Description
It’s been twenty years since Cormac Reilly discovered the body of Hilaria Blake in her crumbling Georgian home. But he’s never forgotten the two children she left behind… When Aisling Conroy’s boyfriend Jack is found in the freezing black waters of the river Corrib, the police tell her it was suicide. A surgical resident, she throws herself into study and work, trying to forget–until Jack’s sister Maude shows up. Maude suspects foul play, and she is determined to prove it. Cormac Reilly is the detective assigned with the re-investigation of a seemingly accidental overdose twenty years ago–the overdose of Jack and Maude’s drug and alcohol addled mother. Detective Reilly is under increasing pressure to charge Maude for murder when his colleague Danny uncovers a piece of evidence that will change everything… This unsettling small-town noir draws us deep into the dark heart of Ireland, where corruption, desperation, and crime run rife. A gritty look at trust and betrayal where the written law isn’t the only one, The Ruin asks who will protect you when the authorities can’t–or won’t.
Paul C –
I just finished Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk series and really liked getting back into the thriller/ mystery genre… so I thought I’d pick this one up for the weekend. I was not disappointed. Hawk is definitely more of a spy thriller, and this one is a detective/ police procedural, but after several SFF books, I was happy for a little dose of the “real” world., Detective Cormac Reilly transferred from an elite task force in Dublin to the detective pool in Galway. He’s not entirely feeling welcomed to his new position as office politics has forced cold cases upon him. He runs into several old friends, but he’s having a hard time figuring out his enemies and allies in the department., After telling him she is pregnant, medical student Aisling Conroy’s boyfriend Jack is found dead in the Corrib river. The police close the case after quickly determining that it is a suicide. But Jack’s sister Maude returns after many years and argues that he was killed., Cormac is put on a cold case that is related to the alleged suicide. Jack and Maude’s mother died of an apparent overdose 20 years before, and Cormac believes that the “powers that be” want to push this case to muddle Maude’s credibility., McTiernan draws a good character in Cormac. I see him; he’s in the same vein as Cormoran Strike from Rowlings’s mysteries or Carl Morck from the Department Q books. They all have that same dark humor of tested veteran investigators. They have a past that the authors deal out slowly and with much success. Many have compared this series to Tana French’s novels, but I read In The Woods so long ago that I can’t remember exactly what it’s about! Ha!, My only criticism of this one is that the reveals all occur in the last 20-30 pages of the book. It seems a little too quick and wrapped up with a bow., Recommended to those who want to start a new detective series. I liked it so much that I will be requesting the ARC of the new book, The Scholar that releases on the 14th of May. That review will come tomorrow on the blog! Stay Tuned!
Paul C –
I just finished Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk series and really liked getting back into the thriller/ mystery genre… so I thought I’d pick this one up for the weekend. I was not disappointed. Hawk is definitely more of a spy thriller, and this one is a detective/ police procedural, but after several SFF books, I was happy for a little dose of the “real” world., Detective Cormac Reilly transferred from an elite task force in Dublin to the detective pool in Galway. He’s not entirely feeling welcomed to his new position as office politics has forced cold cases upon him. He runs into several old friends, but he’s having a hard time figuring out his enemies and allies in the department., After telling him she is pregnant, medical student Aisling Conroy’s boyfriend Jack is found dead in the Corrib river. The police close the case after quickly determining that it is a suicide. But Jack’s sister Maude returns after many years and argues that he was killed., Cormac is put on a cold case that is related to the alleged suicide. Jack and Maude’s mother died of an apparent overdose 20 years before, and Cormac believes that the “powers that be” want to push this case to muddle Maude’s credibility., McTiernan draws a good character in Cormac. I see him; he’s in the same vein as Cormoran Strike from Rowlings’s mysteries or Carl Morck from the Department Q books. They all have that same dark humor of tested veteran investigators. They have a past that the authors deal out slowly and with much success. Many have compared this series to Tana French’s novels, but I read In The Woods so long ago that I can’t remember exactly what it’s about! Ha!, My only criticism of this one is that the reveals all occur in the last 20-30 pages of the book. It seems a little too quick and wrapped up with a bow., Recommended to those who want to start a new detective series. I liked it so much that I will be requesting the ARC of the new book, The Scholar that releases on the 14th of May. That review will come tomorrow on the blog! Stay Tuned!
Paul C –
I just finished Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk series and really liked getting back into the thriller/ mystery genre… so I thought I’d pick this one up for the weekend. I was not disappointed. Hawk is definitely more of a spy thriller, and this one is a detective/ police procedural, but after several SFF books, I was happy for a little dose of the “real” world., Detective Cormac Reilly transferred from an elite task force in Dublin to the detective pool in Galway. He’s not entirely feeling welcomed to his new position as office politics has forced cold cases upon him. He runs into several old friends, but he’s having a hard time figuring out his enemies and allies in the department., After telling him she is pregnant, medical student Aisling Conroy’s boyfriend Jack is found dead in the Corrib river. The police close the case after quickly determining that it is a suicide. But Jack’s sister Maude returns after many years and argues that he was killed., Cormac is put on a cold case that is related to the alleged suicide. Jack and Maude’s mother died of an apparent overdose 20 years before, and Cormac believes that the “powers that be” want to push this case to muddle Maude’s credibility., McTiernan draws a good character in Cormac. I see him; he’s in the same vein as Cormoran Strike from Rowlings’s mysteries or Carl Morck from the Department Q books. They all have that same dark humor of tested veteran investigators. They have a past that the authors deal out slowly and with much success. Many have compared this series to Tana French’s novels, but I read In The Woods so long ago that I can’t remember exactly what it’s about! Ha!, My only criticism of this one is that the reveals all occur in the last 20-30 pages of the book. It seems a little too quick and wrapped up with a bow., Recommended to those who want to start a new detective series. I liked it so much that I will be requesting the ARC of the new book, The Scholar that releases on the 14th of May. That review will come tomorrow on the blog! Stay Tuned!
lawyeraau –
A mystery within a mystery, this is a very compelling police procedural set in Galway, Ireland. A rookie police constable is sent on a seemingly routine call. What he discovers is a crumbling house, a young young teenage girl, her little brother, with their mother, dead from an apparent drug overdose . The rookie suspects it may be murder, as the drug may not have been self-administered, but he is quickly overrules by his more experienced superiors., Twenty years later, one of those now grown children has ostensibly committed suicide, and the rookie is now a detective whose path crosses the case. The Detective, recently assigned to a new squad, encounters something unsettling in his new squad, as well as in the case, and the ostensible suicide’s sister claims it was murder. The Detective soon realizes that these are the two children he rescued from within the crumbling mansion twenty years earlier and, like a dog with a bone, is determined to ties up all those loose threads that appears to be unraveling before him., This is a dark and gritty look at police corruption, murder, and the battle for truth and justice, even when a curveball seem to be thrown one’s way from those one least expects such. This is a well written, dark and gripping police procedural with an interesting protagonist in the person of Detective Cormac Reilly. Fans of Tana French, in particular, should very much enjoy this book. I know that I did. I simply could not put it down!
lawyeraau –
A mystery within a mystery, this is a very compelling police procedural set in Galway, Ireland. A rookie police constable is sent on a seemingly routine call. What he discovers is a crumbling house, a young young teenage girl, her little brother, with their mother, dead from an apparent drug overdose . The rookie suspects it may be murder, as the drug may not have been self-administered, but he is quickly overrules by his more experienced superiors., Twenty years later, one of those now grown children has ostensibly committed suicide, and the rookie is now a detective whose path crosses the case. The Detective, recently assigned to a new squad, encounters something unsettling in his new squad, as well as in the case, and the ostensible suicide’s sister claims it was murder. The Detective soon realizes that these are the two children he rescued from within the crumbling mansion twenty years earlier and, like a dog with a bone, is determined to ties up all those loose threads that appears to be unraveling before him., This is a dark and gritty look at police corruption, murder, and the battle for truth and justice, even when a curveball seem to be thrown one’s way from those one least expects such. This is a well written, dark and gripping police procedural with an interesting protagonist in the person of Detective Cormac Reilly. Fans of Tana French, in particular, should very much enjoy this book. I know that I did. I simply could not put it down!
lawyeraau –
A mystery within a mystery, this is a very compelling police procedural set in Galway, Ireland. A rookie police constable is sent on a seemingly routine call. What he discovers is a crumbling house, a young young teenage girl, her little brother, with their mother, dead from an apparent drug overdose . The rookie suspects it may be murder, as the drug may not have been self-administered, but he is quickly overrules by his more experienced superiors., Twenty years later, one of those now grown children has ostensibly committed suicide, and the rookie is now a detective whose path crosses the case. The Detective, recently assigned to a new squad, encounters something unsettling in his new squad, as well as in the case, and the ostensible suicide’s sister claims it was murder. The Detective soon realizes that these are the two children he rescued from within the crumbling mansion twenty years earlier and, like a dog with a bone, is determined to ties up all those loose threads that appears to be unraveling before him., This is a dark and gritty look at police corruption, murder, and the battle for truth and justice, even when a curveball seem to be thrown one’s way from those one least expects such. This is a well written, dark and gripping police procedural with an interesting protagonist in the person of Detective Cormac Reilly. Fans of Tana French, in particular, should very much enjoy this book. I know that I did. I simply could not put it down!
SoCal Reviewer –
Complex plotting and strong characters abound in this thoughtful police procedural from Dervla McTiernan. The Ruin follows Detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly two months into his transfer from Dublin’s Special Detectives Unit to field operations in Galway. Reilly attempts to navigate office politics as he adjusts to his new position. He’s assigned one dead-end cold case file after another and his new colleagues eye him with suspicion. One of the case files, a matter Reilly worked on early in his career, may or may not relate to a present day death., McTiernan deftly weaves multiple plot threads and slowly reveals character traits to build tension. When incorporating the plot line involving the cold case, she draws upon Ireland’s recent social policies to illuminate the lingering effects years later. In this way, The Ruin serves as more than an excellent police procedural. It’s also a commentary on larger societal issues and bureaucracies, and all manner of influences and politics., Overall rating: 5 stars. Multilayered, well paced narrative with interesting characters wrapped in a police procedural.
SoCal Reviewer –
Complex plotting and strong characters abound in this thoughtful police procedural from Dervla McTiernan. The Ruin follows Detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly two months into his transfer from Dublin’s Special Detectives Unit to field operations in Galway. Reilly attempts to navigate office politics as he adjusts to his new position. He’s assigned one dead-end cold case file after another and his new colleagues eye him with suspicion. One of the case files, a matter Reilly worked on early in his career, may or may not relate to a present day death., McTiernan deftly weaves multiple plot threads and slowly reveals character traits to build tension. When incorporating the plot line involving the cold case, she draws upon Ireland’s recent social policies to illuminate the lingering effects years later. In this way, The Ruin serves as more than an excellent police procedural. It’s also a commentary on larger societal issues and bureaucracies, and all manner of influences and politics., Overall rating: 5 stars. Multilayered, well paced narrative with interesting characters wrapped in a police procedural.
SoCal Reviewer –
Complex plotting and strong characters abound in this thoughtful police procedural from Dervla McTiernan. The Ruin follows Detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly two months into his transfer from Dublin’s Special Detectives Unit to field operations in Galway. Reilly attempts to navigate office politics as he adjusts to his new position. He’s assigned one dead-end cold case file after another and his new colleagues eye him with suspicion. One of the case files, a matter Reilly worked on early in his career, may or may not relate to a present day death., McTiernan deftly weaves multiple plot threads and slowly reveals character traits to build tension. When incorporating the plot line involving the cold case, she draws upon Ireland’s recent social policies to illuminate the lingering effects years later. In this way, The Ruin serves as more than an excellent police procedural. It’s also a commentary on larger societal issues and bureaucracies, and all manner of influences and politics., Overall rating: 5 stars. Multilayered, well paced narrative with interesting characters wrapped in a police procedural.
Judy in CA –
The Ruin by Dervia McTiernan was a book I found hard to put down. I have read The Scholar and will try The Good Turn next. All the characters in the story were interesting. Bringing a cold case and a new case together was good.
Judy in CA –
The Ruin by Dervia McTiernan was a book I found hard to put down. I have read The Scholar and will try The Good Turn next. All the characters in the story were interesting. Bringing a cold case and a new case together was good.
Judy in CA –
The Ruin by Dervia McTiernan was a book I found hard to put down. I have read The Scholar and will try The Good Turn next. All the characters in the story were interesting. Bringing a cold case and a new case together was good.
Rustproof –
You want to know what happens next. I read it in one day and loved every word of this challenging story.
Rustproof –
You want to know what happens next. I read it in one day and loved every word of this challenging story.
Rustproof –
You want to know what happens next. I read it in one day and loved every word of this challenging story.