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Ed Loy #4
All the Dead Voices
Shortly after moving into Dublin from his childhood home on the outskirts, PI Ed Loy is approached by Anne Fogarty, a woman whose father was killed fifteen years ago. She thinks the police nabbed the wrong person, and now she wants Loy to find the truth. Topping the list of suspects are three men Anne's father, a revenue inspector, was preparing claims against for criminal activity. One of them is George Halligan, Loy's underworld nemesis.
473 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Declan Hughes
25 books61 followersDeclan Hughes has worked for more than twenty years in the theater in Dublin as director and playwright. In 1984, he cofounded Rough Magic, Ireland's leading independent theater company. He has been writer in association with the Abbey Theatre and remains an artistic associate of Rough Magic. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Series:
* Ed Loy Mystery
Series:
* Ed Loy Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 8, 2021
In my recent searches for future reading material...I ran across a copy of of this book that just happens to be a part of a series that I haven't read in a long time but always enjoyed...So I thought I would see what Ed Loy is up to after the first 3 books. Ed is a man with a strong moral compass who has friends on both sides of the law. Although he may not agree with the actions or the mindset of the criminal syndicates that were spawned from The Troubles...he has a deep understanding of the reasons for and against the IRA. As a first generation American of Irish background I understood more after reading the first couple of books why my grandparents took my mother and her older sister and fled Ireland for America in 1926. In this part of the series, Ed...as a private detective finds himself working two separate cases that turn out to be linked by strands of violence resulting from the days of, and just after, The Troubles. Declan Hughes combines historical facts and fictional storylines to result in novels that are deeply enjoyable as well as very informative.
November 21, 2014
Bleak, bloody, rich in history and really well done. Dublin PI Ed Loy has his hands full - an old friend has asked him to watch out for his young brother, a rising football star. Anne Fogarty, a divorced mother of two has just hired him to look into the 15 year old murder of her father, a tax inspector. Her mother's lover was convicted and imprisoned but set free when the conviction was overturned. Anne is sure the death had something to do with one of the three investigations for tax fraud that her father was pursuing. Two of the men have strong IRA ties; one of those is now a prominent real estate developer, one a drug boss. The third is a George Halligan, a career criminal well known to Loy.
The young footballer is shot and killed. One of the men related to the tax collector's murder may be involved. The background of the plot - or plots - is inextricably bound to the vicious intersection of politics and crime in the recent Irish past - the connections between the IRA and drug dealing, the internecine strife, betrayals and treachery between IRA factions and splinter groups. The narration includes lengthy passages related to the bombing deaths of a young family, blown up when the IRA men mistake their car for that of a hated judge. It's a telling reminder of the terrible damage done to ordinary people in that conflict and Hughes skillfully ties it to the main plot thread in the end.
The plotting is intricate and engaging. The characters are complex and nuanced. There are a lot of gray areas to go with the noir.
The young footballer is shot and killed. One of the men related to the tax collector's murder may be involved. The background of the plot - or plots - is inextricably bound to the vicious intersection of politics and crime in the recent Irish past - the connections between the IRA and drug dealing, the internecine strife, betrayals and treachery between IRA factions and splinter groups. The narration includes lengthy passages related to the bombing deaths of a young family, blown up when the IRA men mistake their car for that of a hated judge. It's a telling reminder of the terrible damage done to ordinary people in that conflict and Hughes skillfully ties it to the main plot thread in the end.
The plotting is intricate and engaging. The characters are complex and nuanced. There are a lot of gray areas to go with the noir.
November 4, 2018
Even after reading several less than glamorous reviews, the premise of this story sounded so good that I had to read this one. At first, I was tempted to stop - the dialect of our characters was more of a challenge than I expected & I am not well versed in the political history of Ireland so some of the important links just weren't there for me - but I was intrigued by the seemingly overlapping stories. I discovered that I really wanted to see how Ed Loy came out in the end *and* to see how Hughes linked all the pieces together. It was worth it to finish the book! For the last 150 pages or so, I simply didn't want to put the book down. Once the pieces came together, I began to feel a sense of satisfaction as things happened & even a sense of hope for Ed. Will I read the next book? I will add it to my 'to read' list but there is no hurry to get around to it.
June 7, 2017
Only read half.
December 31, 2017
Being Irish would help this book along but too many of the references I didn't understand. I can see that Hughes has a fine skill for the vernacular and I enjoyed the writing style.
September 26, 2022
Good read
January 12, 2010
Grant me a moment here, but Ed Loy is well and truly back and I'm more than a little bit happy about that! ALL THE DEAD VOICES is a really tense, investigative novel with a just a touch of the thriller about it. The action is swift, the tension carefully ramped up and the plot nicely complicated. The details are carefully laid out, allowing the reader to keep up, sort it out, decide for themselves, pick up the clues along the way. Provided you're concentrating.
In 1980 two IRA men are hiding beside a roadway, ready to detonate the bomb destined to kill a hated judge. Just as well this is a carefully planned operation, as the two killers do not get on - much to the amusement of their colleagues.
Current day and Ed is moving on, by moving house, clearing his head, getting his edge back. He's doing a little low key watching of an up and coming footballer - Paul Delany. His half-brother Dessie's a bit suspicious that Paul might be dealing heroin on the side, and living in Greece there's not much he can do about it himself. A threatening moment at a football match and Paul's reaction reassures Loy something's going on; the couple of young hoods that have a go at him in an alley late at night reinforce that. But Loy had just left them a bit bruised and battered - their turning up dead is definitely not down to him, even if the police aren't so convinced.
Meanwhile, Loy is approached by Anne Fogarty, who thinks that the police have got the wrong man for the killing of her father, fifteen years ago. Anne's father had been a revenue inspector, involved in the investigation of some very dodgy people: Jack Cullen, ex-IRA now gang leader; Bobby Doyle, ex-IRA now property developer, and George Halligan - Loy's least favourite sociopath. Oh, and because it never rains but it pours, something is brewing in the Cullen camp and Comerford is convinced that somebody is leaking information about drug smuggling to the police, and he wants Ed to find out who.
One of the things that I really like about the Ed Loy books is that the plots are crowded, complicated and not always made up of obviously intersecting threads. ALL THE DEAD VOICES has that lightening pace, as well as the swirling list of links, possible links, gangs, impending violence, past violence and secrets. It's that wheedling out of secrets that Ed Loy does best of all, well that along with juggling all the goings on, surviving the occasional beating up and reluctant, but efficient, dishing out of the occasional thumping. Ed's style of investigating is very much the "prod something a bit and wait for the ripples to spread" methodology, but it's effective, partly because he's not too afraid to prod where others may not dare, and he's well aware of the circles in which he is moving.
After being slightly less enthusiastic about the last Ed Loy outing, ALL THE DEAD VOICES is not only a return to the standard of the first books in the series, it has a touch of the moving on about it. Loy's not standing still, and neither should readers - regardless of whether you're already a fan, or this will be a new encounter for you.
The earlier books in the series are:
The Wrong Kind of Blood
The Colour of Blood
The Dying Breed
In 1980 two IRA men are hiding beside a roadway, ready to detonate the bomb destined to kill a hated judge. Just as well this is a carefully planned operation, as the two killers do not get on - much to the amusement of their colleagues.
Current day and Ed is moving on, by moving house, clearing his head, getting his edge back. He's doing a little low key watching of an up and coming footballer - Paul Delany. His half-brother Dessie's a bit suspicious that Paul might be dealing heroin on the side, and living in Greece there's not much he can do about it himself. A threatening moment at a football match and Paul's reaction reassures Loy something's going on; the couple of young hoods that have a go at him in an alley late at night reinforce that. But Loy had just left them a bit bruised and battered - their turning up dead is definitely not down to him, even if the police aren't so convinced.
Meanwhile, Loy is approached by Anne Fogarty, who thinks that the police have got the wrong man for the killing of her father, fifteen years ago. Anne's father had been a revenue inspector, involved in the investigation of some very dodgy people: Jack Cullen, ex-IRA now gang leader; Bobby Doyle, ex-IRA now property developer, and George Halligan - Loy's least favourite sociopath. Oh, and because it never rains but it pours, something is brewing in the Cullen camp and Comerford is convinced that somebody is leaking information about drug smuggling to the police, and he wants Ed to find out who.
One of the things that I really like about the Ed Loy books is that the plots are crowded, complicated and not always made up of obviously intersecting threads. ALL THE DEAD VOICES has that lightening pace, as well as the swirling list of links, possible links, gangs, impending violence, past violence and secrets. It's that wheedling out of secrets that Ed Loy does best of all, well that along with juggling all the goings on, surviving the occasional beating up and reluctant, but efficient, dishing out of the occasional thumping. Ed's style of investigating is very much the "prod something a bit and wait for the ripples to spread" methodology, but it's effective, partly because he's not too afraid to prod where others may not dare, and he's well aware of the circles in which he is moving.
After being slightly less enthusiastic about the last Ed Loy outing, ALL THE DEAD VOICES is not only a return to the standard of the first books in the series, it has a touch of the moving on about it. Loy's not standing still, and neither should readers - regardless of whether you're already a fan, or this will be a new encounter for you.
The earlier books in the series are:
The Wrong Kind of Blood
The Colour of Blood
The Dying Breed
March 17, 2012
Ed Loy is a busy man. He finds himself keeping an eye on Patrick, the younger brother of a friend of his. The young man is a talented footballer with a promising future who seems to be falling under the influence of a very violent drug-dealer. It is up to Ed to try and find out what the footballer is up to and report on his findings. This should be straightforward enough but soon after starting his inquiries Ed finds himself violently attacked by two men. And when those two men turn up dead the next morning Ed knows that, although he didn’t kill them, this could be the start of big trouble for him. And that is only the start of it. Next thing he hears is that Patrick has been violently killed by persons unknown.
In a separate case, Ed is hired by a woman who asks him to re-investigate the murder of her father 15 years ago. Her mother’s lover was arrested and convicted for the murder at the time but subsequently acquitted when it turned out that there were three other suspects who had never been investigated.
With Dublin about the celebrate the official opening of a new bridge to celebrate the peace in Ireland, Loy finds himself up to his neck in violence, investigating two cases that have their origins in the heights of the troubles.
This is a very violent yet well plotted and uncomfortably realistic mystery. In Ed Loy we meet an investigator prepared to do almost anything to solve his case. He has a cynical view of both himself and the society he is operating in as well as a softer side he doesn’t like to show.
These Ed Loy mysteries don’t really come with good guys. Everybody in the story is in one way or another involved in acts that can’t quite meet the light of day. Nobody is blameless and some have no redeeming qualities what-so-ever.
The story is very well plotted. Story-lines that appear to be completely unconnected to each other eventually come together to make a coherent whole. And while in some books that coming together of story-lines infuriates me, it makes sense in this book set in Ireland which after all is a small country with only a few million people living in it. A country where connections run deep and are cultivated both in fiction and in real life.
The narrator of this book did a great job giving all the various characters in the story their own voice. At all times it was perfectly clear whose point of view I was listening to and how that character was feeling.
I will have to see if I can get my hands on more audio books in this series. Despite all the violence, this was one fascinating, thrilling and compulsive listening experience.
In a separate case, Ed is hired by a woman who asks him to re-investigate the murder of her father 15 years ago. Her mother’s lover was arrested and convicted for the murder at the time but subsequently acquitted when it turned out that there were three other suspects who had never been investigated.
With Dublin about the celebrate the official opening of a new bridge to celebrate the peace in Ireland, Loy finds himself up to his neck in violence, investigating two cases that have their origins in the heights of the troubles.
This is a very violent yet well plotted and uncomfortably realistic mystery. In Ed Loy we meet an investigator prepared to do almost anything to solve his case. He has a cynical view of both himself and the society he is operating in as well as a softer side he doesn’t like to show.
These Ed Loy mysteries don’t really come with good guys. Everybody in the story is in one way or another involved in acts that can’t quite meet the light of day. Nobody is blameless and some have no redeeming qualities what-so-ever.
The story is very well plotted. Story-lines that appear to be completely unconnected to each other eventually come together to make a coherent whole. And while in some books that coming together of story-lines infuriates me, it makes sense in this book set in Ireland which after all is a small country with only a few million people living in it. A country where connections run deep and are cultivated both in fiction and in real life.
The narrator of this book did a great job giving all the various characters in the story their own voice. At all times it was perfectly clear whose point of view I was listening to and how that character was feeling.
I will have to see if I can get my hands on more audio books in this series. Despite all the violence, this was one fascinating, thrilling and compulsive listening experience.
December 9, 2015
Many years ago, I was introduced to Ed Hoy in Declan Hughes' debut novel "The Wrong Color of Blood". Hoy immediately became one of my favorite male protagonists in the thriller genre. Hoy is a fallible man with a strong moral compass who has friends on both sides of the law. Although he may not agree with the actions or the mindset of the criminal syndicates that were spawned from The Troubles, he has a deep understanding of the reasons for and against the IRA (Catholic paramilitary group that waged war against the ruling Protestant British establishment for religious and socio-economic reasons; renowned for being one of the forerunners of domestic terrorism). Hughes' Ed Hoy novels are set in modern day Ireland and America and superbly capture a sense of both locations. The older you become, the more you understand how little life is black and white, and Hoy navigates life intent on living as honorably as possible in the grey.
In "All The Dead Voices", Hoy, a private detective, is working two separate cases that are linked by strands of violence resulting from the days of and just after The Troubles. Hoy is tasked by a daughter, Anne, with looking into the long ago murder of her father, Brian Fogarty, a tax collector who was investigating three known criminals at the time of his death, and whose wife was having an affair with the man convicted of his murder. A conviction that was later overturned on appeal. A man whom the daughter, Anne, does not believe is guilty. In addition, Hoy is also looking into the murder of Paul Delaney, a rising football star who may have been dealing heroin for one of the three men that Fogarty was investigating at the time of his death. The initial request of Paul's two older half-brothers, Dessie and Liam, was for Hoy to check in with Paul and report back. Hoy has a history with Dessie Delaney - he saved his life by getting Dessie off drugs and getting him to go to Greece to live with Liam. Paul was murdered on Hoy's watch or at least that's how Hoy views it. Because of the entrenchment of drug culture and related turf wars, both of these crimes involve similar players.
Hughes is not only an excellent writer, but he excels at weaving a suspenseful & intelligent story that pulls you in from the start and holds you there to resolution. The combination of historical facts and fictional storylines result in novels that are deeply enjoyable as well as informative.
In "All The Dead Voices", Hoy, a private detective, is working two separate cases that are linked by strands of violence resulting from the days of and just after The Troubles. Hoy is tasked by a daughter, Anne, with looking into the long ago murder of her father, Brian Fogarty, a tax collector who was investigating three known criminals at the time of his death, and whose wife was having an affair with the man convicted of his murder. A conviction that was later overturned on appeal. A man whom the daughter, Anne, does not believe is guilty. In addition, Hoy is also looking into the murder of Paul Delaney, a rising football star who may have been dealing heroin for one of the three men that Fogarty was investigating at the time of his death. The initial request of Paul's two older half-brothers, Dessie and Liam, was for Hoy to check in with Paul and report back. Hoy has a history with Dessie Delaney - he saved his life by getting Dessie off drugs and getting him to go to Greece to live with Liam. Paul was murdered on Hoy's watch or at least that's how Hoy views it. Because of the entrenchment of drug culture and related turf wars, both of these crimes involve similar players.
Hughes is not only an excellent writer, but he excels at weaving a suspenseful & intelligent story that pulls you in from the start and holds you there to resolution. The combination of historical facts and fictional storylines result in novels that are deeply enjoyable as well as informative.
January 11, 2011
I tried very hard to like this (and there is a lot to like) but on reflection even 3 stars is a bit generous, more like 2.5. The positives first - Ed Loy is a credible, three dimensional central figure, with the right level of intrigue and worldly wisdom. There is some great dialogue, sense of place, and Hughes keeps the narrative strong without lapsing into cliched crime territory.
But oh dear is the plot complicated! Most crime novels would expect to have a handfull of hard-edged, middle aged characters - this book has well over a dozen, many of them unidentifiable from each other. I almost drew a diagram at one stage, to help me through the vastly overpopulated cast. Any chance of second-guessing the (already complex) plot twists was rendered impossible by an inability to sort everybody out. By the end, I was quite disinterested in finding out who had 'dunnit', which is disappointing.
Declan Hughes undoubtedly has flair, and his linguistics are well matched to be successful in his genre. But I felt this book was crying out for some editorial objectivity. The positives would make me seek out his other books - but I will have them vetted first for the flaws that marred this for me.
But oh dear is the plot complicated! Most crime novels would expect to have a handfull of hard-edged, middle aged characters - this book has well over a dozen, many of them unidentifiable from each other. I almost drew a diagram at one stage, to help me through the vastly overpopulated cast. Any chance of second-guessing the (already complex) plot twists was rendered impossible by an inability to sort everybody out. By the end, I was quite disinterested in finding out who had 'dunnit', which is disappointing.
Declan Hughes undoubtedly has flair, and his linguistics are well matched to be successful in his genre. But I felt this book was crying out for some editorial objectivity. The positives would make me seek out his other books - but I will have them vetted first for the flaws that marred this for me.
June 30, 2012
Irish ghosts of a violent past...heroes or victims?
Make no mistake. This is an Irish crime novel written by a very Irish author. It's set in contemporary Dublin about the time the Celtic Tiger bears its fangs. It takes place over a couple weeks around Easter when all good Dubliners remember the heroes of the Easter uprising of 1916, the violent confrontation at the General Post Office when Irish Republicans fought to oust the British from the land. But the dead voices in Hughes' book are not heroes, they are victims.
Ed Loy, Hughes' private investigator, has appeared in three other novels. He returned to Ireland after twenty years in America to bury his mother and stayed around. In ALL THE DEAD VOICES he is hired to find the murderer of Anne Fogarty's father, a revenue inspector who was killed fifteen years ago, and to investigate the death of a rising soccer star. Several ex-IRA men and an Irish mobster are suspects in both murders.
But in the background of the story is another incident that occurred in 1980, other brutal unnecessary murders. After you finish the book, you'll remember the dead voices of these victims. They will haunt you!
Make no mistake. This is an Irish crime novel written by a very Irish author. It's set in contemporary Dublin about the time the Celtic Tiger bears its fangs. It takes place over a couple weeks around Easter when all good Dubliners remember the heroes of the Easter uprising of 1916, the violent confrontation at the General Post Office when Irish Republicans fought to oust the British from the land. But the dead voices in Hughes' book are not heroes, they are victims.
Ed Loy, Hughes' private investigator, has appeared in three other novels. He returned to Ireland after twenty years in America to bury his mother and stayed around. In ALL THE DEAD VOICES he is hired to find the murderer of Anne Fogarty's father, a revenue inspector who was killed fifteen years ago, and to investigate the death of a rising soccer star. Several ex-IRA men and an Irish mobster are suspects in both murders.
But in the background of the story is another incident that occurred in 1980, other brutal unnecessary murders. After you finish the book, you'll remember the dead voices of these victims. They will haunt you!
November 24, 2013
The first title without "blood" in it and there was a lot of blood spilled in this one, including that of Ed Loy. I think this is the best of the four I've read so far. Ed is hired by a woman to investigate the death of her dad back in 1991. She believes the wrong man has been sent to prison-he was later released. Never mind the man was having an affair with her mother. Of course Ed and her hook up. It's inevitable with Ed Loy. Naturally the police focused on the family suspect instead of the deceased's recent letters to several gangsters about their wealth-the deceased was with the tax commission. Ed in this story doesn't interface much with his Garda contact nor does he use his good friend Tommy much. It's Ed single-handedly against the seedy underworld of gangsters and this time the IRA. Are the police protecting the IRA? Ed hobnobs with the lowlifes and the strata of Dublin society in this one that has a shocking conclusion. These would be great TV shows. Liam Neeson is too old to be Ed and Colin Farrell is too young. Hoping this excellent series gets made into movies or mini-series. Wouldn't this be a great project for Neil Jordan?
February 16, 2014
All the Dead Voices jaunts along at a nice pace, with plenty of intrigue and action as private investigator Ed Loy tries to make sense of the two cases he’s taken on that quickly become entwined in lethal ways. Hughes writes with an engaging voice and quickly hooks the reader in. The characterisation and social and historical context is nicely realised, with a good sense of place regarding Dublin and the tail-end of the Celtic Tiger boom and the period immediately prior to the peace process. The story is quite complicated, yet the plot remains clear to follow, with a nice mix of threads and intrigue. However, one does have to suspend one’s sense of belief for the plot to work given the coincidences of the two intersecting plots, Loy's acquaintance with a number of characters, and at a number of points I kept wondering why Loy was still alive? Nevertheless, the story is an entertaining and enjoyable addition to the Ed Loy series.
January 11, 2012
Ed Loy is back, this time attempting to keep an eye on Paul Delaney (younger brother of Dessie Delaney from a previous book). Paul is a promising young soccer player who has the misfortune to get mixed up with ex-IRA man turned drug lord Jack Cullen. Ed is investigating Cullen, along with another ex-IRA member Bobby Doyle and old nemesis George Halligan for the murder of tax accountant Brian Fogarty. The two cases become entangled, leading Ed to collide with both the criminals and the police (the Garda actually). Both old friends and enemies abound, along with two different love interests for Loy. Declan Hughes has a great feeling for his characters and modern Ireland, the good and bad, comes to life in his books.
February 24, 2010
The 100% Irish Declan Hughes probably deserves more than three stars. All the Dead Voices is a good story, excellently written with some interesting twists. My problem is that I don't enjoy--because I don't understand--Irish history. Although many of characters are present day, hard-drinking Irish mob members, their backgrounds as IRA, Sinn Fein etc. are as important--maybe more important--to them as when the fighting was going on. The result, for me, is overwhelming melancholy that leaves me unable to appreciate this book.
August 2, 2011
Hughes is pretty good as far as thriller writers go. I like Ed Loy, the protagonist, who is Irish, a bit bitter and an idealist (a combo I like). He tends to get beat up.
Loy is asked to find out who's leaking information about drug smuggling out of the police, and a perfectly noir femme fatale comes along and asks him to look into who killed her father 15 years ago. Oh yeah, and there's an old hit by the IRA to figure out.
What's refreshing is that not every resolution is made for the movies.
Loy is asked to find out who's leaking information about drug smuggling out of the police, and a perfectly noir femme fatale comes along and asks him to look into who killed her father 15 years ago. Oh yeah, and there's an old hit by the IRA to figure out.
What's refreshing is that not every resolution is made for the movies.
January 12, 2015
This book might be great in print but in audio, it is terribly hard to follow. I became too lost and the thread becomes entangled with too many characters from the past. There are back and forth narratives among new people introduced to the story through references of past events that are described in such detail with long dialogues and hard to piece in chronological order. Difficult to enjoy because it was more a chore to follow than a distraction. Not for me but again, I reiterate, may be a promising book in print.
Read
July 27, 2011Fourth novel in a series featuring Ed Loy, dealing with the aftermath of "The Troubles" as it effects the Dublin underworld. In some respects, therefore, addressing the same territory and issues as The Twelve by Stuart Nelville, but in a very different way. Ed Loy continues to develop as a character - this book could be read on its own, but better to start at the beginning of the series. Once hooked, you may well want to read all four and to look forward to the next.
September 25, 2009
Intelligent, but I did not finish.
Have to be honest--the book was going ok, but I kept getting confused. I put it down and then a month later, no hope of picking up the thread. Strong, interesting characters, but so many of them.
My vice...too much plot and I get lost. No wonder I rarely read mystery.
Have to be honest--the book was going ok, but I kept getting confused. I put it down and then a month later, no hope of picking up the thread. Strong, interesting characters, but so many of them.
My vice...too much plot and I get lost. No wonder I rarely read mystery.
June 2, 2014
One of my favorite PI series though the plots are so intense that I have to spread the time out between each book to avoid becoming overwhelmed. I especially like the Dublin setting since most PI books I read are based in the States and found his treatment of the history of the IRA and the past violence quite timely since the Gerry Adams situation has been in the news recently.
May 2, 2015
Apparently, this book is based on fact. We all know that there has been all sort of grief experienced by people in Dublin. Ed Loy is the hero of this book. People keep getting killed right and left. It gets to be rather much to read. People have sex without rhyme or reason. I cannot imagine why I chose this book.
June 10, 2015
I enjoyed this book. An Irish author writing a detective novel set in contemporary Dublin, and supposed to be based on actual events. It's gritty, fast paced, complicated at times. A little too bloody for my tastes, but I appreciated a compelling novel set in my hometown that didn't romanticize the city or the people.
December 11, 2009
Great read. I especially like that the books are set in Ireland with all of it's unique slang terms. Hughes creates really compelling story lines with characters that you just want to see on the big screen. Hope they make a movie out of one of his books some day.
September 29, 2010
4th Ed Loy novel, I found this a much improved and better novel than books 2 & 3 in the series. Good insight to modern Ireland with a tight plot and intrigue to keep hard boiled fans happy. Recommended.
January 3, 2016
Strictly speaking, probably four and a half, but for the pleasure reading this man's writing give me, this easily deserves a five. As ever the plotting is tight and unfathomable and Ed Loy himself unputtdownable.
June 26, 2013
Have read others that I liked more. Very bleak with all sides in the Troubles now gangsters after the good friday accords. Plus his drinking and fast sex gets bleaker. If I read again I'll go early rather than new.
August 26, 2014
This is the third Declan Hughes book I've read, and have liked them all. But I do need time to pass between them! Very dark, lots of violence and grit bursting from the seams, 20th century Irish history informing current plot events, and a noir-ish, principled,idiosyncratic private eye.
March 29, 2015
What an incredible story - it was the title and the author's name that made me pick it up and then what amazing writing.
If you haven't read his books yet, start now. I'm going to read the other Ed Loy books (what a detective) because I liked how he acts and reacts to people.
If you haven't read his books yet, start now. I'm going to read the other Ed Loy books (what a detective) because I liked how he acts and reacts to people.
Want to Read
February 28, 2009Ed Loy novel
September 9, 2009
The author's style gave authentic voice to this detective mystery.
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