Borderlands

This is the first in the Inspector Devlin series. I read the second book first – and enjoyed it so much I searched out this one. It didn’t really make a great difference to my appreciation of the flow.

Benedict Devlin is a great character - essentially a moral and good man - he has human failings where his own emotions and temptations side track him. I think he’s also unique in the ranks of police murder mystery writing - with a reasonably happy family life and an easy familiarity with his small community.

Devlin’s patch is on the border of Northern Ireland and this investigation means he's in constant contact with his English colleagues. In the few days before Christmas, he is trying to piece together the murder of local girl, show more Angela Cashell. Her body is found on the border but there are few clues to guide the detectives. The only things they have to go on are an old ring and a photograph. Her father is known to the police and many theories revolve about how he is implicated. Another youngster is murdered, and the same photograph is found with the body. But the photograph is twenty five years old. When Devlin and his colleagues discover who it is in the photograph, they begin to unearth distressing connections back to one of their own colleagues. A wonderful subplot with the family dog provides an elegant allegory for the larger issues canvassed in the book.

This debut novel demonstrates what a sophisticated writer McGilloway is. I’m definitely looking forward to more in this series. show less

This is a well-written police procedural with the appealing Inspector Devlin at its heart, and it provides interesting insights to life and politics on the border of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The current murder mystery is rooted in the past, which allows for some very complex plot developments. A few too many layers of intrigue for my taste, but I would read a second book in this series.

Set on the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Borderlands is a solid police procedure introducing Inspector Devlin of the An Garda. I found the book to be both well written and interesting with a complex plot revolving around past misdeeds and the seeking of revenge.

What at first appears to be a case of a young girl being murdered soon evolves into a gritty tale where the past plays an important role . When a second murder takes place, it becomes apparent that there may be a connection between these cases and a much earlier disappearance. The investigation moves forward slowly due to some carelessness and miscalculation by the police, as well as their having to trace and acquire old records. The author’s use of show more some interesting red herrings and a few side stories, keep the reader engaged and wanting to read on.

I particularly enjoyed the setting and the characters, a mix of police, petty criminals, local politicians and travellers, and found the give and take between both the police forces of the two countries interesting. I liked the twists and turns the story took and I will be continuing on with more books in this series. show less

In the past couple of years there has been a lot of good new crime fiction coming out of Ireland so I was pleased to find even more! Borderlands introduces us to An Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin, working on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

I like police procedurals and this is a good one made even more interesting to me because of its setting. Borders are interesting places and border towns even more so as the people on each side spill over and influence each other. There is a perpetual sense of ambiguity that makes these places transgressive and McGilloway definitely captures that.

Benedict Devlin has the potential to be a recurring police character who will be worth reading about. He carries his own set show more of ambiguities that will make him interesting to read. I like that he's not a super cop - sometimes he's competent and sometimes the obvious flies by, but he keeps on banging away at the problem until he gets some resolution.

There are interesting secondary characters here, as well, as plenty of twists and turns. All in all a good read and a good first outing. show less

Fifteen-year-old Angela Cashell's nearly nude body lay in the brambles by a secluded lane in an area known as “the borderlands” where an invisible line separates the Irish Republic in the south from Northern Ireland. An autopsy reveals she died from a seizure after taking Ecstasy laced with poison. Inspector Benedict Devlin, stationed in Lifford on the southern side of the border where Angela lived, finds himself leading an increasingly complex investigation into the teenager's death. Angela's family, having a long tradition of poverty and distrust of the police, close ranks against the detectives. Whitey McKelvey, the prime suspect, is one of a band of “travelers” encamped outside a nearby town, and they quickly become targets show more of vigilante justice delivered by Angela's father and uncles. When a second murder occurs—this time a young man home on holiday from college—the two cases at first appear unrelated but certain clues later suggest otherwise. And to complicate Devlin's life even more, an old flame from his youth who married into a wealthy and politically powerful family begins making advances which does not set well with Debbie, Devlin's wife. Then there's the neighbor who threatens to shoot the family's dog for killing his sheep. And what should the Inspector do when the investigation suggests that his own Superintendent might somehow be implicated in at least one of the deaths he's charged with solving?

Author Brian McGilloway brings his setting and story alive with vivid descriptions of the natural landscape that surrounds the unfolding events of his narrative. His characters, with all their fallibilities, practically walk off the pages and sustain the plot through all its twists and turns. As the first shot fired in the Inspector Devlin series, Borderlands is a gritty tale where police, petty criminals, and aspiring politicians find the past is always present and will come back to haunt them as surely as that nebulous devide between the two Irelands. show less

A well written police procedural is one of the reasons I'm so addicted to crime fiction. A good police procedural will introduce you to the police,take you by the land and lead you through their investigation as they unearth clues by interviewing people, sifting the evidence and following leads. There will be a careful balance of detecting and learning about the lives of the detectives. If the author has done the job properly s/he doesn't deliberately hold back clues or have the the detectives catch the culprit in the act, just two pages before the end.

In his first novel, Borderlands, Brian McGilloway has succeeded in all of the above. He has also avoided producing a door stop of a book. At just 227 pages, Borderlands doesn't muck show more about. You're straight into the story with no unnecessary padding. It's something I wish more authors would try to achieve.

If, like me, you enjoy police procedurals, you can't go wrong with Borderlands. I look forward to reading more of McGilloway's writing. show less

I read the second in the Inspector Devlin series, Gallows Lane, first. This is the first in the series, and it would be extremely difficult to summarize the book without giving away huge spoilers. I’ll just say that it involves the investigation into the deaths of several young people, all connected by a ring, a woman who disappeared many years before, financial misdeeds by a politician, possibly the IRA, and some policemen.

Then there’s also something that’s been ripping up Devlin’s neighbor’s sheep. The neighbor is sure it’s Frank, Devlin’s daughter’s dog.

A really good police procedural with so many twists and blind alleys it’s difficult to keep up. My only complaint is that, unlike Adrian McKinty, McGilloway isn’t show more as skillful in delivering a sense of place which I especially like in stories that take place in Ireland.

Nevertheless, I look forward to the third in the series. I’ll buy all of them. I will also have to sample his other series with DS Lucy Black as the protagonist. show less