BLACK IRISH

by Casey Sherman

West Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1981. Tensions between Catholics and Protestants have never been higher. The IRA Hunger Strikes are in full swing, and violence continues to spread in Belfast. While working in their parents' grocery store, two young Catholic twins, Vincent and Michael Logan, witness their father's brutal murder by British commandos. This horrific crime sends the twins on radically opposing paths. As they reach adulthood, Vincent embarks on a journey for justice and becomes a cop. Michael, still simmering over his father's murder, is out for revenge and soon becomes the IRA's most feared assassin. When Michael discovers that his father's killer has just become the most powerful man in Europe, he plots his revenge. But there's one man standing in his way, one he used to call brother

Genres: Irish Literature, Ireland

236 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2007

About the author

Casey Sherman is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 13 books including The Finest Hours (now a major motion picture starring Casey Affleck & Chris Pine), Boston Strong (the basis for the film Patriots Day starring Mark Wahlberg), Animal & Hunting Whitey.
Sherman is also the author of 12, Search for the Strangler, Animal, Bad Blood, Black Irish, Black Dragon, Above & Beyond and The Ice Bucket Challenge.
Sherman is a contributing writer for TIME, Esquire, Washington Post, Boston Herald and Boston Magazine and has appeared as a guest an analyst on more than 100 television news programs.
Sherman is a graduate of Barnstable High School (Cape Cod), Fryeburg Academy (Fryeburg, Me.) and Boston University.

Reviews

[Spednic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very exciting book! I was a bit put off by the first chapter......I thought, I really don't know much about Casey Sherman... what did I do, pick up a pornagraphic book? Oh horrors! I kept reading to see where this was going to go, and was quickly caught up in the story of two Irish boys who had witnessed the murder of their father and the severe injury of their pregnant mother with one of the sons dedicated to revenge. The story weaves through many different countries, situations and surprising conclusions......very cleverly crafted.
Thanks Casey!

[Sam Jokisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super weird vibes from this book, because it wasn't great, but after discovering it's self published, I'm more impressed. It had quite a few grammar and spelling issues towards the end, which really turned me off of it and made the ending feel rushed, but I couldn't help being impressed that the story actually held me the whole time. It could pass as a book published by one of the professionals (without the errors).

Either way. Beginning was excellent, and I was really drawn in by the character development. Ending was kind of sloppy and confusing. Overall, a good, quick read, if willing to forgive a novice author's mistakes. A lot of potential in this writing.

[Dm32blue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this one star just to show how little I think of this novel. IT SUCKED!!! My God man, I couldn't wait to get through it... it was amateur and trite and contrived and a 9th grader sitting in study period could have done a better job. The errors and typos were outrageous... I mean who edited this pile of garbage?? For that matter how was it ever published?? A great example of how NOT to write a story... readers steer clear!!

[Joanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book. The author is a local guy-something I always enjoy, the book takes place in Ireland as well as Boston and the Cape-again-stuff I like. My friend who selected the book for our book club was really worried that she would pick a book no one liked so I wanted to like it for her sake too. I wanted to like it because I saw that the author commented on the positive reviews left by people here. Despite my desire to like the book in the end it was just okay for me.

The book is about twin brothers who witness a brutal attack on their parents. The father is murdered in the attack and their mother is left in a vegetative state. Ater the attack, the boys are sent to Catholic boarding school and things don't get any better. As adults, one brother is a police officer and the other is an IRA asassin determined to avenge his father's death.

The book jumps around a lot-from place to place and from year to year-and it wasn't always easy to follow when or where the action was taking place. Some parts of the book just didn't seem to fit in and some of the writing was laugh out loud bad-"his brain splattered on the floor like a Jackson Pollack painting." My feelings were starting to improve near the end of the book but then the ending was so random I'm not even sure what to make of it. I see that he has a sequel coming out (or maybe it's out) so I guess he was trying to leave some loose ends but they were just too loose for my liking.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I obviously have a soft spot in my heart for Irish hit men with conscience. Honestly, my only complaint about this book was the ending seemed a bit rushed and I think the book would have been better if it had been longer. We got glimpses into why the bad guys were truly evil, but I would have liked more meat to it. The same can be said for Michael and Vincent. More meat of why they made the choices they did would have made this better.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was predictable. But good for a quick read.If the author would've twisted some of the plot lines would be more intriguing.