Gun Street Girl

Gerard Doyle gives a stunning narration of the fourth installment of McKinty's Detective Sean Duffy series, which focuses on the period of the Irish Troubles. The plot--involving a suspicious murder-suicide possibly connected to arms dealers--is packed with the subtle nuances and passions of the beat-down, highly complex Royal Ulster Constabulary inspector. Simultaneously, Duffy's protégé, Alexander Lawson, possesses the unrestrained wonder and eagerness of an optimistic youth. Doyle portrays these opposites with an elegant grace that makes listeners forget he's even there. From the subtle changes in dialect to McKinty's distinct writing cadence and dark humor, Doyle hones in on the details that make this procedural a joy to listen to. J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

January 12, 2015
Fans of Ned Kelly Award–winner McKinty’s Troubles trilogy (The Cold Cold Ground, etc.) will welcome this fourth outing for Sean Duffy, a Catholic detective for the Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary, in 1985 Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Fighting internal forces on the one side and dealing with pressure from MI5 on the other, Duffy looks into the double murder of 22-year-old Michael Kelly’s parents. Michael apparently jumped off a cliff to his death after shooting them in the family living room. True to police procedural form, Duffy keeps up the world-weary demeanor even when his investigation calls the initial causes of the murders and suicide into doubt. Though the precarious Northern Irish context adds color and McKinty has a flair for detail (Duffy has to check under his car for bombs every time he drives), Duffy’s humdrum love affairs, with his one-dimensional romantic interests and McKinty’s stock dialogue, only reinforce old clichés. Agent: Bob Mecoy, Creative Book Services.