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RAIN DOGS by Adrian McKinty
I started reading Adrian McKinty’s acclaimed Sean Duffy series with Book 3, In The Morning I’ll Be Gone, and I knew right away that this educated but outcast scrapper with morals was a hero I’d stick with all the way to the finish. Both of those books—Gun Street Girl and that one—appeared on my rankings of the greatest books of 2015 and 2016 respectively.
While McKinty skillfully blends historical fact and fiction in all of the books in this series that are set during The Troubles, this is particularly evident and potent in Rain Dogs. I was not surprised to learn that he only sends Duffy to locations he has actually visited in an interview with Serpents Tail, his UK publisher. Furthermore, he said of the significant cameos, “I met Savile and Ali in real life (at different periods) and both made a big effect me.” Jimmy and Muhammad are those things, though in very different ways.
There are various errors and off-track avenues of inquiry in the criminal investigation in Rain Dogs, some more compelling than others.
Characterisation
This book is elevated by the strength of Duffy’s character, the few of his coworkers whom he respects, and their dry perspective on even the most dreadful of circumstances. McKinty addresses some pretty depressing topics. In fact, Duffy’s personal journey was the book’s high point for me. This television series is the perfect example of how fragile life is and the potential consequences of a person’s decisions.
As with the earlier Duffy books, I had the good fortune to listen to Gerard Doyle’s superb narration of Rain Dogs in audiobook form (listen to a sample). His ability to distinguish between the several dialects at play is outstanding. But what makes Duffy’s internal monologues’must listen to’ titles is the acerbic and well timed delivery.
About The Book
For Sean Duffy, it’s always the same things: riot duty, heartache, and cases he can solve but never get to court. But in one career, what detective solves two locked-room mysteries?
It appears to be a suicide when journalist Lily Bigelow is discovered dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle. The case file is kept open by Duffy because of a few issues, and this is how he learns that Bigelow was working on a catastrophic investigation of abuse and corruption at the highest echelons of power in the UK and elsewhere. Due to this, Duffy is faced with two unsolvable issues: Who was Lily Bigelow’s murderer? What exactly were they trying to conceal?
The Review
RAIN DOGS
10 Score
Adrian McKinty is a master storyteller of thrillers set in Northern Ireland. This book is #5 of his splendid fictional representations of "The Troubles" in Northern Island in the 1980's through the eyes of Detective Inspector Sean Duffy, a Catholic policeman in the predominantly Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary.
PROS
- Witty intelligent page turner.
- Great Series!
- Fascinating Northern Irish mystery.
- Excellent atmospheric story.
CONS
- A rather weak story.
- Rain and a washout.
- Totally Unconvincing.
- Disturbing shorthand throughout.
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