Review of "Galway Confidential: A Jack Taylor Mystery" by Ken Bruen

This review was first posted on Mystery & Suspense Magazine. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/ga...

3.5 stars

Jack Taylor was an officer in the Garda Síochána (Irish Police) until he was dismissed from the force. Jack is now a private detective in Galway, known for his addiction to Jameson Irish Whiskey and for his skills as a private investigator. Still, when a client approaches Jack he always insists, "Cases got solved around me, very rarely did I actually find the solution."



As the story opens Jack is awakening from an 18-month-long coma, the result of being knifed on a bridge during his last case. When Jack opens his eyes, a stranger named Raftery is there, and Raftery explains that he witnessed the attack on Jack, threw the perpetrator off the bridge, and saved Jack's life.



Raftery, who hosts a crime podcast called 'Galway Confidential,' seems to believe that old saying about how if you save someone's life, you're responsible for them, and he becomes a fixture in Jack's life.

In between bouts of physical therapy and counseling, Jack studies the Internet, to learn what's happened over the last couple of years. In addition to reading about sports, politics, people, and television, Jack learns there's an ongoing Covid pandemic, which is a shock.



After Jack is released from the hospital he's approached by a former nun named Sheila Winston. Sheila explains that someone is attacking local nuns with a hammer, the Garda isn't making progress with the case, and she wants Jack to investigate. Jack is skeptical about his chances, but he pursues the culprit with Raftery's help.



Meanwhile, two sadistic juvenile delinquents called Scott and Tony are setting fire to homeless drunks.



A derelict boozer named Geary asks Jack to help the vagrant community.....



.....and Jack, who can't go five minutes without a shot of Jameson, goes undercover as an alkie to catch the hooligans. This ends up causing all kinds of trouble.



As Jack works his two cases he tries to help a priest get sober; consults with an Irish Guard called Owen Daglish; and is persuaded to adopt an orphaned Shih Tzu pup called Trip.



Author Ken Bruen sprinkles recent cultural references through the story, such as Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic not being allowed to play in the 2022 Australian Tennis Open because he wasn't vaccinated;



the guilty verdict on sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell;



Russia's invasion of Ukraine;



the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie;



people selling T-shirts that say: Guns don't kill people; Alec Baldwin does; and more.



Also included are fun aphorisms about confidentiality like: the Irish feel that confidentiality is really little more than a notion not to share; and keeping something confidential in Galway means you only tell two people instead of three.

It's good to see Jack Taylor going strong and interesting to get a peek at the ambiance of Galway, with it's Roman Catholicism; Irish slang; bars and pubs; and street justice.


Galway

Thanks to Netgalley, Ken Bruen, and Mysterious Press for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars