The Bloomsday Dead

THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is Book 3 of Adrian McKinty’s Michael Forsythe series.
The title is great as Michael finds himself in the middle of a Bloomsday Parade in Dublin. Of course, he has joined the crowd and stolen a hat and jacket so as to blend in and escape from would-be killers just hours after landing.
I thought Michael had a good gig going for himself in Peru as security head in a very upscale resort hotel. But life is never peaceful for our Michael and he is blackmailed/coerced by his old lover and fiance of Darkey White (who he brutally murdered) to find her kidnapped daughter in Belfast.
Michael has never gotten over his illicit affair with his old boss’s fiance and this desire to see Bridget again leads to 24 hours (was it even show more that long?) of violence, torture, murder and depravity in his old stomping grounds of Northern Ireland.
The writing is pure poetry, but the violence is a bit hard to stomach. The book is suspenseful, dark and very fast-paced.
The ending has a wee bit of a surprise and I’m still wondering if our Michael can live a life without the constant of violence and suspicion.
The descriptions of Belfast gave this book an incredible sense of place.
My favorite of Michael’s musings (about the Protestants): “They had gotten it all wrong - the way to really preserve a culture was to celebrate and nurture the memory of a glorious defeat, not a famous victory. That’s why Gallipoli, Gettysburg, The Field of Blackbirds, the Alamo became the foundation myths for the Kiwis, the American South, Serbs and Texas. Every year the Shi’a celebrate a massacre and, of course, Christianity is founded upon an execution.” show less

This was the first McKinty book I came upon—the series highly recommended by someone whose recommendations I take seriously—and I listened to it rather than read it. The author is such a lyrical writer that hearing it was a wonderful introduction to McKinty. Yes, the book was well plotted and the characters were well drawn, but it's McKinty's writing that, literally, sings.

THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is the third book in the Michael Forsythe "Dead" Trilogy - DEAD I WELL MAY BE and THE DEAD YARD are the earlier books. There's an awful lot to really like in THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD.

Firstly, it is the third book in a trilogy but I've been very remiss and haven't yet read the first two (which failing I vow to rectify). Didn't matter. You can follow the story, you can glean the back story of Michael and how he got himself into the mess that he's trying to resolve in THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD. And it is a big mess. Michael Forsythe has been in a Witness Protection Program - hidden in Lima, Peru trying to stay off arch-enemy Bridget Callaghan's radar. He had killed her fiancée Darkey years before, and after taking over Darkey's show more criminal empire, Bridget vowed revenge. She'd had quite a few attempts, but as one assassin puts it - Michael's 'un-fucking-killable'. But hostilities are temporarily shelved when two assassins in Michael's bedroom "suggest" a chat on the phone with Bridget is in order. Michael's somewhat confused to find she's not wanting to gloat over his final hour - instead she's asking for his help. Bridget's daughter has been kidnapped - and Michael has a deal on his hands. Get back to Belfast and find Siobhan in 24 hours - much will be forgiven.

Secondly, it is written in a wonderful voice. Whilst the book is dark and the violence is overt and extreme, it's balanced with a lovely touch of gallows humour. Not put on, the tone of the book fits with the world that the story inhabits. There are little observations of how much Ireland has changed since Michael had to run - small glimpses into Michael's mind and out through Michael's eye. The style of writing is compelling - lyrical - quintessentially Irish, at least to this reader. The story rips along at a rapid pace, but all the time you're allowed to feel you know Michael, you can understand him. He's a blunt, brutal man on one level - prepared, willing and able to do whatever it takes to stay alive, but on another level, he's a bit of softie. He's got a history with Bridget and for what it's worth - that means a lot to him.

Finally, it's just a darn good story. Perhaps this is where reading the first two books might, just might, give the reader the edge. There's obviously some threads being tied off in THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD. Knowing the full extent of the back story may just heighten the sense of finality - it certainly didn't make this book any less enjoyable. Really the only thing that wasn't enjoyable about THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is that it looks like this is meant to be a trilogy and it's now over. And that's just flat out disappointing. show less

Adrian McKinty is great addition to the noir genre. This is apparently his fourth novel featuring Michael Forsythe a particularly unlikable fellow originally from Ireland but whom we find managing an hotel in Peru under the witness protection program. McKinty swiftly transport him, and us the readers, to a post-ceasefire Ireland on Bloomsday 2004 to find and recover the kidnapped daughter of an Irish American lady gang boss. So there you have the opening - fast and mobile - a great start to any book and especially a thriller.

Besides leaking more and more plot and background to us as we go along McKinty also tests our knowledge of modern Irish literature with his references to Flann O'Brien and reminds us on every page, with a subtle show more typographic device, of James Joyce. McKinty is knowing and knowledgeable, as is his anti-hero Forsythe, and one gets the impression that he is smiling to himself as he writes. I found myself smiling along with him.

Apart from a dreadfully contrived opening line that had me reaching for the sick bag I have only one quibble with McKinty and that has to do with the length of this novel - 50 or 60 pages shorter would have made it a much better book. He needs, in my opinion, to edit himself more harshly to get up there with the top flight. show less

This was my favorite of the trilogy, and it was icing on the top that it takes place mostly in Belfast where I happen to be for a couple of weeks. =D (It was so much fun to hear landmarks referenced that I had actually just been seeing around). But beyond that it really tied the whole series together well, and had me engaged trying to solve the mysteries. Very good.

This was the first McKinty book I came upon—the series highly recommended by someone whose recommendations I take seriously—and I listened to it rather than read it. The author is such a lyrical writer that hearing it was a wonderful introduction to McKinty. Yes, the book was well plotted and the characters were well drawn, but it's McKinty's writing that, literally, sings.

I have read and really enjoyed all the Sean Duffy Series. They are excellent, so I thought I'd try Michael Forsyth. It's very different and while it takes place in Northern Ireland, it doesn't have the same sense of place that I got from the Duffy series. I probably should have read the first two in the series first for some background, although much of it is alluded to in the 3rd and last. Forsyth is brought back to NI by a sworn arch enemy to help find her daughter, who has been kidnapped. There are several surprises, and it's certainly a quick read.