★ 01/25/2016
Det. Insp. Sean Duffy must solve the equivalent of a locked-room mystery in McKinty’s scorching fifth installment in his Troubles-set Northern Irish crime series (after 2015’s Gun Street Girl). It’s 1987 in Carrickfergus, and Duffy, a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, is constantly on the lookout for mercury tilt switch bombs planted underneath his car, the calling card of the IRA. Meanwhile, the body of Financial Times journalist Lily Bigelow is found in the courtyard of Carrickfergus Castle. The only way in or out of the centuries-old structure, now a tourist attraction, is through a heavy gate, and CCTV footage proves that no one entered or exited the castle at the time of Bigelow’s death, making Duffy think that she likely threw herself off one of the high walls inside. But the forensics experts conclude someone murdered Bigelow, whom Duffy soon connects to a delegation of Finnish businessmen visiting Northern Ireland to perhaps bring new jobs. McKinty expertly balances Duffy’s tense and suspenseful investigation with the political tensions of the region. Agent: Bob Mecoy, Creative Book Services. (Mar.)

WINNER! EDGAR® AWARD for BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL!

2017 BARRY AWARD FINALIST

A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF 2015 

PRAISE FOR THE DETECTIVE SEAN DUFFY NOVELS:

“When it comes to Northern Irish crime fiction, Adrian McKinty forged the path the rest of us follow. The Sean Duffy series is the culmination of a career spent examining our darkest moments, and McKinty is the only crime writer who can do justice to our singular history.”

—STUART NEVILLE, author of Those We Left Behind
 
“Shot through with a smart, crackling humor that manages to be both dark and witty. . . . [Sean Duffy] is utterly and pleasurably human.”

—BOSTON GLOBE
 
“Exceptionally smart police procedurals.”

—BOOKLIST FOUR STARRED REVIEWS!
 
“A great writer. . . . Don't miss any of the [series].”

—NANCY PEARL, NPR commentator and bestselling author of Book Lust
 
“Dark, intriguing, but still somehow witty novels. . . . A thrilling, thoroughly fantastic murder mystery with countless twists and turns that take readers to the darkest parts of Belfast.”

—RT BOOK REVIEWS

McKinty’s story opens with a visit to Belfast by “sporting royalty” Muhammad Ali—a challenge narrator Gerard Doyle meets with a gravelly, rhythmic delivery. Even better are Doyle’s varied Irish accents, which help differentiate the various Northern Irish policemen who work with Detective Sean Duffy to solve an international case of murder in an Irish village. The death of a young English reporter involves politicians and wealthy Finnish investors. Duffy’s journey to Finland to investigate poses an interesting vocal challenge that Doyle handles admirably. His delivery further ratchets up the tension when the threat of IRA bombings and the death of a high-ranking police official add to the mayhem. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

2015-12-23
During the Irish Troubles, a discouraged detective tackles a murder oddly similar to a past crime. The excitement of meeting Muhammad Ali on his Belfast visit quickly fades for DI Sean Duffy. He'd thought he and his girlfriend were doing fine, but she's determined to walk out on him, and he's depressed to be left behind. He's pushing 40, his career with the Royal Ulster Constabulary is stalled, and he has nothing to look forward to but checking for bombs under his car on his way to the Carrick station and pursuing a case of a missing wallet. But Duffy's superiors want him to take the case seriously because the victim is a visiting Finnish businessman who can bring money and jobs to Northern Ireland. After privately writing off the robbery as a prank, Duffy meets Lily Bigelow, a young reporter from the Financial Times, who's hoping for a few words about the case. Duffy's hoping for a date with her, and his disappointment that she doesn't take him up on it turns to shock when he sees her dead body in the courtyard of Carrickfergus Castle the next day. Lily had come for a tour and stayed behind when the caretaker locked up the castle for the night, and the only logical conclusions are that she jumped or the caretaker pushed her. Even though it seems impossible for anyone else to have entered the locked castle, neither Duffy nor his two junior colleagues are content to go with the obvious answers. And there's still the matter of Lily's missing journalist's notepad. When a violent murder turns the station upside down, Duffy can't shake the feeling that it's connected to Lily's death, and he won't give up the case, no matter how far it takes him or what the danger. Duffy (Gun Street Girl, 2015, etc.) is taking no better care of himself than he ever did. But his copper's instincts are as sharp as ever in this fifth installment.