Review: The Good Turn

Title: The Good Turn (Cormac Reilly #3)

Author: Dervla McTiernan

Publisher: 24th February 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Pages: 400 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: mystery, crime, fiction

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

The unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The Ruin and The Scholar. Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected events that will prove to be linked by one small town.

While Detective Cormac Reilly faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life, Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head. But even that is not as terrible as having to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone.

For some, like Anna and her young daughter Tilly, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn't far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.

My Thoughts

Following up her most successful debut ‘The Ruin’, author Dervla McTiernan delivered a sensational second story in the Cormac Reilly series ‘The Scholar’ (HERE) which I just loved. Now, the third (and possible final for this series momentarily) comes, ‘The Good Turn’. Dervla (who you simply must listen to via podcast interviews - she is wonderful) truly cements herself in crime fiction writing. 

If you are a crime/police procedural fan then you are in for a real treat with these books. They are brilliant. Do you need to read them in order? It helps, however, it is not essential as in some series of books. This book set in wintry Ireland delves into things such as a missing girl, police corruption and an individual's role in the larger picture: 

"I think some part of me thought that that part of my life was ahead of me. But then one day I woke up and I was forty-two and the day still hadn’t arrived. I’m still not sure ... but it would give it all some meaning, wouldn’t it? If I moved here so we could be together, maybe I wouldn’t mind working a job I didn’t care about if there was something else, something bigger to focus on.’  

Dervla has two real strengths - characterisation and plotting. Main and secondary characters are so well fleshed out and engaging, the reader relates to them on many levels (I hear Dervla is in talks with actor Colin Farrell and his sister looking to produce the series - how fabulous would that be!) Then there is Dervla’s plot twists and turns that keep you completely enraptured to the very climactic end. Dervla knows her stuff when it comes to police procedures do’s and don’ts.  The difference with this book was attention given to more than one case which was well done. 

I highly recommend that if this is your type of reading, do yourself a favour and read this sensational Irish crime mystery - it will not disappoint. 

"‘It’s always easy, looking back, to see how things might have been different. But you did what you did for the right reasons. It’s the nature of your job to put you in situations where you have to make life and death decisions, sometimes with not enough sleep and no food and fuck all     support. It’s not the same, exactly, but trust me when I say that I know what it’s like. You have to learn to make a call in the moment, and then live with it, moving forward without destroying yourself without regrets. "

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.