Police At The Station And They Don't Look Friendly (Detective Sean Duffy Series #6) by Adrian McKinty

Police at the Station And They Don’t Look Friendly (Sean Duffy Series #6).  Adrian McKinty. Prometheus Books. March 2017. 319 pp. ISBN #: 9781633882591.

Belfast 1988 – Ireland is a volatile place where IRA, Irish and British conflict constantly erupts. The novel opens with Duffy being into a hidden area where he will be forced to dig his own grave and then die. The scene shifts, however, to a murder scene. Two murders, both committed by crossbows, have been committed and Duffy is called to investigate the second death of a known drug dealer.  Obviously, this is an odd choice of weapons but effective because of the difficulty of tracing the owner or owners.  All he knows is the victim’s wife is a violent mourner, giving grief to anyone and everyone. Add to the mess that it’s hard for Duffy to get cooperation in the Carrickfergus station.  However, he has a job to do and he sets about it with determination, even when it seems he is being blocked at every turn.

Duffy is also in danger of losing his girlfriend Beth and daughter Emma, as Beth hates being in the middle of a violent neighborhood.  There’s a subplot here as she tries to get him to think about moving to a house in the country.  At first he refuses but realizes he will lose her if he doesn’t come around.  Trying to explain to Beth that he is attempting to prove himself at the station, being distrusted as a fenian “peeler” or detective (Irish independence supporter and detective), and is slowly gaining ground in that effort.  Beth doesn’t see that as the essence of a steady, peaceful existence for a family, even though she won’t hear of marriage as a viable option.

The story continues and holds the reader’s avid interest as Duffy and an associate are kidnapped, almost murdered and endures other life-threatening moments and obstacles.  Adam McKinty crafts an excellent crime or detective novel that is challenging, mysterious, and altogether a wild ride with some poignant times in between the task of finding the guilty and bypassing the innocent.  Nicely plotted Adam McKinty!

Rain Dogs: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel by Adrian McKinty

Rain Dogs: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel. Adrian McKinty. Seventh Street Books/Prometheus Books. March 2016. 315 pp.  ISBN#: 9781633881303.

Sean Duffy has nothing going right these days.  He’s just been dumped by his girlfriend, Beth, who is ten years younger than he is.  He’s just been assigned to the protective unit for a Muhammed Ali visit to Ireland. 

The story takes place in Carrickfergus which is close to Belfast.  It’s the time of the Irish Troubles when the IRA is dropping bombs left and right as a protest method to gain Irish independence.  It’s a bit of a far stretch to imagine how these bombs could be an asset in their goal but for now it is what it is.  So for now Detectives like Duffy check under their cars for bombs every time they set out to travel somewhere.  Ali during his tour actually turns around and confronts protestors, winning them over with his charm and panache.

But the day isn’t done before there are two problems, one minor and one major.  A Finnish delegation has come to the area to check it out as a potential site for a large new business and of course the town officials want and English government want everything to proceed ultra-smoothly.  However, one of the Finnish delegation member’s wallet is declared missing and a young woman is found dead from a possible suicide in Carrickfergus Castle. The first is a joke; the second turns out to be a complex mystery.  Why did this young journalist kill herself?  Why did the night guard not know she was still in the Castle after closing hours? 

The plot becomes quite complex when it turns out that the Finnish delegation was not as innocent as it appeared to the public.  Add to that another policeman is killed from a bomb under the car and of course everyone assumes it’s just another IRA plot, nothing new.  It turns out that’s not so either.

Duffy for a long time keeps receiving false leads but if it’s one thing Duffy has a reputation for, it’s persistence, relentless.

Rain Dogs… has many other twists and turns that keep the reader flipping the pages and rapidly reading.  This is my first Sean Duffy mystery, and I am looking forward to read the other novels in which he is the sleuth solving crimes in tumultuous Ireland!  Very nicely done, Adrian McKinty and recommended reading for all who love a good mystery!