Review of The Cold, Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail, 2012)

Detective Sergeant Sean Duffy is a Catholic cop in Northern Ireland in 1981 in a force dominated by protestants and targeted by paramilitary republicans. A few weeks after being posted to the CID in Carrickfergus, the Maze hunger strikers start to die, the whole province erupting into violent protest. Between having to don riot gear to help his beleaguered colleagues, Duffy has two new cases to investigate - the death of a homosexual man, his hand severed, and the apparent suicide of an ex-wife of a Maze hunger striker. This is quickly added to by the murder of a second known homosexual man. It seems that Duffy might be investigating the first known serial killer on the island, one that is taking advantage of the limited police resources. As Duffy works away at the case he has to negotiate the complex terrain of IRA, loyal paramilitaries and the security forces, none of whom prove cooperative. Duffy though has the bit between his teeth and is unwilling to let the case slide into the unsolved pile.

As an Irish police procedural, The Cold, Cold Ground is right up there with Brian McGilloway’s Inspector Devlin and John Brady’s Matt Minogue series. In fact, it might just be the best example of a police procedural so far produced on the island. It’s pretty difficult to pick holes in any aspect of the story, with perhaps the exception of forgetting to return a submachine gun left on the hall table back to the barracks for two whole weeks (not the kind of item that would escape one’s attention). McKinty immerses the reader in Carrickfergus and Belfast in 1981 - its politics, its riots, its policing, its fashions, music and social relations, its sense of place, without it ever swamping the narrative. The attention to detail is excellent. Sean Duffy is a complex, flawed and bright lead character, out of his depth and desperately trying to stay afloat amongst paramilitary groups and police and security service politics, and determined to solve the two cases. He’s surrounded by a well realised support cast, some of whom are real figures, other fictional characters. The plot twists and turns and is nicelyy paced, and McKinty shows his usual flair for poetic prose. A great read from an author who consistently turns out interesting and insightful books. The only let down - I have to wait for the next Duffy book to be published.

Review of Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail, 2011)

Rachel Coulter, an ex-drug addict, has fled with her two young children. Her ex-husband, Richard Coulter, the multi-millionaire owner of Northern Ireland’s low-cost airline, wants them found and he’s willing to pay a handsome fee. Coulter has turned to fixer Michael Forsythe who recommends Killian, a Pavee Traveller, who specialises in finding people and fixing problems. Having retired and sunk his nest egg into the Northern Ireland property market that has since crashed, Killian is persuaded to take on the case. He soon has Rachel in his sights, but it seems that she has taken more than the children, something that is likely to turn Killian against his employers. And so a second hunter, a former Russian soldier, is sent to edge Killian out of the picture and retrieve the daughters. Thus a deadly cat and mouse chase ensues.

The real strength of an Adrian McKinty book is the quality of the writing. His prose and dialogue are excellent and the stories are well told. Falling Glass is a straight thriller, with a relatively uncomplicated plot lacking in major twists or turns, and a small group of core characters. Killian, Rachel, Coulter and Markov are all interesting characters, but for me they were lacking a little in depth. In contrast, the two young daughters were more ‘alive’ and resonant. The start is excellent and the story is engaging, with some very good scenes in places, but I had difficulty believing both the first escape scene and the final confrontations. Whilst the story is entertaining, to this reader it was not quite as good as his other books I’ve read. I guess this is the problem if you set the bar so damn high. Still good stuff mind, just not quite flying at the same altitude as Dead I May Well Be or Fifty Grand. Overall, a straight up and down thriller, with some very nice prose, that’s an entertaining read.

Lazy Sunday Service

The nice people at Serpent's Tail have sent me an ARC of Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty, which is released early March. I've only read the prologue so far, but it's a great start. The scene is an Irish man in a so-called Irish bar in New York giving out about the shoddy, hyperreal nature of the bar. The dialogue is spot-on.

"My point, friend, is that this is not an affectionate homage. This is not an interior critique. This is not Jay-Z using, what I advisedly call, the N-word. This is a collection of cliches that actually undermines what it is supposed to be celebrating. This whole ethos is a paradigm in need of shifting. And the fact that is generated by people, no offence, with only a tangential connection to the ur-source of that culture makes it all the more embarrassing."

The barman nodded. "So do you want another pint then? One without a shamrock on its head?"

And it roles from there. Great stuff.

My posts this week:
Review of The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
What we do or what others think we are?
Three stories: zonings, permissions and enforcement
Review of The Wild Blue by Stephen Ambrose
Radio work
Review of The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips
Stories fade to haiku

Review of Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail, 2003)

Michael Forsythe was introduced early to the school of hard knocks growing up in the working class estates of Belfast during the Troubles.  When he’s convicted of benefit fraud, Darkey White, a New York crime boss, pays for his travel to the United States.  To pay back his airfare, Forsythe works for White, running various rackets and scams, tussling with Irish Americans and the rising power of the Dominicans in Harlem and the Bronx.  Quick-witted, fearless, and handy in a tight corner, he makes a strong impression with both Darkey and his girlfriend, Bridget.  Foolishly he starts an affair with the fiery and passionate young woman; an affair that can only bring trouble.  And when the revenge comes it sends Forsythe on a hellish journey from which there seems little hope of return. 

Dead I May Well Be is a confident, bold and assured debut novel of great depth and storytelling.  Forsythe is a complex and well-drawn character and the rest of the cast are more than mere extras.  The writing is sharp and dark, the plot is rich and thick with political and philosophical insight, as well as violence and pathos, and the story zips along at a cracking pace.  McKinty does a good job of capturing the sights and sounds of pre-Giuliani New York City, and the personal relations within and between gangs.  And the dialogue and narrator’s voice are spot on.  If you’re looking for a hardboiled slice of noir with a fresh voice, then Dead I Well May Be is as good as place to start as you’re likely to get.  What I need right now, is his second novel – I fear they might be addictive.

Review of Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty, Serpent’s Tail (2009)

The Irish crime blogs, Crime Always Pays and Crime Scene NI, have been heaping plaudits on Adrian McKinty for a number of weeks coinciding with the publication of Fifty Grand. Often when I read a book that’s given such strong endorsements I’m left a little disappointed because as good as the book is, it doesn’t quite live up to the expectation. I approached Fifty Grand then with a little bit of caution, especially after the highly negative review in the Irish Times a couple of weeks ago. I needn’t have worried - Fifty Grand is good as the hype and then some.

The frozen lake and the black vacuum sky and the dead man pleading for the return of his remaining days.
“There must be some kind of mistake.”
No.
“You’ve got the wrong guy.”
No.
“You’re gonna pay for this.”
Viejo Companero, I’ve paid in advance. And before he can come up with anymore material I unroll a line of duct tape, cut it, and place it over his mouth.

Mercado is a Cuban detective, her brother Ricky works as a journalist for the Cuba Times. Despite their father being branded a traitor, abandoning them as children to escape to the US to start a new life, they have managed to carve out careers for themselves. Then they get news that their father has been killed in a hit and run accident in the ski resort of Fairview, Colorado, an Aspen wannabe, where Hollywood film stars and producers are setting up home in luxury ski lodges. Nobody is brought to justice for the death of the local ratcatcher. To track down her father’s killer and avenge his death Mercado is determined to head to the US regardless of the consequences for her family and colleagues if she fails to return. Faking a trip to Mexico to attend an interview for a university course, she skips over the border and makes her way to Fairview, where the service labour are illegal immigrants under the direction of Esteban, a US-born Mexican, and the local Sheriff runs the town as his own personal fiefdom determined to cash in on the town’s growing popularity. Working as a maid to the rich and famous and posing as an insurance agent Mercado has only a few days to determine who the killer is, take her revenge, and make it back to Mexico before her travel permit expires. But nothing is as simple as it first appears.

McKinty’s narrative is taut, lyrical and well crafted. Fifty Grand is all muscle and no flab. The characterization is superb, the dialogue snappy and real, the story compelling, and the prose often reads like poetry. Mercado is a well drawn character, flawed, determined, conflicted; at sea in a consumerist society of which she has no experience, using her cop instincts to get by. McKinty does an excellent job of exposing modern Cuba and the politics and corruption of small town America and Hollywood celebrity without it ever becoming a sermon. There were a few plot conveniences and coincidences, but then there nearly always are and nothing stuck out as being so improbable that it ruined the story. I was hooked from the first page, gripped by Mercado’s journey and the various twists and turns.

Did I enjoy this book – hell, yes. Criticisms – minor stuff. Do I want to read his other books – right now! (they're already on order)