"Dares to go where many others won't" - review of THE TRUTH ABOUT RUBY COOPER

THE TRUTH ABOUT RUBY COOPER by Liz Nugent (Penguin, March 2026)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

'If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.'

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode. Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past. But it can’t stay a secret forever.? 

Let’s start with understatement: Liz Nugent certainly knows how to spin a compelling yarn. Not just compelling with a capital C, but in all caps. 

The bestselling Irish author has a masterful touch for hooking readers with intense, high-stakes situations then leading us through an emotional minefield alongside pretty hard-to-like protagonists. 

There’s a bravery throughout her oeuvre; she dares to go where many others don’t, via characters studies of some rather horrendous people. A wife-beater (Unravelling Oliver), a wealthy judge and his wife covering up a horrible crime (Lying in Wait), a trio of brothers taking sibling rivalry to toxic, deadly levels (Our Little Cruelties) – Nugent’s thrillers are atypical, and her characters often the worst in the room, or many rooms, yet bizarrely engaging.

In her sixth novel in twelve years, The Truth About Ruby Cooper, Nugent immerses readers in the family-shattering aftermath of a life-altering incident between Ruby, the sixteen year-old daughter of a popular Boston pastor, and Milo, her older sister Erin’s boyfriend, one afternoon when the pair are alone together in the Cooper family home. 

Accusations, he-said/she-said, DNA evidence, lawyers and courtrooms, traumatising cross-examination. A community in shock. Lives never the same. Ruby and her mother flee to Ireland. Erin and her father stay in Boston. Can time, or distance, really heal?

Guilt and shame, anger and blame. 

How do you come back from the worst thing you’ve ever experienced? Nugent doesn’t spare readers, delivering haymaker reveals early that other authors may save til a finale; before diving deeper. How far will a poisonous act flow – over years and decades, through relationships and generations? 

Nugent has a rare ability to pack a novel’s worth of drama into the first half or third of a book, without it feeling overstuffed, then delivering even more unforgettable moments the rest of the way. She delves into deeply personal matters, while touching on wider themes of justice, addiction, and family. Smooth writing, layered and nuanced storytelling that hums with authenticity. 

The Truth About Ruby Cooper isn’t an easy read, but it is a brilliant one..

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

Review: THE ISLAND

THE ISLAND by Adrian McKinty (Little, Brown, 2022)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

It was just supposed to be a family vacation.

A terrible accident changed everything.

You don't know what you're capable of until they come for your family.

Three years ago, Belfast-born author Adrian McKinty’s life changed with the release of THE CHAIN, a heart-clutching thriller that was any loving parent’s worst nightmare, on steroids. That book skyrocketed McKinty into a new stratosphere of readership. He’d long been a critical darling, with a mantlepiece packed with prizes, including the Edgar Award, for his superb novels including his outstanding Sean Duffy series set in 1980s Northern Ireland. But THE CHAIN made him a #1 international bestseller, as well as landing on dozens of ‘best of the year’ lists and winning major awards on three continents.

McKinty was an overnight success, two decades into his publishing career. What next?

THE ISLAND is the answer, and McKinty’s latest tale takes the parental fears of his breakthrough book and twists the terror dial even higher. It’s a rip-snorting, stay-up-all-night read.

Young stepmother and massage therapist Heather Baxter is holidaying in Australia with her husband Tom and his adolescent kids Olivia and Owen. Tom, a doctor, has an important conference to attend, and the family has tagged along. But when a trip in their rental SUV into the Victorian countryside and onto a private island so the petulant kids can try to spot koalas and other Australian wildlife goes horribly awry, Heather must call on everything she has to fight for the lives of her new family.

McKinty delivers a cinematic, ultra-tense tale with a fair wallop of emotional oomph as Heather, her family, and an elderly Dutch couple are trapped on the island with a close-knit clan of locals who are suspicious of outsiders at the best of times. Shades of Deliverance. Masterfully written

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. He's been a judge of Australian, Scottish, and NZ crime writing awards, and is co-founder of Rotorua Noir. He's the author of the HRF Keating award-shortlisted non-fiction book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, and the series editor of acclaimed anthology DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: THE KILLING KIND

THE KILLING KIND by Jane Casey (HarperCollins, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Ingrid will never forget what John did.

The people he hurt. The way he lied about it so easily. The way she defended him. Now he’s back.

He says a murderer is after her. He says only he can protect her. Would you trust him?

The clock is ticking for Ingrid to decide. Because the killer is ready to strike...

After well and truly establishing herself on the crime scene as a bestselling and award-winning author thanks to her long-running mystery series starring young detective Maeve Kerrigan of London’s Metropolitan Police, with The Killing Kind Irish author Jane Casey delivers her first standalone novel since her 2010 debut.

The Killing Kind steps away from DS Kerrigan but is still set in London, Casey’s adopted home. It centres on young barrister Ingrid Kelly, whose life is upturned – yet again – when a colleague is hit and killed by a truck on a stormy day on a busy London street. As the Police investigate the tragedy they first seem to be gravitating towards unfortunate accident, or perhaps a suicide. But Ingrid fears that something far more sinister may have occurred.

She’d lent her bright umbrella to her colleague – did someone cause the fatal accident? And did they think they were killing Ingrid?

Then again, maybe those dark thoughts are just Ingrid’s mind playing tricks, given past traumas.

Ingrid’s fears are amplified when her former stalker reappears, a man whose actions destroyed Ingrid’s marriage plans. Now she’s single and alone. Then someone is killed in Ingrid’s flat: the second time someone has died in Ingrid’s home. Scrabbling for answers, the young lawyer is driven by desperation to turn not only to the Police, but to her past stalker himself. An expert in these types of situations, he can spot things that others can’t, because he’s done it himself. Or is this all just an elaborate ruse?

Casey does a very good job keeping readers guessing with a tense psychological thriller that has some heart-in-mouth moments. The Killing Kind delves into some murky places, such as the trauma inherent in the justice system (for victims, witnesses, the accused and others), and the difficulty of sexual assault cases. There are plenty of suspects and red herrings as Casey muddies the waters throughout, so whether readers catch some sleight of hand or not, it’s an enjoyable and gripping journey through to a strong conclusion.

Note: this is a lightly edited version of a review first published in Mystery Scene magazine in the United States earlier in 2021. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.

Review: THE PERFECT LIE

THE PERFECT LIE by Jo Spain (Quercus Books, 2021)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.

Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny's police colleagues one morning, it's the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.

Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband's murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.

But it was all built on the perfect lie.

How would you deal with things if the solid footing and nice life you'd scrabbled to find after past tragedy was suddenly torn away from you in an instant, and then to make things even worse you were forced to question everything you thought you knew? Irishwoman abroad Erin Kennedy faces just that dilemma in this compulsive new thriller from bestselling Irish novelist and screenwriter Jo Spain. 

Erin wakes up one Tuesday to sea air and sex with Danny, her police detective husband, in their Long Island apartment. The couple are juggling work stresses, but looking forward to a weekend away together soon. Erin has a day of publishing work ahead, but that all changes when Danny's work partner knocks on the door early that morning, flanked by uniformed officers. Something's wrong. 

Very wrong. Then it gets worse. 

Danny sizes up the situation, and makes an irreversible decision. A window and a drop to the concrete below; a sudden death rather than facing whatever was coming following the door knock. Erin's seemingly perfect life is smashed to pieces. Why would Danny commit suicide? What drove him to it? 

Eighteen months later, Erin is on trial for killing her husband.

Spain keeps readers nicely off-balance throughout an exciting read that flows well while twisting like a corkscrew rollercoaster. She adeptly sets the hook then reels us in through multiple timelines leading up to and through Erin's trial, including events at a college campus years before. 

Struggling after Danny's fatal leap from their balcony, Erin begins looking into what could possibly have led to him making such a seemingly incomprehensible decision, but that just brings more pain and confusion as she finds out lots of horrible things that had been hidden from view. 

Like Erin, our heads spin as we try to make sense of just what the hell is going on. Unsurprisingly cinematic, Spain’s latest is a one-sitting kind of read that is full of twists and red herrings, of fragmented incidents that later mesh in ways not always expected. 

THE PERFECT LIE is perfect weekend reading, whether you're beachside or not.

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE

IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE by Adrian McKinty, narrated by Gerard Doyle (Blackstone Audio, 2014)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

It s the early 1980s in Belfast. Sean Duffy, a conflicted Catholic cop in the Protestant RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), is recruited by MI5 to hunt down Dermot McCann, an IRA master bomber who has made a daring escape from the notorious Maze Prison. 

In the course of his investigations Sean discovers a woman who may hold the key to Dermot s whereabouts; she herself wants justice for her daughter who died in mysterious circumstances in a pub locked from the inside. Sean knows that if he can crack the locked room mystery, the bigger mystery of Dermot s whereabouts might be revealed to him as a reward. 

Meanwhile the clock is ticking down to the Conservative Party Conference in Brighton in 1984, where Mrs. Thatcher is due to give a keynote speech. 

As I mentioned back in February, I'd loaded up on audiobooks of Adrian McKinty's outstanding Sean Duffy series to devour on some long park walks during the pandemic. While THE CHAIN has seen McKinty's readership take off to stratospheric levels, belatedly and oh-so-deservedly (long overdue), the Northern Irishman had been writing absolutely top-shelf novels for many, many years before he sat down and wrote that career-saving standalone from a house in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne.

In other circumstances, IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE may have been the final Sean Duffy novel - McKinty has talked about how he originally envisaged his tales of a Catholic detective working for the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Troubles-era Northern Ireland as a trilogy. This title is the third. 

(The series then grew to six books - the most recent being POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY (2017) - and in some great news for McKinty fans long-time and new, there are more Sean Duffy tales on the horizon. A seventh tale has already been published in Germany and is hopefully due for publication in English in the not-too-distant future, after COVID upturned 2020.) 

Those readers who've read McKinty's excellent, Edgar Award-winning RAIN DOGS (the fifth Sean Duffy tale) may recall the Northern Irish detective making a comment along the lines of how it was highly unlikely a cop would get two 'locked room' cases in his career, and he'd already had one. 

IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE is that earlier 'locked room mystery' for Duffy, though of course in McKinty's masterful hands this is much, much more than a locked room mystery. It's a rich, nuanced novel that hums with the tensions and issues of its times. Duffy is shoulder-tapped by the British secret services to uncover the whereabouts of an IRA bomber who's escaped from prison; a man Duffy knew well in his younger years. One of Duffy's leads may prove helpful, but he needs to solve another case in order to get the information: the death of a young woman in a locked pub. 

How could it be anything but a tragic accident? But Duffy needs to find much more if he's to appease the spymasters and convince a grieving and angry mother to 'snitch' on the IRA bomber. 

Put simply, IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE is wonderful storytelling. 

It's rich and layered and beautifully written. Soaked in its setting - time and place and the people living through it. Strong characters, exciting incidents, plenty of tension and intrigue. McKinty doesn't shy away from utilising real figures and events, mixed in with his fictional ones that explore some of the complexities of the Troubles. Listening on audio, McKinty's prose and Gerard Doyle's delivery gave a very atmospheric 'reading' experience. I felt I'd been plucked from the parks of 2020s South London and dropped into mid 1980s Belfast and surrounds (along with a detour to Brighton later on). 

A superb novel in a superb series, from a masterful storyteller. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His first non-fiction book, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: A BOOK OF BONES

A BOOK OF BONES by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton, 2019)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

He is our best hope. He is our last hope.

On lonely moor in the northeast of England, the body of a young woman is discovered near the site of a vanished church. In the south, a girl lies buried beneath a Saxon mound. To the southeast, the ruins of a priory hide a human skull.

Each is a sacrifice, a summons. And something in the darkness has heard the call.

But another is coming: Parker the hunter, the avenger. From the forests of Maine to the deserts of the Mexican border, from the canals of Amsterdam to the streets of London, he will track those who would cast this world into darkness.

Parker fears no evil. But evil fears him . . . 

Just before the millennium a new voice joined the world of mystery writing, bringing with him an intriguing new character and a distinctive style. Irish author John Connolly made immediate waves with his first tale starring NYPD detective turned Maine private eye Charlie Parker, a haunted man on several fronts. That book, EVERY DEAD THING, earned Connolly a Shamus Award (becoming the first overseas author to ever win one), and over the next two decades he’s built a stunningly vivid world around Parker. A world that goes beyond our one.

The rational traditions of mystery writing and the irrationality of the supernatural and occult could be oil and water in lesser hands, but Connolly has long-proven a storytelling sorcerer, and one of the finest stylists in the crime genre. That blend has intensified as the series has lengthened. 

A BOOK OF BONES was the seventeenth Parker novel, a direct sequel to THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS, and in some ways it brought to a head some ongoing arcs that had been building through a sequence of novels in the long-running series (it was the 17th instalment), particularly since 2014's THE WOLF IN WINTER. Parker is still on the hunt for the mysterious lawyer Quayle and his vicious consort Pallida Mors. Parker’s long-time confederate Louis would also like another shot at Mors, literally, after she left him wounded in a shootout - though he also has his cancer-stricken partner Angel to worry about. The deadly trio of Parker, Louis, and Angel – a force for good in a world filled with plenty of evil – have been weakened and wounded, but so have those they chase.

As the trio track their prey to Europe, Quayle and Mors continue to prey on others. Sacrifices are made at ancient holy sites across the UK. How do the grisly murders link to a long-lost book? And just what infernal carnage is Quayle hoping to wreak? 

In A BOOK OF BONES Connolly delivers another masterful tale for long-time fans; it is a bit of a tome, weighing in at 700 pages, but moves quickly and captivates throughout. 

One note of caution: perhaps it’s not the best entry point for those brand-new to the excellent Charlie Parker series, given its sprawling nature, many new characters, and Parker being off-screen more than usual. It may pay to read a couple of the prior Parker novels to get the full benefit of Connolly’s brilliance, both in terms of the nuanced character of Parker and some of those ongoing narratives.

But for anyone who's read a Parker book or two (or them all), A BOOK OF BONES is a masterful, intricate tale from a truly wonderful writer. 

 

Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.

Review: POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY

POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY by Adrian McKinty, narrated by Gerard Doyle (Blackstone Audio, 2017)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Belfast 1988: A man is found dead, killed with a bolt from a crossbow in front of his house. This is no hunting accident. But uncovering who is responsible for the murder will take Detective Sean Duffy down his most dangerous road yet, a road that leads to a lonely clearing on a high bog where three masked gunmen will force Duffy to dig his own grave.

Hunted by forces unknown, threatened by Internal Affairs, and with his relationship on the rocks, Duffy will need all his wits to get out of this investigation in one piece. 

As a long-time fan of Adrian McKinty's storytelling, I was absolutely stoked to see him have some long-overdue huge success with his most recent novel THE CHAIN. McKinty has been an outstanding storyteller for ages, racking up critical acclaim and awards wins and delivering rich, textured crime tales. But through the vagaries of international publishing and publicity foci, his books hadn't gotten into the hands of millions of readers like you thought they would have, given his talent and just how damned good they were.

Recently I've been doing lots of long solo walks through the parks and playing fields near us during the pandemic, and thus listening to a lot more audiobooks. So I decided to load up several of McKinty's outstanding Sean Duffy series for a revisit or a 'first read' (listen) as the case may be. 

Audibly, I began at the end, with POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY, the sixth of McKinty's Sean Duffy tales. It took me a wee while into the first walk to adjust to Gerard Doyle's strong accent, but I soon settled into a rhythm with him and his narration really flowed well while fitting perfectly with the exciting and very Norn Irish story he was delivering. 

The sixth Duffy tale begins at what may well be the end for Duffy himself: a prologue where he's marched into the countryside to dig his own grave. We then flash back to the case that led to Duffy facing Irish paramilitaries' version of a gallows walk, the unusual killing of a local drug dealer. 

Called back from a holiday taking his baby daughter and girlfriend to visit his parents, Duffy encounters a chaotic crime scene. The victim has been shot by crossbow, neighbours are rubbernecking, and a hungry goat is threatening to munch away evidence after other cops have vacated following an incident. From fear to high farce, McKinty wastes no time showing his skill at eliciting an emotional response in readers (or listeners). Duffy then rolls through an increasingly knotted investigation, thwarted at several turns by his colleagues and superiors as much as the criminals. 

Most presume the crossbow bolt was vigilantes or paramilitary payback for the drug dealer, though there's no public declaration of responsibility. Then the victim's wife goes missing, and Duffy is pressured to end the investigation, while dealing with some internal police force foes gaining in power. 

Can he survive being investigated by his own colleagues, as well as hits puts out on his life? 

McKinty has taken readers through quite the journey with Duffy through the six books, and things come to crisis point in POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY. 

There is so much to enjoy about this book, and the series as a whole. McKinty wonderfully evokes the 1980s atmosphere of Thatcherite Britain and the smouldering tensions and stark dangers of the Troubles. There's a real richness and freshness to McKinty's storytelling that elevates the Sean Duffy series among a plethora of police procedural series out there. We get keen insights into how it felt to be living through a now-historical period of a longstanding conflict on the Emerald Isle. And that's a key - McKinty makes readers feel, not just skip through a twisting plotline curious as to what may happen or how things may end. There's an emotional and intellectual connection, expertly crafted through the fullness of the characters and the richness of the setting, along with issues raised and explored. 

McKinty has been open about the fact that he initially conceived the Sean Duffy books as a trilogy. So readers are extraordinarily lucky that we've gotten twice that (hopefully with more to come). 

Duffy is a terrific central character. Though he exhibits some traits familiar to mystery lovers, in McKinty's hands he feels fully rounded and nuanced. In POLICE AT THE STATION AND THEY DON'T LOOK FRIENDLY he's under pressure personally (as a new Dad with less-than-simple family and in-law relationships) and professionally. Huge pressure. Life and death - not just his own. 

It was a real joy to read (listen) to this tale, to soak in McKinty's wonderful writing. The Northern Irishman abroad brings style and substance to his storytelling, along with exciting plotlines. 

A terrific book in a superlative series. One of the very, very best around. In the well-stocked pub of crime fiction, McKinty ain't merely a fine Irish whiskey, he's a bottle of Midleton Very Rare. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His first non-fiction book, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: THE GOOD TURN

THE GOOD TURN by Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Australia, 2020)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected things that will prove to be linked by one small town.

While Detective Cormac Reilly faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life, Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head. But even that is not as terrible as having to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone.

For some, like Anna and her young daughter Tilly, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn't far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.

Western Australian author Dervla McTiernan has certainly hit the ground running; her debut novel THE RUIN came out in 2018 and went on to win Ned Kelly, Davitt, and Barry Awards. Its sequel, THE SCHOLAR, scooped an International Thriller Writers Award. 

But despite the awards decorating its predecessors, for me THE GOOD TURN is the best book, so far, of McTiernan's excellent series starring Galway copper DS Cormac Reilly. She was already a writer to watch, now she's moved into must-read status with her consistently great storytelling. While THE GOOD TURN builds on what's already happened to Reilly and some of his colleagues and loved ones in previous books, I think it could also be read as a standalone tale or your first taste of the series. 

When a lack of resources and support leads to a kidnapping case going bad, Reilly finds himself in the firing line of his bosses; he’s suspended and his protégé Peter Fisher is exiled to the Garda station of a tiny seaside town. A village long policed by Fisher’s father, and a place where a woman, Anna, and her young daughter Tilly sought refuge after fleeing Dublin. Reilly secretly digs into his suspicions of broader police corruption while Fisher does his penance in paperwork relating to two murders.

There are good, intriguing investigations running throughout THE GOOD TURN, and McTiernan does a fine job juggling multiple character perspectives and storylines in an intelligent and engaging police procedural that's soaked in Irish atmosphere. However it's the character of Reilly and how he operates in the vividly evoked setting and interacts with the other characters that is the strongest suit of a strong novel. He's an intriguing hero, besieged by bureaucracy and back-stabbers, just trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances. While that's not an uncommon character type in crime fiction, McTiernan makes it still feel fresh and interesting with the quality of her writing and characterisation. 

THE GOOD TURN is a fine novel in a very engaging series. Well worth a read. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His first non-fiction book, SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: LITTLE CRUELTIES

LITTLE CRUELTIES by Liz Nugent (Gallery/Scout Press, 2020)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

This story begins with a funeral. One of three brothers is dead, mourned by his siblings. But which one? And how? And, most importantly: why?

William, Brian, and Luke are each born a year apart in a lower middle class Catholic family in 1960s Dublin. William, the eldest, rises to the top of the heap in the film industry as a successful movie producer. Luke, the baby of the family, surprises everyone by morphing into a worldwide pop star. Brian, the compliant middle son, is the eternal adult in the room: the helpful, steady one, the manager of finances and careers.

But none of them is actually quite what he seems. Wounded by childhood, they have betrayed one another in myriad ways, hiding behind little lies that have developed into full blown treachery. With an unnerving eye for the complexities of families, Nugent delves into the secret life of a deeply troubled household and provides stunning insights into the many forces that shape us from childhood.

Exquisite storytelling from a masterful author. Liz Nugent knows how to take readers to some dark and disturbing places with some at-times foul characters while compelling us to keep turning the pages.

Irish author Nugent has racked up #1 bestseller accolades and several awards for her compulsive standalones that centre on rather horrendous people. Whether it’s a man who ‘snaps’ and beats his wife, a rich couple happy to cover up a horrible crime, or an aging socialite willing to do anything to maintain her fantasy life, Nugent’s characters are often the worst in the room, yet strangely engaging.

Little Cruelties continues Nugent’s magic for making rather revolting folk rather riveting. It’s the tale of three brothers who take sibling rivalry to toxic levels, and opens with all three at a funeral: one brother is in the coffin, has one of the other two put him there? 

The novel is divided into thirds, with readers taken through the perspectives of each of the three Drumm brothers on key moments of their lives over the past decades. 

Will, the eldest, is a womanising ‘family man’ and film producer. The youngest, Luke, shines bright as a young pop star before burning out in a haze of addictions and mental health issues. Middle child Brian seems the boring one, devoted to niece Daisy and shifting from teaching into celebrity management. All three are the offspring of a self-absorbed showbiz mother. A family of grudges and jealousies, damaging each other’s lives (and those of others) whether they mean to or not. As events unfold we come to some pretty horrible realisations about many things. Is any redemption possible?

Nugent has penned a riveting story that blends whodunnit with shades of Greek tragedy.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: FIFTY FIFTY

FIFTY FIFTY by Steve Cavanagh (Orion, 2020)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Alexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.

Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.

Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury. But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be. You'd be wrong.

Five years ago Belfast lawyer Steve Cavanagh published his first novel, THE DEFENCE, an excellent legal thriller set in New York City and introducing con man turned defense attorney Eddie Flynn. It was a great debut, and it kickstarted what has grown into one of the very best ongoing series to be added to the crime writing canon in recent years.

Cavanagh certainly knows how to tell a hell of a story. After delivering an intriguing standalone last year, TWISTED, he's now returned for the fifth time to his main character Eddie Flynn, the battered but honorable lawyer trying to find some measure of justice within a system that isn't always just.

Once again, Cavanagh sets an appetising hook. Two sisters on trial for the brutal killing of their father, the former mayor of New York City. Each accuses the other of the horrific crime; the prosecution just wants someone to pay. Can Eddie Flynn save the innocent sister?

And once again Cavanagh delivers depth and thrills beyond his high-concept hook, zooming past 'great beach read' and adding further layers and depth to a storyline ripe for twists. Cavanagh delivers great twists without being reliant upon them. He also has a terrific touch for in-court ingtrigue and out-of-court action, for providing plenty of emotional oomph to the stakes his characters face.

Overall Cavanagh brings some zing and real freshness to a sub-genre of crime writing (legal thrillers) that can at times be circumscribed by the binary 'guilty or not guilty' outcome of most criminal trials. In FIFTY FIFTY he continues the evolution of a superb main character in Eddie Flynn, delivers a compelling storyline that keeps the pages whirring, fills out the cast with plenty of fascinating characters beyond the lead, and places it all among a well-evoked New York legal setting.

Another great instalment in an outstanding series.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

McKinty scoops Theakston Prize for THE CHAIN

Last night in a virtual event held due to the cancellation of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, one of the world's best book festivals, Adrian McKinty added another prestigious award to his mantlepiece. His high-concept, standalone thriller THE CHAIN won the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, a prize for outstanding crime writing from British and Irish authors, ahead of a brilliant shortlist. 

Watching along last night, McKinty seemed genuinely shocked when his name was read out by Simon Theakston on the virtual session with McKinty's fellow nominees Jane Harper (THE LOST MAN), Helen Fitzgerald (WORST CASE SCENARIO), Oyinkan Braithwaite (MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER), Abir Mukherjee (SMOKE & ASHES), and Mick Herron (JOE COUNTRY).

As some readers of this blog will know, THE CHAIN has quite the fascinating backstory. McKinty was living in Melbourne for the past decade or so, and had earned himself a reputation as a superb writer within the crime writing community, and had won the Edgar Award and Ned Kelly Awards.

However, his readership was small, despite the critical praise and accolades. To the point where he'd announced he was giving up writing and going back to some sort of other work to help support his family - who'd also been evicted from their home in Melbourne. Some phone calls changed his life.

I interviewed Adrian about this for a feature in the New Zealand Herald last year, ahead of the release of THE CHAIN. Subscribers can read that piece here. Unfortunately it's behind a paywall (as 'premium content'), but you can read that story in lots of articles elsewhere too, including today.

After last night's announcement McKinty said: “I am gobsmacked and delighted to win this award. Two years ago, I had given up on writing altogether and was working in a bar and driving an uber, and so to go from that to this is just amazing. People think that you write a book and it will be an immediate bestseller. For twelve books, my experience was quite the opposite, but then I started this one. It was deliberately high concept, deliberately different to everything else I had written – and I was still convinced it wouldn’t go anywhere… but now look at this. It has been completely life changing.”

McKinty – previously nominated in 2011, 2014 and 2016 for his Sean Duffy series – will now receive £3,000 and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.


Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “Looking at the titles in contention for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020, it is clear to see why crime fiction remains the UK’s genre of choice. Adrian McKinty is a writer of astonishing talent and tenacity, and we could not be more grateful that he was persuaded to give his literary career one last shot because The Chain is a truly deserving winner. Whilst we might be awarding this year’s trophy in slightly different, digital circumstances, we raise a virtual glass of Theakston Old Peculier to Adrian’s success – with the hope that we can do so in person before too long, and welcome everyone back to Harrogate next year for a crime writing celebration like no other.”

Review: BORDERLANDS

BORDERLANDS by Brian McGilloway (Pan Books, 2008)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

When the corpse of local teenager Angela Cashell is found on the border between the north and south of Ireland, Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin is tasked with heading the investigation: the only clues are a gold ring placed on the girl's finger and an old photograph left where she died.

When another teenager is murdered, Devlin unearths a link between the recent killings and the disappearance of a prostitute twenty-five years earlier—a case in which he believes one of his own colleagues is implicated.

As a thickening snowstorm blurs the border between north and south, Devlin finds the distinction between right and wrong, vengeance and justice, and even police officer and criminal, becoming equally unclear.

I'd heard some great things about Irish crime writer Brian McGilloway before I bought a copy of BORDERLANDS and read it over a summer holiday break several years ago. At the time there were already four books in his series starring Garda Inspector Inspector Benedict Devlin, but I was keen to start at the beginning, curious to see how the character would first be introduced and described. 

McGilloway's debut sees Devlin involved in a murder case where the body of a teenager is found on the Tyrone-Donegal border, an are known as the 'borderlands' given it's position vis a vis Eire and Northern Ireland. This leads to both police forces being involved in the case, as they search for who is responsible. Devlin is part of the Irish police force, living in a small-town just south of the border. 

The Garda Inspector has plenty on his plate: the case is a tricky one that gets more complicated as he investigates - involving politics, Irish history, and other deaths and disappearances; he's got to deal with the arrogance of northern authorities who think 'British is best' regardless of history or facts; his neighbours think his daughter's dog is at fault for attacks on their sheep; and the married Devlin's eye is dangerously caught by an old flame. McGilloway does a good job of delivering us a flawed and interesting main character with plenty of seeds for development over the course of a series. 

Overall, I really enjoyed BORDERLANDS. McGilloway has a nice writing style, and decent touch for weaving plot, theme, setting and character into something polished - rather than one aspect overwhelming the others or leaving a thin feeling in parts. At the time I read BORDERLANDS, I'd say it was one of the better series-starting debuts I'd read for a little while. Lots of promise shown. 

Well worth a look. 

This is an expanded version of a mini online review I wrote of this book after reading it in early 2011. 

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: THE KILLING HOUSE

THE KILLING HOUSE by Claire McGowan (Headline, 2018)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Renovations at an abandoned farm have uncovered two bodies: a man known to be an IRA member missing since the nineties, and a young girl whose identity remains a mystery.

As Paula attempts to discover who the girl is and why no one is looking for her, an anonymous tip-off claims that her own long-lost mother is also buried on the farm.

When another girl is kidnapped, Paula must find the person responsible before more lives are destroyed. But there are explosive secrets still to surface. And even Paula can't predict that the investigation will strike at the heart of all she holds dear.

There's some pretty terrific crime writing coming out of Ireland in recent times (Northern and Republic), and Claire McGowan's series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire have become among my most highly recommended. It's an outstanding, must-read series set against the ongoing shadow cast by the Troubles - thirty years of sectarian violence that cost thousands of lives and left tens of thousands maimed and injured. McGowan grew up among the rural landscapes of a small village in Northern Ireland during the tail end of the Troubles, and delivers a rich and textured portrayal of her home nation in exciting books that bring past and present together.

The sixth and (possibly, hopefully not) final novel in the series sees Maguire now based in London but returning home to Ballyterrin for a wedding. Two bodies are unearthed on a local farm, and the locals ask Maguire for help in an historic case that threatens to entwine with the disappearance of Maguire's own mother decades before. How much should Maguire dig? For years she's wondered what happened to her mother, but does she really want to know the truth? Their country has a brutal history, and how would any potential 'closure' effect her and her father and their current lives?

McGowan is one of those talented novelists who has readers relaxing into the story within the first few paragraphs. Her prose has a freshness and energy to it, without being 'try hard'. It's quickly clear you're in good hands. Like other books in the series, THE KILLING HOUSE is intelligent and layered crime writing. If you had a scorecard, it would tick boxes across the board: fascinating plotlines, interesting characters, pacy while still having depth, rich settings, plenty of personal and societal issues woven through without stifling the story. But that misses some of the magic - THE KILLING HOUSE is more than the sum of its excellent parts. It's crime writing of a very high level, that excites, engages, that tickles the mind and makes you ponder, while also snatching at your heart.

A brilliant coda to a tremendous series. I read it at the end of 2018 while putting together a 'best of' list for a major magazine, and loved it so much I had to bump another favourite from the list.

Highly recommended.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: SKIN DEEP

SKIN DEEP by Liz Nugent (Penguin, 2018)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Cordelia Russell has been living on the French Riviera for twenty-five years, passing herself off as an English socialite. But her luck, and the kindness of strangers, have run out.

The arrival of a visitor from her distant past shocks Cordelia. She reacts violently to the intrusion and flees her flat to spend a drunken night at a glittering party. As dawn breaks she stumbles home through the back streets. Even before she opens her door she can hear the flies buzzing. She did not expect the corpse inside to start decomposing quite so quickly ...

Liz Nugent is a hell of a writer. Fellow reviewers and crime writers whose opinions I really value have been telling me that for a couple of years now, so soon after SKIN DEEP won both the Crime Book of the Year and RTE Radio 1 Listener's Choice prizes at last year's Irish Book Awards, I grabbed it from the TBR mountain and quickly dived in. I'm very glad I did.

Liz Nugent is a hell of writer.

SKIN DEEP is a chilling tale that's not the easiest of reads. Nugent writes beautifully but her main character, Cordelia Russell, goes far beyond unreliable or even unlikable. Candidly, she's rather appalling. Yet still, thanks to Nugent's sublime kills, very compelling.

This is an absorbing read that draws you in even if you feel very little empathy for the main character. Nugent brings both the Mediterranean setting and Cordelia's childhood in Ireland to vivid life, as we follow her twisting and twisted journey from young girl living on a remote island to ageing socialite. Cordelia is the kind of person who leaves chaos and ruin in her wake. But when part of her past comes calling, what will happen? Will she be able to smile and swindle her way through again?

SKIN DEEP is much more of a psychological thriller than a crime novel, though there's dashes of criminal activity throughout. It's a strangely addictive read that pricks at the mind and the emotions. Cordelia is vain, self-absorbed, narcissistic, even cruel, but her journey is a truly fascinating one that I felt compelled to follow from beginning to the book's end. Nugent makes some courageous storytelling choices and this book is likely to stay with you long after you finish.

Liz Nugent is a hell of a writer.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer from New Zealand, now living in London. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He has been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards. You can heckle him on Twitter. 

Review: THE RUIN

THE RUIN by Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins, 2018)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

Detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly has moved with his girlfriend to a new town and is once again a newbie in the ranks of the local police branch.  Tasked to cast a fresh eye over their cold cases, Cormac is diligently ploughing through the work but is keen to take on something more high profile.  It does niggle that he is not tackling anything current and that his new Galway colleagues aren’t that welcoming, but there is at least one friendly face in the office and Cormac knows he must prove his worth once again to a new audience. 

When presented with a case file from twenty years ago, Cormac is shocked to realize that as a young and fresh police officer, he was the Garda involved in the original callout.  Five year old Jack Blake was placed into foster care and as for the teenage sister Maude, that was the last anyone heard of her after the death of her mother.  It saddens Cormac to be told that the body recently found in the local river was that of the now twenty-five year old Jack Blake.  Jack’s doctor girlfriend Aisling is in shock over her partner’s death but soon has a new ally to stir things up – the newly returned Maude.

Twenty years ago Cormac Reilly was a fresh faced, rookie cop, who thought he had been sent to a standard domestic problem. In a rundown old house that took forever to find, what he ended up discovering comes back to haunt him all these years later. Fifteen-year-old Maud Blake and her five-year-old brother Jack are in the house with the body of their alcoholic mother, dead from an apparent overdose. After taking the children straight to hospital Reilly discovers that Jack has been the victim of abuse, while Maud vanishes into the night. Twenty years on, Reilly's moved to Galway from Dublin, put on cold cases for his sins, and handed the re-investigation of Hilaria Blake's supposed overdose when Jack seemingly suicides and Maud reappears.

Complicated story then, handled with considerable aplomb. The narrative switches between Reilly and Jack's girlfriend Aisling. Maud's unannounced return to Ireland after many years living in Australia gives Aisling a difficult but necessary ally in doubting the police's all too rapid conclusion, but Maud's presence is also the catalyst for the re-investigation of her mother's own overdose. All these layers and wheels within wheels work well, each of these characters are seamlessly and cleverly worked into the present and the past; into their shared positions of catalyst, questioner, cause and outcome. Even Reilly is provided with traces of a back-story, his return to Galway, complications in his personal life, and reasons for his colleagues to mistrust him. Done as hints and pointers, Reilly's story is part of THE RUIN but it's not everything. The balance between his story, and the story of a family of 3, now 1, and the reasons why is, rightly, the focus.

Obviously there is plenty of social history here and THE RUIN does not pull back from addressing the history of child sex abuse, the role of churches and authorities, under-resourced social workers, and good and not so good policing. This isn't a novel that goes into detail about the actual abuse, but it doesn't leave anything to the imagination when it comes to the causes, complicity, or even consequences. There are scars aplenty and not everything ends with justice being served.

THE RUIN is set in McTiernan's original country of Ireland and it's one stonkingly good debut novel. Populated by excellent characters, dripping with intrigue and menace, and heralding heaps of long and very enjoyable series potential.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and is a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards and the Ngaio Marsh Awards. She kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels from Australian and New Zealand authors on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. where this review was first published.

Farthing Wood and neolithic tombs: an interview with Olivia Kiernan

Kia ora and haere mai, welcome to the 27th instalment of 9mm for 2018, and the 199th overall edition of our long-running author interview series.

Wow, big milestone approaching there!

Thanks for reading over the years. I've had a lot of fun talking to some amazing crime writers and bringing their thoughts and stories to you. You can check out the full list of of past interviewees here. If you've got a favourite writer who hasn't yet been featured yet, let me know in the comments or by message, and I'll look to make that happen for you.

Today I'm very pleased to welcome Irish author Olivia Kiernan, whose Dublin-based debut thriller Too Close to Breathe has been getting some rave reviews, and has already been sold into France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the Czech Republic. I met Olivia recently at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, where she was one of the authors taking part in the Murder Mystery Dinner. It's one of those stories that seems like a meteoric rise for a debut author, but like many Olivia has been writing for many years, alongside being a chiropractor. She has been shortlisted and longlisted for several short story prizes, as well as the BBC's scriptwriting competition.

Too Close to Breathe centres on the apparent suicide of respected scientist Dr Eleanor Costello, found hanged in her immaculate home. Brusque DCS Frankie Sheehan, a trained profiler, is handed the case. The Irish Times described the book as "a hard-boiled take on Tana French" - high praise indeed, and Olivia as "a talent to watch". Olivia is currently working on her second novel, out in 2019.

But for now, Olivia Kiernan becomes the latest author to stare down the barrel of 9mm.

9MM INTERVIEW: OLIVIA KIERNAN

1. Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?
I’m not sure I can stick to just one but that’s the beauty of crime fiction, right? There are many to choose from. I must mention Lisbeth Salander in Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. We are thoroughly engaged with her skill, ingenuity, and loyalty. A proper hero. And I’m going to sneak in Thomas Harris’ Clarice Starling. Clever, dogged and courageous. You did say two favourite heroes, right?

2. What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?
The first book that made me feel like a proper reader was The Animals of Farthing Wood by British author, Colin Dann. The book was over 250 pages long which felt like a tome to me as a kid but I remember being swept up in the adventure and feeling completely engrossed in the story. It was like I was shown how books worked and why people loved them. The novel dealt with themes of survival and bravery, themes that appear in my work all the time.

3. Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) - unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?
I think every writer has a stash of stories that shouldn’t ever see the light of day. I wrote bad poetry in my teens, twenties and even now. I have had a few short stories long-listed for competitions. Every now and then I like to add to my short story attempts. The craft is so tight. You don’t have room to play around with the story’s intention. It has to be clear. It’s a great format to practise. I’ve also written scripts, sitcoms, other novels and I’ve just about managed to keep a blog going, with the odd update, for the last four years.

4. Outside of writing, touring and promotional commitments, what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?
Obviously I read a lot but to be honest writing still feels like the activity I want to do most. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than a few hours of writing, particularly if I manage to complete a tricky scene. It’s very satisfying. But otherwise, I love to get outdoors and although I’m not as fit as I once was, I run about four times a week. I grew up a member of an athletics club and ran up to national level in Ireland but stopped competing when I got to my late teens. However, the urge to put my trainers on and get out for a jog has never left.

5. What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?
I’m from Ireland originally but live in Oxford in the UK, so again I’m going to cheat here. I will say if you ever visit Co. Meath, where I grew up, do visit the Boyne Valley and the neolithic tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. They are over 5,000 years old and are incredible. You can go inside the chambers and stand where the people who built them would have stood. It will make the hairs rise on your arms.

For Oxford city, most people gravitate towards tours of the universities, which are stunning but as a crime writer I have to point you to the Oxford Castle and Prison Tour. It’s so interesting and will give you a really great sense of the layered history of the city.

6. If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?
I’m going to say Toni Collette. Amazing actress with such a fantastic range. She’d probably need her full acting palette were she to read my script.

7. Of your writings, which is your favourite or particularly special, and why?
I have to say Too Close to Breathe. It’s the book that gave me a publishing deal. But, of course, as a writer you’re a very fickle mother and affections are easily won by a new project.

8. What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?
My reaction was the same as I feel now every time I sit down to the computer. One of disbelief that I get to do this every day and that I have a publisher. I’ve worked hard to get here but many writers do and don’t get this chance. I celebrate that every day by turning up at the desk and writing. Seeing Too Close to Breathe on the shelf for the first time was fantastic. I remember not wanting to sign the book for fear of defacing it.

9. What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?
I’ve probably not been ‘out’ long enough for anything unusual to have happened but I do look forward to gathering a few anecdotes down the line as long as I come out unscathed at the end of them. I will say that one of my favourite things at author events and signings is when readers ask when the next Frankie Sheehan book is coming out. I don’t think that will get old.


Thank you Olivia. We appreciate you chatting to Crime Watch. 


You can find out more about Olivia and her books at her website, and follow her on Twitter. 

Review: THE THERAPY HOUSE

THE THERAPY HOUSE by Julie Parsons (New Island Books, 2017)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

On Sundays peace was restored. He would lie down, dream and remember. He would enjoy. And later on the bell would ring. He would get up and walk downstairs. He would open the front door. And his life would come to an end . . . 

Garda Inspector Michael McLoughlin is trying to enjoy his retirement – doing a bit of PI work on the side, meeting up with former colleagues, fixing up a grand old house in a genteel Dublin suburb near the sea. 

Then he discovers the body of his neighbour, a retired judge – brutally murdered, shot through the back of the neck, his face mutilated beyond recognition. McLoughlin finds himself drawn into the murky past of the murdered judge, which leads him back to his own father’s killing, decades earlier, by the IRA. 

In seeking the truth behind both crimes, a web of deceit, blackmail and fragile reputations comes to light, as McLoughlin’s investigation reveals the explosive circumstances linking both crimes – and dark secrets are discovered which would destroy the judge’s legendary family name.

Kiwi-Irish author Julie Parsons book THE THERAPY HOUSE is an intricate pscyhological observation, interweaving current day crime with Irish history to great effect.

Exploring history and crime in terms of it's impact on survivors and/or families and on society in general, THE THERAPY HOUSE is absorbing, chilling, intricate and beautifully written. At the heart of the novel, Garda Inspector Michael McLoughlin is attempting retirement, doing a bit of PI work on the side, but mostly restoring a beautiful old house in the Dublin suburbs - a house that turns out to have as complicated a past as McLoughlin himself. McLoughlin's father was murdered many years ago, supposedly getting in the way during an IRA robbery, an event that haunts him to this day, especially as the killers now have a high profile part to play in Irish politics and the peace process.

The house which plays a big part in keeping him grounded, safe and occupied, is known as "The Therapy House" because of its past use as a counselling and medical practice. In a further sign that history is never far away from him, next door lives John Hegarty, retired judge, having had a distinguished legal career and importantly, the son of Dan Hegarty, colleague of well known Irish independence figure Michael Collins. Until he is killed, and McLoughlin discovers his brutalised body. The family hire McLoughlin to look into Hegarty's background, although the agreement is part hiring, part bribing with the suggestion that there is something in that past that relates to the death of McLoughlin's father.

Needless to say, layering and interconnections are a big part of style of THE THERAPY HOUSE. Slowly and intricately dissecting those layers and connections is part of what makes this novel so absorbing, as is the way that readers are frequently left to draw conclusions, and answer many of the questions posited by the author. The pace is leisurely, the sense of place strong, and sense of culture all consuming. The way the past affects the current is elegantly done as well with everything - from the therapy house itself, the location, the Hegarty and McLoughlin families, Ireland's troubled background - blending together to create echoes and portents, guidance and regret.

In the end there's a lot of regret thoroughout this novel, there's a real sense that it doesn't matter sometimes how often we're given a chance to learn lessons, we're going to be too old to do anything about it by the time we remember them.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and is a judge of the  Ned Kelly Awards and the Ngaio Marsh Awards. She kindly shares some of her reviews of crime and thriller novels from Australian and New Zealand authors on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction. 

Review: THE THERAPY HOUSE

THE THERAPY HOUSE by Julie Parsons (New Island Books, 2017)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Garda Inspector Michael McLoughlin is trying to enjoy his retirement – doing a bit of PI work on the side, meeting up with former colleagues, fixing up a grand old house in a genteel Dublin suburb near the sea. 

Then he discovers the body of his neighbour, a retired judge – brutally murdered, shot through the back of the neck, his face mutilated beyond recognition. McLoughlin finds himself drawn into the murky past of the murdered judge, which leads him back to his own father’s killing, decades earlier, by the IRA. 

In seeking the truth behind both crimes, a web of deceit, blackmail and fragile reputations comes to light, as McLoughlin’s investigation reveals the explosive circumstances linking both crimes – and dark secrets are discovered which would destroy the judge’s legendary family name.

Returning to the crime scene after a decade away from the page, Kiwi-Irish author Julie Parsons offers readers a rich story that has many aspects of Ireland's complicated history woven throughout.

More absorbing than page-whirring, THE THERAPY HOUSE meshes a crime tale with a deep dive into the ongoing impact of violence and trauma on survivors and families at an individual level, and more broadly at a collective and national level too. This is a book that deals with complex issues and tough questions that don't have clear answers. Not your standard airport thriller or murder mystery.

THE THERAPY HOUSE has an historic murder and a contemporary murder as tent poles, though the book is about far more than those two crimes.

Decades ago, McLoughlin's father was murdered when he got in the way of an IRA robbery. It still haunts McLoughlin, especially given that some who associated with the killers are now hailed for their parts in the peace process and the politics of modern Ireland.

Now retired from the Garda, McLoughlin moved into a crumbling Victorian near the seaside outside of Dublin, known as 'the Therapy House' due to its history with counselling and medical practice. Next door lives a retired judge with a near-aristocratic pedigree in Irish terms: John Hegarty had a distinguished and influential legal career in his own right, but even more importantly, he was the son of Dan Hegarty, who had fought alongside Michael Collins before becoming very successful in business. But someone wanted the judge dead, and McLoughlin discovers his brutalised body.

The judge's family hire McLoughlin to look into aspects of his life, seeking to keep the judge's chequered past private. Information relating to the murder of McLoughlin's father is dangled as bait.

This is an atypical crime novel, with a lot going on. Plenty of layers, lots of thought-provoking issues that are dealt with subtly rather than bluntly. Questions are raised, not always answered. Situations are messy and grey. Parsons lets things unfold in a leisurely, measured pace, giving readers time to absorb things rather than skimming over them. She crafts a really vivid sense of the world her characters inhabit, and the ways in which the past is inextricably tied to the present.

Unusually for a crime novel, many of the main players are in their later years. They carry the weight of that past with them. There's a tangible sense of all their accumulated history and experiences. The compromises made, the regrets, the glories and failures that have passed yet faintly linger. There's a fascinating interplay between characters who've experienced so much.

THE THERAPY HOUSE is a clever and thoughtful crime novel told in stylish prose that is about so much more than the murders of two Irishmen, decades apart.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned features writer. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at books festivals on three continents. He's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, the McIlvanney Prize, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards. You can heckle him on Twitter.