленого персонажа, який ледь-ледь порпається на самому дні буття. Джека б'ють, калічать, травмують, за ним тягнуться смерті, він не знає у яку сторону світло й як жити це життя.
Як я й казала, ця серія мене заспокоює. Проте вона насправді доволі тригерна, бо смерті тут чатують на кожному кроці, вони відбуваються несподівано та болюче, а зло карається самосудом.
І ця книга, напевне, найбільш гнітюча з усіх 4-х.
Як я й казала, ця серія мене заспокоює. Проте вона насправді доволі тригерна, бо смерті тут чатують на кожному кроці, вони відбуваються несподівано та болюче, а зло карається самосудом.
І ця книга, напевне, найбільш гнітюча з усіх 4-х.
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