Book Review – I hear the sirens in the street by Adrian McKinty

 Having immensely enjoyed the first Sean Duffy book, I couldn’t wait for the second.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.

Now an Inspector, Duffy and his colleague discover a headless torso in a suitcase.  Intriguingly, the victim was an American World War 2 veteran poisoned with a rare plant extract.  Duffy’s colleague tracks down the owner of the suitcase who they interview.  The owner turns out to be to the widow of a murdered RUC officer.  Duffy becomes suspicious about the circumstances of the officer’s murder, opening another line of investigation.  The crime is revealed to be far more complex than first thought as the police officer who investigated the dead RUC man’s murder is soon shot dead himself, links with local criminals emerge and to top it all a connection surfaces with the DeLorean factory and it seems John DeLorean himself.  If that wasn’t enough, there’s political pressure from the Chef Constable as well as US officials, but as usual, Duffy is like a dog with a bone – he won’t let go, even though he’s getting into dodgier and more dangerous territory with almost each chapter.

I thought the book was cracking.  It has a mix that strongly appeals to me - good, well-paced writing, interesting and realistic characters and a tight plot cleverly framed by events I remember and recognise from 1982.  All these combine to make an excellent book.  Even if you’re not a great fan of Emerald Noir, it’s a really good read.  The only upset for me is what happens to Duffy at the end – without giving too much away, I thought “backstabbing bastards” as I read the final pages, but then I suppose he couldn’t live a completely charmed life could he?  However, the good news is Sean Duffy will be back in 2014.  I’m counting down already.

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