Reviews

The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan

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jrmarr's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this instalment, but it just didn’t feel quite as ‘cooked’ as the earlier books in the series.

litwithleigh's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 rounded up

One sentence review: A bangerlicious book to end this wonderfully written series

SYNOPSIS

A missing child leads to Cormac Reilly and his protege Peter Fisher being on the outs. While Peter is shipped to Roundstone to work with his estranged father, Reilly digs deep into the corrupt police dept he is being forced out of.

MY OPINION

OOOHHWEEEE!! I've said it before and I'll say it again: THIS is Dervla McTiernan... whoever wrote The Murder Rule stole her identity. McTiernan flexed her skillz in the last book the series (hopefully there is more to come). Beautifully written, deftly plotted, and fast-paced... what more could a hoe ask for?

I did find The Ruin (book #1) to be a tad slow, as it takes nearly 100 pgs to really get to the case at hand, but #3 was off to the races from pg 1. My butt cheeks were CLENCHED for the first 20% as Cormac and his skeleton crew race to find the kidnapped girl. She was relentless with it. And even though it did slow down to more of a casual trot, there was still lots of meat to the story.

Like the rest of the series, this is very character driven. McTiernan explores the fractured relationship between Cormac and Emma, as well as Peter's difficulties with his bum ass father. She does a fantastic job with showing, not telling, how complex adult relationships are – whether they are platonic, familial, or romantic. To keep it a stack, I'm not upset about the whole Cormac and Emma drama. I just don't feel it.

My rich homie qualm with this book (hence 4.5) is the ending is a lil too neatly tied up for corruption of that magnitude. The homies had been struggling for years and then Captain Cormac comes in and saves the day. Also they were being a lil daft to the connections between some characters, but it wasn't full on dumbassery. However, the plot was so intricately woven and captivating that it didn't justify being turfed down to a 4. And tbh I'm not really into the whole police corruption storyline (especially since it was prevalent in book #1) but this one snatched my ass in.

All in all, an enjoyable read. I hope she leaves the popcorn thriller genre behind and comes back to her roots. This series BANGS aggressively. Yes, this is a short review, but I really don't have anything to bish about.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: wonderfully written, fast-paced, great character depth, dark humor here and thurr, captivating plot

Cons: a lil too neatly wrapped up at the end and some obtuse moments to drive the plot forward

adrianjd's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Best one of the trilogy for me. Two separate story lines which hook together as the book develops. Not totally focussed on Cormac as the first two were. This novel also has a storyline concerning Peter who has been a bit part player thus far.

didactylos's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Brilliant plotting but the most impressive feature for me were the little human touches that bring the characters and their speech to life. I need to read the others in the series now -sadly this was the last of the trio so I hope the earlier ones are not spoilt by my knowledge. Two minor quibbles, the author insists on giving irrelevant details sometimes of exactly how a character is dressed, or exactly how a room is furnished - as I say it’s irrelevant material. The reading was great, lovely and the range of voices by the reader is wonderful- so much so we don’t need the ‘X said’ ‘Y said’ - it becomes irritating