A Hunt in Winter

A fearful winter!

1888 'Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow (now promoted to detective inspector)' is faced with the murders of three young women sending the residents of Dublin into a frantic state of fear and panic. Are the murders linked or not? Is this a Jack the Ripper copycat or has the Ripper come across the Irish Sea?
Swallow is part of the Dublin G-Dividion. 'Fifty-odd detectives investigated crime across the city, and were also the administration’s first and principal bulwark against political subversion. Their responsibilities ran from protecting the chief men who governed Ireland for the Crown to keeping watch on Fenians ... and the ever-multiplying groups that wanted, for one reason or another, to overthrow the established show more order.'
At this moment the G-Men are needed to come up with answers to the murders. Not be diverted by the wishes of those whose sole motivation is to keep tabs on various Irish groups at the behest of the Crown. The G-Men are at odds with the Secret Service officers, mainly men with a military background, who are currently looking for anything to get on the leader of the Irish Party at Westminster, Charles Stewart Parnell. Their lines of enquiry are looking to blacken Parnell's character in the hope to end the bid for Irish home rule. They want the G-Men's official note books. And that looking for notes leads to a personal tragedy for Swallow.
His bête noir is Major Nigel Kelly. Swallow thought him a fraud and a poseur.
Swallow's boss, John Mallon, the chief superintendent describes Kelly as, 'a sour bastard, and a dangerous one [with] a face like a wolf, and the instincts of one.'
I absolutely disliked Kelly at a gut level. The adversarial position between the two law enforcement branches runs deep. The tension between them is palpable. As is that between Kelly and Swallow.
How those tensions run through the criminal investigation and color the political investigations gives legs to this vivid drama that grabs this particular historical period with a rawness that's both particular and defining.

A NetGalley ARC show less

Well written well researched series set in turn of the century Dublin featuring Joe Swallow, police detective inspector. There have been three brutal attacks on young women, two resulting in deaths. Conincidence or another Jack the Ripper? Conor Brady brings to life the Irish/English political conflict as well as daily life for 1888 Dubliners.

This is the third in the Joe Swallow series by Conor Brady. Three girls were accosted, two of them mortally, within two weeks of each other on the street of 1888 Dublin. Joe Swallow was put in charge of the cases. The girls seem to be unrelated, other than age and the brutality of the crome.. They were from different walks of life. There were virtually no clues. As the weeks drag on, no clues comes to light until Swallow's former boss, "Duck" Boyle accidentally overhears something that might be relevant.

Brady describes the conflicts going on in Ireland in the 1880s with farmers being forced off their land and the push towards an independent Ireland angering the home office in England. With th is as a backdrop, Brady sets his show more mystery.

Those of us who have read the frist two books in the series have come to know Joe Swallow, so this is sort of a homecoming. While the book is good as a standalone, I'd recommend reading the first two books in order to see how Swallow's life has progressed. A good, readable mystery. show less

3.5 Late 1800's, Dublin Swallows life is looking up both professionally and personally. Yet soon he will be involved in a case of the murder, as young women are being attacked, and very few clues are available. The political situation in Ireland is also at play, Fenians, Land Leaguers, Home rulers are all in a political fight that is proving to be a powder keg for violence. The Irish police, like Swallow against those of the British. So many different things at play here, and now young women are at risk, and some are comparing the murders to those of the Ripper.

Very slow moving, detailed and atmospheric, definitely not an edge of your seat mystery, but a slow unveiling of all issues. Definitely receive a thorough immersion into the show more situation and various factions, a look at how difficult it was for the police to investigate crimes in the days before computers and data bases made it must easier to track people. Took so much patience, painstaking investigation, interviewing people, checking and double checking. The power of the Catholic Church and the untouchable reputation of their priests. This is a book that contains much and takes patience. Events unravel so slowly, but I found it interesting and thought their was a good mix of the personal, professional and political.

ARC from Netgalley. show less

1888 Dublin and D.I. Joe Swallow is tasked with investigating the death of a young female. But this will not be the last attack, is there a connection between them.
There is quite a bit in the book concerning Irish politics at the time, fine if you don't know history from an Irish viewpoint, but not really enough story concerning a mystery, but enjoyable enough with a variety of characters.
A NetGalley Book

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