There is an enormous degree of sublety and sophistication in this book, both in the plot and the vivid atmosphere created of 1980s Northern Ireland. The author of last year's 's Best Mystery or Thriller strikes again, only this book is even better. What made the experience of listening to The Cold, Cold Ground the most enjoyable? Don't miss McKinty's earlier novels, especially the Dead Trilogy and Falling Glass (voted Best Mystery or Thriller of 2011 here on Audible). Doyle's reading brings the novel to life and makes some of the Irish slang more readily understandable. At first, I considered reading The Cold Cold Ground the old fashioned way, something I haven't done with any of McKinty's other books, but I'm so hooked on having these stories read to me in a think Irish accent (actually multiple accents, not only Irish, but English, American, as well as different variations of Irish) that I decided against it. Gerard Doyle, the narrator, is terrific. The Cold Cold Ground gives us a glimpse of that world along with a great story.
But when it's a country that most of us would consider civilized we often don't think of what life would be like if such horrors occurred in our own countries. Tribes going at each other for no good reason other than their irrational hatreds, blood feuds, and power grabs. We're used to hearing about 3rd world countries at war with themselves.
We are given a glimpse of a different time and place (Belfast in the 1980's during the Troubles), and a different culture. The plot is both intricate and thought provoking. In fact I think it's his best since Dead I Well May Be.
I've been a big fan of Adrian McKinty for the last few years and I've listened to all of his books. 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. 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. Detective Sergeant Duffy is the man tasked with trying to get to the bottom of it all. 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. “McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years.” -Tana French 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 -from The New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Adrian McKinty.
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