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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Audiobook: Finally, a book in which the violence serves the story instead of the opposite.This is the first in a series of novels that portray Belfast and Northern Ireland following the peace accords, which left a lot of violent men with little to do and changing loyalties. Gerry Fegan had been an enforcer for one of the groups of thugs ostensibly battling the British. Now beset by guilt for those he had killed, he’s surrounded by imaginary “followers” representing each of the twelve he had killed and they won’t leave him alone until he kills those who had ordered the killings.
Much as slavery and segregation haunt U.S. history, so do the years of the Troubles for the Irish. Preserving the peace becomes a priority for those in power and they will sacrifice innocents to maintain political stability. That’s one of the underlying themes of Neville’s book. “"Even now [that] the politicians had taken over the movement," Neville writes of the Irish Republican Army paramilitaries, "even though they were shifting away from the rackets, the extortion, the thieving, people still needed to be kept in line." The British still have their undercover agents and one of those is tasked by his handlers with killing Fegan in order to prevent his killings from upsetting the delicate balance.
Note that even though billed as the first in the Jack Lennon Investigations series, Lennon plays a minuscule role unlike the second. It’s all Gerry Fegan.
I read this book after Collusion, the second in the series, and several things became clear in both volumes. I recommend reading the books in order, as knowing what happens in the second destroys any suspense in the first. Very good reading.
Much as slavery and segregation haunt U.S. history, so do the years of the Troubles for the Irish. Preserving the peace becomes a priority for those in power and they will sacrifice innocents to maintain political stability. That’s one of the underlying themes of Neville’s book. “"Even now [that] the politicians had taken over the movement," Neville writes of the Irish Republican Army paramilitaries, "even though they were shifting away from the rackets, the extortion, the thieving, people still needed to be kept in line." The British still have their undercover agents and one of those is tasked by his handlers with killing Fegan in order to prevent his killings from upsetting the delicate balance.
Note that even though billed as the first in the Jack Lennon Investigations series, Lennon plays a minuscule role unlike the second. It’s all Gerry Fegan.
I read this book after Collusion, the second in the series, and several things became clear in both volumes. I recommend reading the books in order, as knowing what happens in the second destroys any suspense in the first. Very good reading.
Sooner or later, everybody pays.
After spending time in prison, a former IRA killer is living a life out of the spotlight while haunted by the ghosts of his kills. Guilt, fear and redemption all play a part as Fegan tries to exorcise his demons. A precarious peace has been formed and the new breed of Irish fighter attempts to use political means to advance the cause(as well as their own bank account).
The old ways were dead and gone, but still their ghosts might come back to haunt the political process. The politicos might be smarter, but smart never stopped a bullet.
Fegan befriends an outcast and her young daughter as he works his way through his personal demons.
"I know the feeling." A tentative smile flickered on Marie's lips. "You can't choose where you belong, and where you don't. But what if the place you don't belong is the only place you have left?"
A fantastic story of guilt and redemption. Highly recommended.
The peace process had left many idle hands, and the devil was busy doling out work.
9/10
After spending time in prison, a former IRA killer is living a life out of the spotlight while haunted by the ghosts of his kills. Guilt, fear and redemption all play a part as Fegan tries to exorcise his demons. A precarious peace has been formed and the new breed of Irish fighter attempts to use political means to advance the cause(as well as their own bank account).
The old ways were dead and gone, but still their ghosts might come back to haunt the political process. The politicos might be smarter, but smart never stopped a bullet.
Fegan befriends an outcast and her young daughter as he works his way through his personal demons.
"I know the feeling." A tentative smile flickered on Marie's lips. "You can't choose where you belong, and where you don't. But what if the place you don't belong is the only place you have left?"
A fantastic story of guilt and redemption. Highly recommended.
The peace process had left many idle hands, and the devil was busy doling out work.
9/10
It was a well crafted and engrossing mystery with a great storyline about redemption, betrayal and the tarnishing of ideals.
Well done.
Well done.
I really liked this book quite a lot. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to start a new bookshelf called Belfast between Adrian McKinty and now, Stuart Neville.
The characters made sense to me. The personalities and their actions, all seemed to be right for the individuals. The writing sucked me in to the point that I was pushing aside things I needed to do in order to get just a little further into it. Very much impressed and looking forward to the next book in the series.
The characters made sense to me. The personalities and their actions, all seemed to be right for the individuals. The writing sucked me in to the point that I was pushing aside things I needed to do in order to get just a little further into it. Very much impressed and looking forward to the next book in the series.
Fast, paced, action filled revenge tale which made for a quick easy read except the ending was too clean considering the messiness of the main character throughout the rest of the novel.
THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, by Stuart Neville, is about an ex-con named Gerry Fegan being harassed by the ghosts of those he has killed.
The book sets off at a good pace, introducing the other players in his world. It’s not really heavy into describing locations, but good enough to give you the basic feel of the place. The language is course, as would be expected amongst violent men.
The men of the underground army are brutal, unforgiving men. They are rough and believable. For some, this is the only thing they’ve ever known.
Fegan gripped Toner’s ring finger. “Who’s the cop?”
“Gerry, please, I can’t.”
Toner screamed again, drowning out the sound of cracking bone. Fegan sighed. He was surprised at Toner. He’d always taken him for weak; the solicitor was anything but. He ground the bones together.
My favorite character is the protagonist, Gerry Fegan. He sees and communicates with ‘shadows,’ ghosts of dead people; how splendid is that? Unfortunately, he’s also consuming way too much alcohol in an attempt to run away from them. When the twelve ghosts of those who he has murdered require him to avenge their deaths by killing someone else who was also involved in their murder, he has no qualms about getting the job done. One by one, his tormentor ghosts disappear as the other killers are taken out by Gerry. His acquaintances (there are no real friends exempt from being double-crossed when you’re part of this organization) think he’s gone mad, talking to people that they can’t see.
Fegan shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Thirty years, Gerry. We’ve known each other thirty-“
The Walther barked once, throwing red and grey against the windscreen. ***** slumped forward onto the steering wheel, and the Merc’s horn screamed at the night. Fegan reached forward, pulled him back against the seat, and silence swallowed them.
I’ve always been interested in the experiences of the everyman in Irish, Welsh, and Scottish life, so I found this book very appealing.
“You’re a respected man around here,” she said.
“They don’t respect me. They’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Fegan plucked at the beer can’s ring-pull. “You know what I did?” “I’ve heard things,” she said. Her shoulder brushed against his and he shivered. “Listen, I’ve known men like you all my life. My uncles, my father, my brothers. I know the other side, too, the cops and the Loyalists. I’ve talked to them all in my job. Everyone has their piece of guilt to carry. You’re not that special.”
I’m happy to say, the plot surprised me towards the end. It gave me chills! No spoilers here; you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.
As with Adrian McKinty’s fabulous DEAD TRILOGY books, Stuart Neville knows his stuff when it comes to the Irish Troubles and how it affected people.
If you’re interested at all in the scratchy existence of the Irish activists, you must read THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST.
The book sets off at a good pace, introducing the other players in his world. It’s not really heavy into describing locations, but good enough to give you the basic feel of the place. The language is course, as would be expected amongst violent men.
The men of the underground army are brutal, unforgiving men. They are rough and believable. For some, this is the only thing they’ve ever known.
Fegan gripped Toner’s ring finger. “Who’s the cop?”
“Gerry, please, I can’t.”
Toner screamed again, drowning out the sound of cracking bone. Fegan sighed. He was surprised at Toner. He’d always taken him for weak; the solicitor was anything but. He ground the bones together.
My favorite character is the protagonist, Gerry Fegan. He sees and communicates with ‘shadows,’ ghosts of dead people; how splendid is that? Unfortunately, he’s also consuming way too much alcohol in an attempt to run away from them. When the twelve ghosts of those who he has murdered require him to avenge their deaths by killing someone else who was also involved in their murder, he has no qualms about getting the job done. One by one, his tormentor ghosts disappear as the other killers are taken out by Gerry. His acquaintances (there are no real friends exempt from being double-crossed when you’re part of this organization) think he’s gone mad, talking to people that they can’t see.
Fegan shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Thirty years, Gerry. We’ve known each other thirty-“
The Walther barked once, throwing red and grey against the windscreen. ***** slumped forward onto the steering wheel, and the Merc’s horn screamed at the night. Fegan reached forward, pulled him back against the seat, and silence swallowed them.
I’ve always been interested in the experiences of the everyman in Irish, Welsh, and Scottish life, so I found this book very appealing.
“You’re a respected man around here,” she said.
“They don’t respect me. They’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Fegan plucked at the beer can’s ring-pull. “You know what I did?” “I’ve heard things,” she said. Her shoulder brushed against his and he shivered. “Listen, I’ve known men like you all my life. My uncles, my father, my brothers. I know the other side, too, the cops and the Loyalists. I’ve talked to them all in my job. Everyone has their piece of guilt to carry. You’re not that special.”
I’m happy to say, the plot surprised me towards the end. It gave me chills! No spoilers here; you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.
As with Adrian McKinty’s fabulous DEAD TRILOGY books, Stuart Neville knows his stuff when it comes to the Irish Troubles and how it affected people.
If you’re interested at all in the scratchy existence of the Irish activists, you must read THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST.
This was an exciting page turner - I wouldn't call it a mystery since the reader knows very early on who did it, but more of a political thriller. The story centers around an off-balance ex-IRA solider in Belfast who is wrestling with his demons - the victims of a war in which innocents were killed. Though some characters were too stereotypical (e.g., the crooked politician, the obese gangster), there was a lot of interesting historical background about the "resolution" of the troubles in Northern Ireland.
DNF @ 34%
I was really enjoying this very much. It’s rich with dark intrigue and complex political suspense. But then I became sick with a couple things, back-to-back, and fell out of touch with what was going on. I want to return to this one day and try to binge read it in a couple days. It’s the sort of twisted treat that requires your full attention.
From what I had read of it, I would highly recommend this to people who enjoy crime thrillers, especially ones in Ireland!
I was really enjoying this very much. It’s rich with dark intrigue and complex political suspense. But then I became sick with a couple things, back-to-back, and fell out of touch with what was going on. I want to return to this one day and try to binge read it in a couple days. It’s the sort of twisted treat that requires your full attention.
From what I had read of it, I would highly recommend this to people who enjoy crime thrillers, especially ones in Ireland!