The Ghosts of Galway

After the last book in this series, readers were left wondering if ex-Gardaí Jack Taylor had finally met his match. Jack’s always been his own worst enemy & it looked like years of hard living had finally caught up with him. But very little in Jack’s life ever turns out as planned which is good news for us. He’s back, with dog Storm supervising his recovery.

In the wake of his reprieve, Jack decides to take a stab at “normal” & gets a job as a security guard. But it’s not long before he’s approached by a man offering a whack of cash for a simple job. He’s looking for “The Red Book”, a controversial 9th century text that blasts “The Book of Kells”. Until recently it was hidden at the Vatican. Then a young priest show more snatched it & ran & rumour has it he’s holed up in Galway. Jack has zero interest in dealing with any clergy but could really use a good payday. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as planned…again.

Then things get weird(er). Someone is leaving animal carcasses in Eyre Square along with cryptic messages. But this is Galway. If you’re aiming for public shock and/or outrage, you’ll have to get in line behind politicians & those responsible for the water tax.

Jack’s life is further complicated by the return of Emerald, the young woman who first got his attention in “Green Hell”. Em’s always been unstable to say the least. But her tenuous grip on sanity has finally snapped & all her personalities are coming out to play. And some of them seem remarkably well informed about the book Jack is looking for.

As usual, the story is a combination of Jack’s activities & his thoughts on everything from the state of Irish politics to seeing Trump hug Sarah Palin on TV (“to see them embrace in Iowa was to see ignorance & prejudice entwined”.) Social commentary is delivered with his trademark black humour & profanity. But his recent brush with mortality has revealed a more reflective side & we catch glimpses of a lonely man taking a hard look at his life. Quotes from individuals & literature are randomly inserted throughout the book, adding to the author’s stream of consciousness style of prose.

The first half almost lulls you as several plot lines unfold & more characters take the field. Maybe that’s why a sudden act of violence at that point comes as such a shock. The story takes a much darker & deadly serious turn. You realize there’s a showdown coming & some of these characters will not survive. It’s a tough read at times but thinking back over the last couple of books, it feels inevitable & I should have seen it coming.

This is a book for true fans of the series & not one I would recommend as a starting point for a couple of reasons. First, Bruen has a distinctive style of prose that becomes looser & less linear as the series progresses. Second, there is a tremendous amount of back story that informs each book & makes for a richer reading experience if read in order.

The ending is poignant yet oddly cathartic & once again I’m wondering where Jack will turn up next. Just as an aside, two thumbs up to those responsible for the striking cover art. show less

Describing the plot of Ken Bruen’s The Ghosts of Galway is missing the point. There’s a malignant priest, a vicious ex-boss and pleading ex-lover, a heretical book, a menacing millionaire with violent tendencies, an even more menacing movement leader with a thuggish sidekick, and a diabolical, brilliant, and fascinating woman who all impinge on former cop Jack Taylor’s drinking time.

He’s learned he is not going to die and his suicide attempt failed, as well. I guess like Dorothy Parker, he might as well live so he can still drink. He’s working as a security guard, is hired to find a book stolen from the Vatican like something out of a Dan Brown novel, but the resemblance ends there. There are mysterious animal murders, corpses show more brazenly dumped in public areas, the work of the “Ghosts of Galway” a new cult-scam run by a master manipulator. An estranged friend is murdered. And it all ties together in some weird and awful way that only Jack can see, but can he find the will to stop it.

The Ghosts of Galway is the thirteenth Jack Taylor novel by Ken Bruen and the first I have read. I have been missing something, though I am afraid I can’t jump in and binge read because this is about as grim and cynical a series as I have ever read. The mystery is not much of a mystery and most of the discovery consists of the guilty telling Flynn about their guilt, but I still finished in awe of this book. It’s not a whodunnit, nor a how-dunnit or why-dunnit. It’s a how-long-will-this-go-on-dunnit. When will Jack act?

Bruen captures 2017 with Jack’s wry cynical mentioning of events in the news. The death of Bowie, Prince and the rise of Farage, Trump, the devolution of democracy, the corruption and growth of nationalism. Bruen writes like a poet, with odd line breaks, fragments, and staccato delivery and so he creates a story of mood. Don’t get me wrong, a lot happens, so many murders, so much wrong, but while there is all this action, it’s not the story, the mood, the psychic wound and recoil that Jack goes through is the story. It was stunning and I am still stunned by it. This is not a book to read if you are in despair, it will break your heart too many times over. But there is beauty in the prose, a brilliance that shines through the grim hopeless tragedy of it all.

I received a copy of The Ghosts of Galway from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Ghosts of Galway at Grove Atlantic
Ken Bruen

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/9780802127334/ show less

*** This is a review of an uncorrected proof copy. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to do a pre-publication review. ***

The Ghosts of Galway is the latest instalment in Bruen's Jack Taylor series. At the outset Jack is in a right state, following a failed suicide attempt. Amid considerable self-loathing and ongoing pain, he takes a job as a security guard. His reputation precedes him, however, and he is soon summoned by the boss to take on a more lucrative job, recovering a missing religious text: the Red Book.

Jack makes snippy references to Dan Brown, but still takes the gig. In the process, he soon finds himself involved with Jeremy, the leader of a nascent cult, and with Emerald, a ruthless woman prepared to stoop to almost show more anything.

Emerald reminded me a bit of Alice from the Luther TV series; both appalling and attractive at the same time. She's a complex and distinctive character, and a perfect foil for Taylor's surly, alcohol-fuelled PI. Neither is to be under-estimated, and both are implacable.

I enjoyed the prose in this book, with its blend of a very hard-boiled narrative with almost poetic strings of short sentences. It is a bit circumlocutory (perhaps intentionally?) at times, for example we are introduced to the character of Sister Maeve in almost the same terms, three times.

I'm a bit late to the party with this series, picking it up at instalment 14. I sensed that there might be plot twists here that I could be missing due to not having read earlier entries in the series. This wasn't a problem, but it has whetted my appetite for going back and reading the earlier books. show less

Sadly,
I may be coming to the end for this series. I don't mind that I don't like Jack but I really don't like much of anyone else either. Sometimes the books are just too bleek even for me. I am also pretty much done with the character Emily. He is a brilliant writer but it might not be for me any longer. I will try one more.

Jack Taylor was once a garda, was great friends with a fellow Garda, Ridge, and once had a great deal of pride. No more! Now he is broken down in body and spirit, uses profanity prodigiously, and freely imbibes his beloved Jameson's and pints despite doctors warning his health was greatly as risk. Yet, he is one of the most interesting characters in fiction. He is an enigma, a man that violence seems to attract, a lover of books, all kinds. He has a very conflicted view of the church,even though one of his best friends, those he has left, is a nun.

Never, never expect a straightforward plot. Instead expect quotes, from books, poetry and movies, expect fragments, snippets of Jack's thinking, Jack's actions. Expect current affairs, such show more as Trump, and Brexit thrown into the mix to give one a basis for time placement. I find these highly entertaining, puzzling and most inventive. I would really like a glimpse into Ken Bruen's mind and imagination.

Not a good start to the series, one really needs to read this from the beginning. They can be challenging, but are always unique. Yes, there is violence, but there is also unexpected kindnesses. Jack does have a great sense of loyalty, cannot forget his mistakes of the past, is often dismissive, unkind, a conflicted contradiction of all the things that make us human. Some parts will make you smile, some cringe, but I love these books, love this character. Wonder what that says about me?

ARC from Netgalley. show less

This is another installment in Bruen’s Jack Taylor series so I think you’ll enjoy this more if you’ve read the previous books which would have given you a more thorough understanding and appreciation for the characters plus Bruen’s writing style which can be on the rough side with lots of ‘colorful’ language. For non-UK people: he uses words and phrases common to Ireland and the area so if you aren’t familiar with them you might feel lost. If you haven’t read him before, particularly his previous Taylor novels, hopefully you’ll cut Bruen some slack and if you aren’t familiar with the different phraseology look at this as an adventure, a chance to expand your vocabulary and appreciate a culture different from show more yours.

Bruen returns in his typical brilliant fashion to provide another nail-biting plot that combines some great action sequences with Taylor’s wonderfully written emotional trauma that is his life. Fans of Taylor will love this book as you get dive back into the type of humor only an Irishman can write with settings that somehow still jump off the page as if you’re there taking in the beauty and grit around you.

Bruen is not for the faint hearted as he doesn’t pull his punches and seems to revel in graphic details which comes out full force in this novel. Whether his plot devices contain politics (after all with Trump president who is NOT wading into those waters these days?), bloody violence, disturbing psychological behavior, or seemingly impossible actions for a man who at his age should be spending his time having a pint of the black stuff while telling rousing tales in the pub Bruen is going to hit a nerve and that edginess is what makes him worth reading. show less

Jack has taken a job as a security guard and his Ukrainian boss with the unlikely name of Alexander Knox-Keaton wants to see him. He wants Jack to find a legendary book for him. The Red Book is a blasphemous text that has been stolen from the Vatican archives by a priest purported to be hiding out in Galway. Jack is not the only one after the book as there’s a new gang in town known as Ghosts who are trying to get noticed and it seems like they’re interested as well. The enmity between Ridge and Emerald finally comes to a head and you know that’s not going to end well for at least one of them.

The latest three books in the series seem to have more socio & political comment than previous with the Irish government’s introduction of show more the water tax receiving particularly harsh treatment but there’s also an eye cast across the Atlantic as well. All the usual hallmarks of the series are contained in this volume and it continues to be a joy to read. show less