Friday's Forgotten Books, September 21, 2018

IN THE MORNING I'LL BE GONE, Adrian McKinty

This is the third book of what McKinty calls THE TROUBLES TRILOGY. This won the Ned Kelly Award and I enjoyed it immensely. It's a locked room murder inside a story of the troubles. I have not read the first two books so that probably factors in to a certain lack of knowledge of the character and his problems with the Royal Ulster Constabulary,

Sean Duffy has a chance for reinstatement in the local forces if he is able to find the whereabouts of an infamous IRA member. The two were childhood friends so this gives him a certain insight into the terrorist. His deal with those who can tell him Dermot's whereabouts is to solve the locked room murder of their daughter a few years back. And watching Duffy solve this crime is enjoyable. McKinty writes very clearly and yet doesn't repeat himself. It's a pleasure to be led through the clues by such a good plotter.

Also enjoyable is McKinty's use of Joseph Kennedy Jr. on a trip to Belfast. And the final scenes, which take place during Margaret Thatcher's stay in a Brighton Hotel, are exciting. I liked the style of writing and the cast of characters a lot. We get some of Duffy's life but not enough to slow the action down. I also really like the single POV in this book. It does make following a plot easier. Highly recommended for crime fiction lovers.

Frank Babics, CONJURE WIFE, Fritz Leiber
Mark Baker, MURDER ON MARBLE ROW, Victoria Thompson
Gary Basnight/THE RAP SHEET, THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY, Horace McCoy
Les Blatt, THE WIDOW's CRUISE, Nicholas Blake
Elgin Bleecker, STOOL PIGEON, Louis Malley
Brian Busby, Five Short Canadian Plays, Fred Jacob
Crossexaminingcrime, POISON IN JEST, John Dickson Carr
Martin Edwards, MURDER'S FEN, Andrew Garve
Curt Evans, THE RELUCTANT MURDERER, Bernice Carey
Richard Horton, DREK  YARMAN, Keith Roberts
George Kelley, WAR OF THE DONS/BLACK MAFIA, Peter Rabe
Margot Kinberg, MARLBOROUGH MAN, Alan Carter
Rob Kitchin, FLETCH, Gregory McDonald
Kate Laity, A FAR CRY FROM KENSINGTON, Muriel Spark
B.V. Lawson, DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN, Magdelen Nabb
Evan Lewis, THE DOOM LEGION, Will Murray
Steve Lewis, THE BUY BACK BLUES, Frank Dennis
Todd Mason,  MY LIFE AS A CARTOONIST by Harvey Kurtzman as told to Howard Zimmerman
Only Detect, HALO FOR SATAN, Howard Browne
Matt Paust, DETECTIVE INSPECTOR HUSS, Helene Tursten
James Reasoner, SCARRED FACES, Hank Janson
Richard Robinson, THE BOOKMAN, Lavie Tildar
Kevin Tipple. MURDER ON THE ICE, Ted Wood
TomCat, Vegetable Duck, John Rhoade
TracyK, LIMBO LINE, Victor Canning