The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile

Peter McGarr #11

by Bartholomew Gill

Very little astounds Peter McGarr, the head of the Irish police's elite murder squad. But on this chilly, foul night when he is called to the sumptuous home of Brian Herrick, McGarr is astonished by what he sees. Sprawled over a table lies Brian Herrick, keeper of Dublin's famous Marsh's Library. He is naked and dead. In a room remarkably similar to Marsh's Library - right down to the oak bookshelves laden with exquisite, irreplaceable volumes - one item is anachronous. A video camera sits in a corner. It seems that beyond rare books, Herrick had an even rarer love for "blue" videos - homemade and based on the poems of Jonathan Swift. Herrick's final episode is still in the camera. With the help of McGarr's young wife, Noreen, a spirited devote of Irish culture and an art dealer, McGarr scours the works of Jonathan Swift for leads that are as concealed as the twisted desires of the human libido. Bizarre and erotic, The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile is set against contemporary Dublin and the Ireland of Swift's time, a period more akin to our own than we might want to admit. And once again, Bartholomew Gill delivers a cunning, literary mystery infused with wisdom, scholarly intelligence, and irrepressible Irish humor.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ireland, Crime, Irish Literature

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Bartholomew Gill is the pen name of Mark McGarrity.

Mr. McGarrity was born in Holyoke, Mass., and graduated from Brown University in 1966. He studied for his master's degree at Trinity College, Dublin, and never tired of mining the country for material.

''One of the things they gave me,'' he once said of his books, ''is a chance to go back to Ireland time and time again to do research.''

He was also an avid outdoorsman, and since 1996 worked at The Star-Ledger of Newark as a features writer and columnist under the McGarrity name, specializing in nature and outdoor recreation. While continuing to produce McGarr novels, sometimes at the rate of one a year, Mr. McGarrity produced several articles a week for the newspaper. He wrote about a variety of topics ranging from environmental issues to the odd characters he encountered in his travels, like an Eastern European immigrant who grew up watching cowboy movies and found his dream job playing Wyatt Earp in an amusement park in rural New Jersey.

Mr. McGarrity also published five novels under his own name.

Series:
* Peter McGarr Mystery

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am fond of crime books that focus on literature, and in this case the focus is Jonathan Swift and Gulliver's Travels. There once lived a man named Herrick who managed a Dublin library of precious books and modeled himself after Swift. He was quite a character but one we do not get to know in the pages of this book as it starts with the discovery of his body. Herrick had deftly acquired a gaggle of enemies, so this was going to present McGarr with a challenging investigation of death. It's not every murder that comes supplied with video footage, but this was something Herrick had set up in his home library - overhead video camera capturing the so-called Frolick where he met his death.
The means of death is unusual and interesting, and even that points to more than one person.

In the early going of this book there are sexually graphic acts that may perturb or even disturb some, so I should say this is not for a young person who may be a fan of Gulliver's Travels.

McGarr's wife Noreen contributes to this investigation as she had studied Swift at Trinity. I have seen some reviews on Amazon that decry the fact that McGarr's team watched the videos, thinking it very unprofessional. I differ from that viewpoint.

There are quite a few light moments in this book as it follows the love life of Ward (former boxer) and Ruth who has recently returned to McGarr's team after a year off the force.

I think this is maybe the third (or fourth?) Peter McGarr book for me, randomly selected from the library shelf. I should note that this author consistently sexualizes women with his descriptions of physical attributes. It doesn't bother me, but it could bother some.

Quotes: ...when McGarr tries to send Noreen home before they start viewing the sex tape-"Noreen was confused. 'I don't understand.' McGarr tried out his innocent smile. 'Why, I've taken up too much of your time already. I hope I haven't kept you away from the shop too long.'
'Not by half. If you think I'm leaving this room after all I've heard, you're daft. Flick on the frolic.' She pointed to the television."
...whilst this was going on poor Bernie was upstairs in Herrick's bedroom reading books, sees a flask next to the bed and ingests deadly poison but is rescued in time...viewing continues...
"'There it is, said Noreen, 'a major strain in the Irish comic tradition--the mind making fun of the body and pushing the grotesque to the point where it becomes macabre...It was a treatment used by Gaelic poets long before Swift, whenever he could--here women wishing to appear more beautiful than they are. But he's sending up women in general. What's that famous quote of his that rather sums up the subject of his shrift?- "I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities", he wrote in a letter to Pope, "and all my love is towards individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers, but I love Counsellor Such-a-one, and Judge Such-a-one: so with physicians...But principally I hate and detest that animal called man, although I heartily love John Peter, Thomas, and so forth."

Feb 2020 Note: I picked this up at the library last visit and read the book a second time and found different things to enjoy. First time around I did not name the library featured and now I am wishing I could schedule another trip to Dublin to visit Marsh's Library.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a spectacularly unprofessional police department. Who brings their wife to a witness interview and then has her sit down in the dead man's house to watch his homemade pornography? To say nothing of the fact that two of the cops drink the dead man's liquor as they are investigating inside the house. Is it acceptable for an investigating officer to carry around a copy of the dead man's porno to show people? Half of the book seems to be focused on the romantic entanglements of the female cop, which seems to allow the writer to provide his views on the perfidy of women in general. It is rare in a mystery that I, personally, think about gender politics, (aside from those that have it as a motive) but yipes. The female detective is described as a militant feminist for suggesting that women should be allowed to have jobs, while spending much of her time trying to figure out which of two equally terrible men to choose from (probably to save her from having to work outside the home) . McGarr's "saintly" wife is present for a surprising number of the discussions between the detectives, (though she supposedly a gallery owner, why is she everywhere?!, also how many times can we be reminded that she is significantly younger than he is?) so it isn't like he just discusses the case at home, (He avoids that when possible you see, because she has a tendency towards gossip) but he actively brings her to the crime scene and she goes with the female cop to talk to another witness. Does she provide insight to the understanding of the crime? No. Why is she there?

I briefly thought that this was some sort of period mystery, but no. Then I thought, is this supposed to be some commentary on 1990s Ireland? Who knows? Oh and some of the dialogue is in dialect, which just added to my annoyance.

[Jan C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers the investigation of the death of a Swift scholar. This lets the author bring in a lot of quotes from Swift. Not sure if it includes his infamous quote about letting the Irish eat their young if they are so hungry (this was satirical).

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Between the references to Jonathan Swift, the Irish words and "language" not to mention the Frollicks, this was a difficult and unpleasant book to read.

[Tessa Bolon · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun quick read but unfortunately I saw the end coming. found in little free library

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very little astounds Peter McGarr, the head of the Irish police's elite murder squad. But on this chilly, foul night when he is called to the sumptuous home of Brian Herrick, McGarr is astonished by what he sees. Sprawled over a table lies Brian Herrick, keeper of Dublin's famous Marsh's Library. He is naked and dead. In a room remarkably similar to Marsh's Library - right down to the oak bookshelves laden with exquisite, irreplaceable volumes - one item is anachronous. A video camera sits in a corner. It seems that beyond rare books, Herrick had an even rarer love for "blue" videos - homemade and based on the poems of Jonathan Swift. Herrick's final episode is still in the camera. With the help of McGarr's young wife, Noreen, a spirited devote of Irish culture and an art dealer, McGarr scours the works of Jonathan Swift for leads that are as concealed as the twisted desires of the human libido. Bizarre and erotic, The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile is set against contemporary Dublin and the Ireland of Swift's time, a period more akin to our own than we might want to admit. And once again, Bartholomew Gill delivers a cunning, literary mystery infused with wisdom, scholarly intelligence, and irrepressible Irish humor.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might be fine if you’re familiar with Irish slang. But I’m not, so I found it annoying. Also absolutely gruesome in the description of the dead body—that had been sitting in a sunny conservatory for 6 days—and the description of the victim’s death. Also had some kinky sexual stuff. No more by this author for me. Oh yes—& wth are the cops doing partaking of ANYTHING found at a crime scene?! Not only unprofessional, but just plain stupid!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I liked some parts, not others because sometimes it was hard to follow transition of who/what/when. Took me a lot longer to read than it should have because i wasnt excited to see what happened next.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. A story with three misogynists: Swift, the victim, and the author...

[Gail Kennon · Rating 1 out of 5]

liked the title but it was downhill from there.

[Elizabeth Desole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was one of those books that I kind of enjoyed, but didn't think it was a good book. Although marginally about the death of a Swift scholar, the Swift references seemed a bit of an afterthought. The book, in general, was so over the top that it became almost cloying (like the smell of a too long dead body perhaps?)
The police are really quite imbecilic which was a bit annoying. I mean, who would drink the alcohol next to a dead body at a suspicious death scene? ANd not one but 2!! detectives do it. Maybe Dubliners really are that far gone to the drink, but it was a really unflattering portrayal. Actually I thought all the characters were unlikeable ( and not necessarily in an interesting way). And many of them didn't come together as a believable whole
I guess it was more like a 2 1/2 star book. Not bad to read if it happens to be around but I wouldn't go out of my way at all to get it

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having discovered Gill in the early 90's, I'd read the majority of his books. His characters are fleshed out and he is one of the few authors who will drive me to pull out a dictionary for the occasional word. He is brilliant at describing the environs of Ireland. That said, I found myself having to skip paragraphs and pages in this particular book. It read more like a Ph.D. dissertation on Jonathan Swift - who as it turns out, was a vastly unpleasant man. Sadly, this was not one of Gill's better tales.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up off the free shelf at the library because of the literary aspect and because I've been on a mystery kick lately. It's set in Dublin, so I recognized a few of the touristy references (like Marsh's Library) from visiting. I liked the Jonathan Swift tie-in but wasn't really interested in the detectives or their personalities and backstories, so I don't think I'll be looking up more in this series. Back to the free shelf it goes.

[Steph (loves water) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out OK, love stories about the Garda and Murder Squad, however, I'm sure I walked in in the middle of the series and had no idea what the deal was with Noreen, Ruth, Ward, etc. I knew from the beginning who the murderer was, which is also disappointing. Not bad, but I don't think I'll be recommending it to anyone.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe I read a Bartholomew Gill once before; it didn't stick with me so I wasn't likely too impressed. This was rather interesting--the Jonathan Swift tie-in was clever...not up to the level of 'The Dante Club', but an amusing read. I will likely read more in this series.

[Dy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this Irish spin on the English police procedural. It's much lighter and more fun, but still sticks with the facts and solves the case. A fun romp and an author I may have to read more of. (Truly, I only picked it up because of the word "bibliophile" in the title. Glad I did.)

[Lori]

Pretty good, a different of death and life styles

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish I could give it 3 1/2 stars.