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.

Review: The Scholar

Title: The Scholar

Author: Dervla McTiernan

Publisher: 18th February 2019 by HarperCollins

Pages: 384 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: mystery, fiction, crime

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

From the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller The Ruin comes a compulsive new crime thriller featuring DS Cormac Reilly. Being brilliant has never been this dangerous ...

When Dr Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit and run outside Galway University late one evening, she calls her partner, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him.

A security card in the dead woman's pocket identifies her as Carline Darcy, a gifted student and heir apparent to Irish pharmaceutical giant Darcy Therapeutics. The multi-billion-dollar company, founded by her grandfather, has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy - it has funded Emma's own ground-breaking research. The enquiry into Carline's death promises to be high profile and high pressure.

As Cormac investigates, evidence mounts that the death is linked to a Darcy laboratory and, increasingly, to Emma herself. Cormac is sure she couldn't be involved, but as his running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question his own objectivity. Could his loyalty to Emma have led him to overlook evidence? Has it made him a liability?

My Thoughts

As a follow up to her most successful ‘The Ruin’, author Dervla McTiernan delivers a sensational second story in the Cormac Reilly series. Not having read the first book, I did not feel that I missed out by not doing so. ‘The Scholar’ is a complex and captivating thriller that confirms Dervla to be a wonderful crime writer.

I raced through this book completely captivated by the murder mystery playing out before me. Dervla does provide some of the backstory to Cormac from the first book which helped in understanding some main characters. There is also a range of supporting characters that are so well presented, particularly Peter Fisher and Carrie O'Halloran who I loved and would love to learn more of in future stories.

This is a fabulous crime novel full of intrigue and corruption with a well developed plot. You will follow along with the investigation and learn of cover ups, deception and much police ‘politics’ on when to follow procedure and when to follow your instinct. The story was so well woven that not until the very end did I have an inkling of the perpetrator. The twists and turns will certainly keep you guessing and you will become most invested in well rounded and developed characters.

All up this is an addictive and fascinating journey and if you are not on the Dervla McTiernan crime train, I suggest you hop aboard for some well written thrillers.

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.