Some cops solve their cases with brains; Sean Duffy solves his with luck. Or so he says. There's a lot of brain involved too, I think. This is the fourth Sean Duffy book I've read recently and I continue to like them very much. Part because Northern Ireland is a place I've never been and don't know, and partly because Sean Duffy is a believable character. I liked the story of this book but there were a couple of unimportant sentences that I thought were anachronistic. I read that Belfast is the karaoke capital of the UK (who knew) but I really can't believe that it was a thing in Belfast bars in 1984. But Adrian McKinty was there and I wasn't. ( )

I gave the Sean Duffy series a rest, since books 1 and 2 didn't sit well with me. The writing was very effective but the Irish setting and situations of the 1980's in those stories were so dismal.
Happily, Book 3 was a great improvement, perhaps because I'm less stressed out by the pandemic (compared to my reading in 2020, 2021). I guess I wasn't so deeply drawn in by the morose Sean Duffy, having more equanimity to take in the history of 'The Troubles'.

In this story, Duffy is still a troubled soul, unhappily following a demoted status in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Events develop to promote his status change and the chronicle of his past pervades the present action. The plot was delightfully twisty and in McKinty-fashion, governed by Duffy's Irish roots and helped by his intimate knowledge of the people and the culture from his childhood.

The mystery was a four-star read for me because I was delighted with the locked-room aspect and never had an inkling as to 'whodunit' until after a few small reveals. It was an excellent plot that way. However, I was less impressed with McKinty's crafting of the spectacular threats planned by IRA activists. I think the story could have been finessed much more neatly, though I admit to being glued to the book through the last several chapters. ( )

Our man Sean Duffy is back at work, thanks to MI5, which apparently thinks he might have an "in" that will help locate an IRA bomb-maker who has managed to escape prison and disappear. Harrowing stuff ensues, as the ordinary risks of being a peeler in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s are elevated by the likelihood that a major terrorist event is in the works. AND there's a locked-room mystery for fun. Another page-turner. ( )

My favorite book of this series! ( )

Sean Duffy, a detective with Northern Ireland's Royal Ulster Constabulary in the early 1980s, is currently on shaky ground with the force. He considers his options of demotion to foot patrol and keeping his pension, or resignation. As a Catholic cop in a largely Protestant police force he is seen as a traitor by childhood friends, particularly Dermot McCann who is one of a group of escapees from the Maze prison. Then a couple of MI5 agents approach him with a tempting alternative of finding McCann for them and keeping his job. In the course of the investigation he meets with McCann's mother-in-law, still mourning the death of her daughter, Lizzie. She promises to deliver McCann if Sean will investigate Lizzie's death and name the murderer. She was found in the family-owned pub, doors locked on the inside and no escape route. Although her injuries indicate an attack because of the locked room her death was ruled accidental. His perseverance pays off and the reward is a brief phone call, a tip-off to McCann's whereabouts. The location is not immediately a clue to his intentions, but ultimately reveals a plan to bomb the hotel in Brighton where Maggie Thatcher will be speaking at the Conservative Party conference.

A classic locked room mystery wrapped in the unique political conflict of Northern Ireland, using authentic events and real people, all of which give this mystery a captivating appeal. Location, time and well drawn characters make this fast-moving mystery thoroughly satisfying. ( )