The Dead Yard

Starred review from January 9, 2006
McKinty's literate, expertly crafted third crime novel, the sequel to Dead I Well May Be
(2003), confirms his place as one of his generation's leading talents. Five years after taking down a powerful Irish mobster, Belfast-born mercenary Michael Forsythe has a new identity and the chance at a new life, courtesy of the FBI. Unfortunately, while vacationing in Spain, Forsythe's thrown into prison after a soccer match between the Irish and the Brits turns violent. Forsythe faces extradition to Mexico, where he's a wanted man, unless he cuts a deal with a gorgeous British intelligence agent, Samantha Caudwell, to infiltrate an Irish terrorist cell called the Sons of Cuchulainn. Based outside Boston and led by a pair of fanatic ex-IRA members, the SOC vows to ignore the IRA's current cease-fire and to attack British targets in the States. Once again, Forsythe goes undercover, entering a shadowy world of subterfuge and deception. McKinty possesses a talent for pace and plot structure that belies his years. Dennis Lehane fans will definitely be pleased.

Gerard Doyle gives another stunning performance in Adrian McKinty's powerful sequel to DEAD I WELL MAY BE. Michael Forsythe's saga continues after five years in the FBI's Witness Protection program. Under threat of being returned to a Mexican prison, Forsythe is coerced into infiltrating a radical Boston faction of the IRA. With danger, betrayal, and death his constant companions, Doyle gives Forsythe a dark sense of the ironic, an understandable, if unconventional, morality, and a roguish Irish charm. Bright, self-aware, and articulate with bittersweet lyricism, Doyle's Forsythe is as real as pain. Doyle slips easily in and out of accents and gender, and even minor characters are fully developed. Brutal, bloody, and completely believable, McKinty's complex plotting and Doyle's extraordinary portrayal will leave listeners craving more. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from November 15, 2006
Few writers are as fortunate as McKinty in having an ultimate reader for the audio versions of their novels. Gerard Doyle doesn't just read "Dead Yard"; he performs it thoroughly, perfectly capturing all the highs and lows, all the twisted nuances of Michael Forsythe, McKinty's Belfast-born mercenary. Five years after the traumatic events of "Dead I Well May Be", Michael is coerced by British intelligence into infiltrating the Sons of Cuchulainn, a small IRA splinter group in Massachusetts. Michael, lacking enthusiasm to begin with, finds his task complicated by his growing love for the 19-year-old daughter of the group's leader. It is hard to imagine how the author could get his antihero into more precarious spots than in the first Forsythe novel, but he does. No one creates more emotional and physical pain in thrillers than McKinty; no one makes such poetry out of extreme violence. Doyle is outstanding in conveying the narrator's conflicted loyalties and tortured soul. Highly recommended for all collections."Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr."

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