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Jack O'Neill Mysteries #1
Redemption Song
Why are black men being brutally murdered in Dublin, and by whom? Are the attacks racially motivated or are there other, hidden reasons for the murders? These are the questions that detective Jack O'Neill must answer if he is to save his almost defunct career. But as the corpses -and the pressure- mount he becomes the focus of the killers, and must solve the case to save his own life.
186 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
About the author
Derick Parsons
6 books227 followersI was raised in Dublin but when I hit my early twenties I went aroamin. I lived in various parts of Ireland before moving to London for three years, followed by another three in Amsterdam. After that I lived in Germany for a while and then Poland. Tired out by all this travel I finally went back to Dublin, married the girl I left behind, and had three magnificent sons. (Oldest now 15; where does the time go? They're all perfect...some of the time!)
I have been writing since I could read but only for myself, nothing for the public domain. But I had an idea for a thriller that wouldn't go away so I finally wrote Hidden and have now published it. Expect another one in the coming months.
I have been writing since I could read but only for myself, nothing for the public domain. But I had an idea for a thriller that wouldn't go away so I finally wrote Hidden and have now published it. Expect another one in the coming months.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 2, 2015
WHAT A GREAT BOOK! I REALLY CONNECTED WITH ALL THE WELL DEVELOPED CHARACTERS. AT FIRST I WAS VERY WORRIED ABOUT THE DCI JACK HE STARTED OUT AS A VERY DEPRESSING SEEMINGLY UN-REDEEMABLE PERSON, DC FRANK AS A BIT FLAKY. BY THE END OF THE BOOK I WAS LOVING THEM BOTH AND HOPING MR. PARSONS' HAS MORE BOOKS FEATURING THIS STRANGE BUT DYNAMIC DUO. I REALLY LOVED THE STORY LINE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A TOUGH SUBJECT BUT SO TRUE ABOUT SOCIETY WORLD WIDE. WOW, I LOVED THIS! ;D
February 9, 2014
`If Ireland loves you, then you must be doing something wrong.'
There is something about Irish authors that sets them apart from the rest. Consider the heritage of Joyce, Wilde, Beckett, Shaw, Synge, Yeats, Swift, and then add in the contemporary writers Morgan Llewellyn, John Banville, Maeve Binchy, John Connolly, Colum McCann, Colm Tóibín, John McGahern, Neil Jordan, William Trevor and the reasoning seems apparent. Few can draw the reader in with the first paragraph, sustain tension as the characters develop, and keep you captive with a mixture of mystery, lyricism, poetry and entertainment the way the Irish can. And now we have another Irish author in the person of Derick Parsons, born in Dublin in 1966 and returned to his homeland after traveling and living in London, the USA, Poland, Germany and Holland. This is his second novel and it seems he is headed in that Irish literary tradition with new boots.
Derick Parsons opens his book with the murder on a substantial black man of Zulu heritage who frequently visits Dublin - on William Henry Akima - who after a cheery morning walk arrives at home where he is beaten to death with baseball bats by a group of masked men who leave Willie's destroyed body with the signature `The Sons of Cuchuailainn'. This is apparently another in the run of racist murders of black men and no one has a clue as to the motivation or identification of the killers. Those investigative questions are placed in the hands of the troubled, seemingly washed up Inspector Jack O'Neill with Dublin's Garda Síochána and Frank Carr, a new face (and wide-eyed innocent) to the Garda Detectives. Seeing the opportunity to regain his prior status as a good inspector Jack is faced with the dilemma that the increasing crimes are creating. How this flawed flatfoot struggles to conquer his own demons to solve a case that my prove his redemption - or death - is the pulsatile story of REDEMPTON SONG.
Parsons gets it right with that intoxicating Irish pint of humor, stealth, camaraderie, and irresistible momentum and by book's end the reader is left hungry for a continuation.
There is something about Irish authors that sets them apart from the rest. Consider the heritage of Joyce, Wilde, Beckett, Shaw, Synge, Yeats, Swift, and then add in the contemporary writers Morgan Llewellyn, John Banville, Maeve Binchy, John Connolly, Colum McCann, Colm Tóibín, John McGahern, Neil Jordan, William Trevor and the reasoning seems apparent. Few can draw the reader in with the first paragraph, sustain tension as the characters develop, and keep you captive with a mixture of mystery, lyricism, poetry and entertainment the way the Irish can. And now we have another Irish author in the person of Derick Parsons, born in Dublin in 1966 and returned to his homeland after traveling and living in London, the USA, Poland, Germany and Holland. This is his second novel and it seems he is headed in that Irish literary tradition with new boots.
Derick Parsons opens his book with the murder on a substantial black man of Zulu heritage who frequently visits Dublin - on William Henry Akima - who after a cheery morning walk arrives at home where he is beaten to death with baseball bats by a group of masked men who leave Willie's destroyed body with the signature `The Sons of Cuchuailainn'. This is apparently another in the run of racist murders of black men and no one has a clue as to the motivation or identification of the killers. Those investigative questions are placed in the hands of the troubled, seemingly washed up Inspector Jack O'Neill with Dublin's Garda Síochána and Frank Carr, a new face (and wide-eyed innocent) to the Garda Detectives. Seeing the opportunity to regain his prior status as a good inspector Jack is faced with the dilemma that the increasing crimes are creating. How this flawed flatfoot struggles to conquer his own demons to solve a case that my prove his redemption - or death - is the pulsatile story of REDEMPTON SONG.
Parsons gets it right with that intoxicating Irish pint of humor, stealth, camaraderie, and irresistible momentum and by book's end the reader is left hungry for a continuation.
February 25, 2013
I read this book from start to finish like a crazy woman. I absolutely loved the story line and the two detectives. Cant wait for more from this author.
February 26, 2013
Absolutely love this new Irish writer. First noticed this writer when his first novel Hidden went to no.1 in the kindle downloads. Read it aand loved it - full of twists and turns. Was keeping an eye out for his next book and let me assure you it doesnt disappoint. I always judge a book by how hard I find it to put it down. With both Hidden and Redemption Song as soon as I had to put them down I was trying to cut tasks short so that I could get back to them. My strong recommendation is Download it and read it now!! If you havent read Hidden I would also stongly recommend you read it.
May 8, 2014
This the second book I have read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised that Derick was able to produce another darn good read. Both of his books are set in Dublin, Ireland and it was great to visualise the characters in places that I know so well. As for the story line I loved it, it's thought out very well and I was nearly tempted to skip to the last chapter to see how the book ended and I was glad I didn't. Why 5 stars? its a good read, based in Dublin, and I like Derick's style. MT
May 4, 2013
The first two pages are a bit slow, but then the story grabs you and doesn't let go until the end. The two main characters are complex and completely human. The mystery aspect is almost secondary to Jack and Frank, and to their views of law and justice. Great book.
February 9, 2015
I think Derick Parsons is my new favorite mystery writer. The detectives are complex, interesting and believable people and the mysteries have some unexpected twists. I want more books from him!
August 9, 2018
Great redemption story. Jack has been banished to the basement of the precinct because he is drinking to numb the pain of the loss of his wife and daughter. Who can blame him? He gets a call up to train a rookie and investigate one last case before the end of his career and it rocks his world. It gives him reason to live, reason to stop drinking. The story is well told. The characters are good and the end is perfect!!
August 3, 2021
Jack O'Neill is an alcohol soaked traumatised Dublin detective, coasting to retirement. He is unexpectedly given one last murder enquiry to manage, leading to a shake up of his dismal existence. Cleverly plotted crime story.
July 15, 2021
a good murder mystery
September 18, 2015
A fantastic and riveting read, "Redemption Song", from author Derick Parsons is an Irish tale of murder, and loyalty. Detective Inspector Jack O'Neill, a long time homicide investigator has drank himself into the basement. O'Neill's severe drinking problem has gotten out of hand and very long term. The Brass has parked him in the basement to sort through "records". To Dublin's horror a black man is brutally beaten to death with racist propaganda smeared onto wall. Superintendent Eamonn Rollins summons O'Neill from basement. He has no officers to assign case to. Also, he has a rookie detective who is nephew of big shot who wants the kid on investigating murders. Rollins pairs O'Neill with Detective Frank Carr. Jack has to solve murder, and train Carr to be top flight investigator ASAP. With some surprising twists and turns this yarn is mesmerizing reading. The Book was listed at 256 pages, however it must be closer to 450-500. With Kindle number of pages becomes crapshoot sometimes. Doesn't matter, hell of a read. The wonderfully created and developed characters carry this book from start to finish. I was really rooting for Jack O'Neill to pull himself out of the bottle and crack the case.Also, Jack and Frank's relationship solidifies very quickly. They make a good detective team. I'm already looking forward to starting the next book with these two. Second book is titled "The Journal". I will be reading in very near future. I'd highly recommend this read for those who like a quality mystery thriller. The ending was incredible ! Without a doubt five stars out of a possible five stars for "Redemption Song". This is one not to be missed. check it out.
December 14, 2016
An alcoholic as deep in the bottle as Chief Inspector Jack O'Neill would have a very tough time functioning at all, I suspect, though author Derick Parsons had him holding down a greatly reduced job in the basement of the police offices on a half-time basis in a bid to be somewhat sympathetic of O'Neill's tragic family circumstances. (The loss of his wife was not so horrific as was the loss of his daughter(?)...hmm...) At any rate, he is saddled with nepotism by Frank Carr, the nephew of a mucky-muck who needs the job, time, and experience. I suspect the DT's would have hit him long before they did in the book, but he just manages to function while solving the heinous murder series of black men. The author is Irish, the book is set in Dublin, ergo the words foreign to American English and at time masking editing errors or omissions. I did enjoy the author's vast vocabulary and was grateful for the instant dictionary on my digital device. Also enjoyed were the bits of poems scattered throughout, some very thoughtful, posing relief to a grave situation. The growing respect between the Gardai partners lent depth to each of the characters and interest in their positions. They do solve the murders with a twist most wouldn't suspect. Scary, down-to-earth descriptions of the Dublin a tourist wouldn't see and doesn't want to know about. I received the book through BookBub; would entertain reading another from this author.
January 18, 2016
This book came to my attention via BookBub. I am happy that I took a chance on reading Derick Parsons even though I have not heard his name before. I enjoyed the storyline and the mystery was truly a guessing game.
Jack O'Neil, affected by a personal tragedy, begins to hit the bottle very hard and pretty much disconnects from the world around him. He thinks he is on his way out of the police force until he is brought back to life by a murder case given to him by his boss. Jack is paired with rookie police officer, Frank, whom he takes under his wings and teaches him the ropes. Jack even backs away from the bottle in order to have clarity.
What I like about Jack is, even though he is relegated to the "basement" of the police department, he remains dedicated to doing right for the people he is hired to serve. He comes back to life during the investigation of the murder case and dedicates himself to solving the crime. Another thing I like is that he treats Frank with respect even in spite of Frank being a rookie. Jack is not demeaning nor dictatorial in his role as mentor. I like that touch to the story. The author has been able to keep me engaged throughout the entire book.
I liked this story so much that I downloaded the second book in the Jack O'Neil series. Yes, I will recommend this book and this author.
Jack O'Neil, affected by a personal tragedy, begins to hit the bottle very hard and pretty much disconnects from the world around him. He thinks he is on his way out of the police force until he is brought back to life by a murder case given to him by his boss. Jack is paired with rookie police officer, Frank, whom he takes under his wings and teaches him the ropes. Jack even backs away from the bottle in order to have clarity.
What I like about Jack is, even though he is relegated to the "basement" of the police department, he remains dedicated to doing right for the people he is hired to serve. He comes back to life during the investigation of the murder case and dedicates himself to solving the crime. Another thing I like is that he treats Frank with respect even in spite of Frank being a rookie. Jack is not demeaning nor dictatorial in his role as mentor. I like that touch to the story. The author has been able to keep me engaged throughout the entire book.
I liked this story so much that I downloaded the second book in the Jack O'Neil series. Yes, I will recommend this book and this author.
February 27, 2013
I bought this thinking it must be a sequel to Hidden by the same author which i really enjoyed. I was disapponted to discover that it isnt a follow up at all, though Kate Bennet (who i loved in hidden) did show up briefly, but my disappointment didnt last long as i was very quickly drawn into this brilliant story. If anything, Redempion Song is even better than hidden, Jack o neill is a great character, very believable. Be warned though, once you pick this book up you won't want to put it down, the plot really kept me guessing and theres a terrific twist at the end. Excellent!
March 21, 2013
I have never been to Dublin, but after I read this book, I felt as if I had. Two cops: one a veteran detective, depressed alcoholic, in an end of the road desk job, the other a young poet detective, who has the job because he is related to someone. They are assigned to the murder case of an african ex-pat whose appears to be the object of a hate crime. They are finely drawn characters both determined to get to the bottom of the case even though they have no support from the rest of the department.
August 12, 2015
Herein lies a great murder mystery. This isn't a cozy, it isn't suspense - though there are suspenseful moments - it is a great puzzle to be solved. I really liked the character of Jack. He definitely had nothing going for him and then he finds the spark to keep him going = his curiosity. I wasn't so impressed with Frank and his poetry. It got tiresome. I think even the characters were getting tired of it by books end, but it did give him a quirk. I liked the two romantic plot lines. I thought the ending was perfect. Thank you, Mr. Parsons, for an enjoyable read.
March 3, 2013
I loved Jack O Neill from the first page and enjoyed his budding if reluctant relationship with Frank as they are thrown together on a case to solve the murders of black men being targeted in Dublin
The scenes were realistic, the plot was gripping and the story was well told.
There are so many books out there and every so often you find a little gem. I hope this author is around for a long time.
February 7, 2015
I am loving this one. I hope it continues in this manner. Someone is murdering Black men in Dublin, Ireland. The murder investigator is a serious drunk that is just going through the motions and not really trying to put in an honest days work. He is given an assistant against his will and the game is on.
October 7, 2015
When a black man is found murdered the job to discover the culprit is given to Jack O'Neill, Inspector and hard drinker, who spends as little time in the Records Department so that he can drink the rest of the day away. Even with the help of a new detective it is deemed to be a low priority case.
Then another body is found,
Then another body is found,
March 3, 2013
The central characters Jack O Neill and his side-kick Frank are teamed together to solve murders in Dublin. The story is well written with humour and insight and a great plot.
One of the best books I have read in a long time and I look forward to more books by this author
June 18, 2015
English police procedural, starring a brand new copper and a beaten down drunk of an old cop. The drunken cop is given the case by the person who had orchestrated the murders in the hopes that he would fail. Great story of coming back to life and being able to solve a series of murders.
March 1, 2013
I absolutely love this author's work ! Another thrilling read from author Derick Parsons.
March 4, 2013
A really good read, but I had it figured out long before the ending. Otherwise, 4 stars.
April 11, 2013
Good story but ending was no surprise. No gore. Will read more by this author. Felt the book had incorrect words changed by spell check???
June 8, 2013
Realistic police drama. Enjoyed the Irish flair.
July 9, 2013
Really enjoyed the plot and liked the main characters and the way their stories unfolded Felt they were real.
July 9, 2013
a nice read. kept my attention. I figured it out before the end, but I still enjoyed watching it unfold!
August 15, 2013
A great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I will be going to Dublin soon, so that was the reason I chose it, and I wasn't disappointed.
December 11, 2013
Very different read... Really liked it and the characters
January 16, 2015
great story, fantastic main characters. love Jack & Frank perfect crime solving duo lol...but on my what a plot twist at the end...Never saw it coming!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews