The Cold Cold Ground (Sean Duffy Series, Book 1) (Detective Sean Duffy: The Troubles Trilogy) (Detective Sean Duffy: The Troubles Trilogy, 1) - Softcover

Adrian McKinty

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1094080985 ISBN 13: 9781094080987

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 2019

Synopsis

McKinty’s previous book, Falling Glass, was an Audible.com Best Thriller of 2011 

Northern Ireland, spring 1981. Hunger strikes, riots, power cuts, a homophobic serial killer with a penchant for opera, and a young woman’s suicide that may yet turn out to be murder: on the surface, the events are unconnected, but then things—and people—aren’t always what they seem. Detective Sergeant Duffy is the man tasked with trying to get to the bottom of it all. It’s no easy job—especially when it turns out that one of the victims was involved in the IRA but was last seen discussing business with someone from the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force. Add to this the fact that, as a Catholic policeman, it doesn’t matter which side he’s on, because nobody trusts him, and Sergeant Duffy really is in a no-win situation. Fast-paced, evocative, and brutal, The Cold Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles—and of a cop treading a thin, thin line.

About this title

About the Author:

Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Oxford University on a full scholarship where he studied philosophy. In the mid 1990's he moved to New York and found work in bars, bookstores and building sites, finally becoming a high school English teacher in Denver, Colorado. In 2004 Adrian's debut crime novel, Dead I Well May Be, was shortlisted for the Dagger Award and was optioned by Universal Pictures. Since then his books have sold over half a million copies and been translated into a dozen languages. Adrian won the 2017 Edgar Award and is a two time winner of the Ned Kelly Award and the Barry Award.

Review:

"The Cold Cold Ground is a razor-sharp thriller set against the backdrop of a country in chaos, told with style, courage, and dark-as-night wit. Adrian McKinty channels Dennis Lehane, David Peace, and Joseph Wambaugh to create an utterly brilliant novel with its own unique voice."

-- "Stuart Neville, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize"

"If Raymond Chandler had grown up in Northern Ireland, The Cold Cold Ground is what he would have written."

-- "Times (London)"

"Tropes are tropes for good reason. The important crime fiction ones are present and accounted for here--a serial killer who purposely leaves clues, a cop who's on to him, procedural and forensic nitty-gritty. Yet McKinty can startle with bouts of lyrical scene-setting that could only come from the fingertips of someone who grew up in the environment...Your reviewer was born the year The Cold Cold Ground is set in, and such passages work better at painting a picture than any episode of Reeling in the Years."

-- "Irish Sunday Independent (Dublin)"

"Written in a terse style, the novel is a literary thriller that is as concerned with exploring the poisonously claustrophobic demi-monde of Northern Ireland during the Troubles and the self-sabotaging contradictions of its place and time as it is with providing the genre's conventional thrills and spills. The result is a masterpiece of Troubles crime fiction: had David Peace, Eoin McNamee, and Brian Moore sat down to brew up the great Troubles novel, they would have been very pleased indeed to have written The Cold Cold Ground."

-- "Irish Times (Dublin)"

"No question, The Cold Cold Ground is an exciting launch for what is sure to be an anticipated crime series. Great detective stories are built on three key elements--setting, story, and protagonist--and this one deploys each one magnificently. The setting--Northern Ireland in 1981, during the hunger strikes--is portrayed with frightening detail. The clever story evolves slowly as plot points are pinned to cultural biases that transcend "The Troubles"--for example, homosexuality and unwed motherhood. Police detective Sean Duffy wins us over chapter by chapter with his tenacity; his swaggering, witty dialogue; and his record collection--he spins The Velvet Underground when in need of a lift. The audiobook exceeds all expectations because of narrator Gerard Doyle. His storytelling is understated, and his dialect work is remarkable. This is the ninth collaboration between author and narrator, and this team totally rocks. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award."

-- "AudioFile"

"This series starter from McKinty introduces hard-boiled but likable Detective Sergeant Sean Duffy, a Catholic who remains brashly, winningly sardonic even under the pressure of 1981 Belfast's overwhelmingly Protestant police force...The deft mix of noirish melancholy with express-train pacing and blockbuster-ready action enticingly sets the stage for Duffy's future adventures."

-- "Publishers Weekly "

"At turns violent and labyrinthine, McKinty's fine police procedural is also the ultimate page-turner."

-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

"The Cold Cold Ground confirms McKinty as a writer of substance...A crime novel, fast-paced, intricate, and genre to the core."

-- "Guardian (London)"

"A fascinating look at everyday life in Northern Ireland during 'the Troubles.' The protagonist is clever and funny, the interaction of the police and various factions is eye-opening, and the mystery is intriguing, with an unexpected twist at the end."

-- "RT Book Reviews (4 stars)"

"Adrian McKinty's The Cold Cold Ground has gotten onto my five best of the year list as it is riveting, brilliant, and just about the best book yet on Northern Ireland."

-- "Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-winning crime writer"

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1094080985
• ISBN 13: 9781094080987
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320