by Ken Bruen
First published 2005
Jack Taylor sits in a Galway bar, cocaine tucked in his waistband and a pint of Guinness calling his name. A year ago he left Ireland sober with dreams of starting fresh in London. Now he's back wearing a new leather jacket but carrying the same old demons. He spends his days lost in an alcoholic haze, surfacing only long enough to survey the bar before diving back into his preferred oblivion. Then a large gypsy approaches him during one of his rare moments of clarity. The man carries a look Jack recognizes from his own mirror: hopelessness mixed with determination and simmering rage. Despite knowing it will lead to trouble, Jack agrees to help this kindred spirit. In Jack's world, good and bad blur together anyway, and no one has ever accused him of making smart choices. The case pulls him deeper into Galway's dark underbelly, where his self-destructive tendencies collide with a community's pain and his own need for something resembling redemption.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: anti-hero, flawed-protagonist, redemption-arc
Setting: Galway, Ireland, London
Period: Contemporary
244 pages · Paperback · St. Martin's Minotaur
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, violence