Book review - Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty. I know it's a cliché, but this one really is the best so far!

I’ve been a fan of McKinty and Sean Duffy when I bought The Cold, Cold Ground in February 2012.  I’ve never looked back and each year since I’ve looked forward to the next in the series, with a touch of trepidation, wondering whether the new one will be weaker than previous novels and a disappointment.  So far that’s never happened and I have to say that I think this is definitely the best one of the series so far.

So, what’s the story? – well…the start is easy, even for Duffy.  He’s asked to investigate the case of a missing wallet at a hotel – some Finnish businessmen are in town and the wallet belonging to one of the delegation has gone missing.  A mere trifle, as the next task is investigating the murder of a journalist Lily Bigelow whose body has been found in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle.  Another locked room mystery you think.  Hmm.  Has McKinty got lazy and started to repeat himself? 

Absolutely not!  This is another really well thought through and cleverly plotted novel.  As always, McKinty seamlessly meshes the story into a background of real events including Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Saville and the Kincora Boy’s home scandal.  It’s a great cast of characters too, ones that will make you laugh and others that make you shudder.  At the heart of the novel is the locked room mystery and how Duffy unravels the puzzle.  It’s almost like a great game of chess where Duffy moves around the board coming across feints, tricks and traps around almost every corner.  All the clues point to the obvious culprit.  Thank goodness Duffy has the perseverance to keep the investigation open, doggedly following the investigation through to solve the locked room mystery, as well as uncovering corruption and abuse both in the UK and beyond. 

I won’t write any spoilers, but I will say that even though McKinty has used the locked room mystery as a device before in a previous novel, the way it’s crafted into the story in Rain Dogs enhances rather than diminishes the quality of the book.

Final verdict – well worth the wait, so don’t hesitate, just get the book!

Romancrimeblogger