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boesgesicht's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
rosseroo's review
3.0
Written more than 30 years ago, this slim book is less a crime story than it is a "ripped from the headlines" IRA thriller. It features a 40ish newspaper reporter sent to Belfast to do a story about a mysterious IRA commander who might turn the tide in the struggle against British occupation. The reporter is half-Irish, so he also meets up with his uncle, who is a lifelong IRA member. Danger ensures.
What I couldn't figure out is why, even though his uncle is murdered, and he knows he's being sought by either British intelligence and/or the UVF, he nonetheless takes a planned trip to see his daughter at her Swiss boarding school. (Apparently in the 1980s, divorced print journalists could afford to send their kids to Swiss boarding schools?) Naturally, she becomes a target in the mayhem that follows.
The remaining two-thirds of the book takes place in and around New York -- and if there's one reason to read the book, it's for the depiction of early '80s NYC. It's a pulpy tour through Irish bars, the Plaza Hotel, derelict jazz joints, and the like. The story lurches around unconvincingly though, eventually involving a weirdo televangelist family. I finished it to see how it would all go down, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone. Readers looking for crime fiction set amidst the Troubles would be much better served by seeking out Adrian McKinty's series featuring Det. Sean Duffy.
What I couldn't figure out is why, even though his uncle is murdered, and he knows he's being sought by either British intelligence and/or the UVF, he nonetheless takes a planned trip to see his daughter at her Swiss boarding school. (Apparently in the 1980s, divorced print journalists could afford to send their kids to Swiss boarding schools?) Naturally, she becomes a target in the mayhem that follows.
The remaining two-thirds of the book takes place in and around New York -- and if there's one reason to read the book, it's for the depiction of early '80s NYC. It's a pulpy tour through Irish bars, the Plaza Hotel, derelict jazz joints, and the like. The story lurches around unconvincingly though, eventually involving a weirdo televangelist family. I finished it to see how it would all go down, but can't say I'd recommend it to anyone. Readers looking for crime fiction set amidst the Troubles would be much better served by seeking out Adrian McKinty's series featuring Det. Sean Duffy.
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