New book in Ben Devlin series by Brian McGilloway
Brian McGilloway won huge acclaim last year with the brilliant novel THE LAST CROSSING, before that he wrote a series of books featuring Ben Devlin a maverick of sorts in the police force near the borderlands of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland with all the political ramifications that go with the character's proximity.
The Last Crossing was a standalone novel and a mediation on the coping of grief when one event can haunt you but also set you on a path in your life with no looking back.
On more familiar ground with a returning lead protagonist, Devlin is investigating a case that also looks back at the past and how it can have such a grip on people.
'How can a dead woman avenge herself on her killer twenty years after her murder?'
That is the question posed to Devlin as he investigates a murdered body in a bedsit, a chill washes over him when the identity of the victim is Brooklyn Harris. Devlin knew of the case when Harris was convicted of murdering one Hannah Row on a night out which included sexual assault of the young victim on that occasion. As a minor, Harris was granted a new name when released from prison and yet his passing throws light on the question of how to grief for any victim, irrespective of the nefarious nature of the person involved.
As Devlin attempts to investigate he finds obstacles by people and colleagues who feel that particular victim - Harris - should be buried as quickly as possible in essence good riddance to bad criminals.
McGilloway crafts a novel full of intrigue and compulsion, touching on religion, the pressure on the youth from peers, vigilant justice against sexual assaulters in the social media age and Devlin having to cope with the impending Covid-19 pandemic upon his loved ones especially his ailing father who he removes from a care home and takes in to be near him.
The swiftness with which McGilloway can go from one narrative thread to another so neatly and succinctly is a skill that familiar readers will be aware of but new readers will greatly appreciate.
A writer of real intelligence has again created a work of fiction that is both real and emotive basing it within a very familiar world as the fear of a pandemic takes over, but a gripping and entertaining crime read of real nous and skill
Blood Ties is available now on all formats.
My thanks to DHH Literary Agency for the review opportunity.
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