2022 #29 The Good Turn (McTiernan) - Cormac Reilly #3

 

The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It feels like McTiernan has found her path with this series. I enjoyed the two-location parallel storylines and delving in more deeply to Peter Fisher's character. There's a lot to like and relate to in this particular story, and I'd rather have more of Peter and Cormac's relationship development than Cormac and Emma's, frankly.

The weakest plot point for me came in the Fisher storyline. There was too long a gap between when it was obvious who the murderer was and when Peter finally got it. I was sort of hoping the gap meant I was wrong and was going to be surprised by some huge plot twist, but...alas, no.

A better balance here of character development and police procedural, and it solves/addresses some of the unanswered questions about Cormac's situation in the previous books. It speaks well of the book that it probably would stand alone ok without reading the others in the series, but is more enriching if you have! Aoife McMahon really is a very talented reader, so heartily recommend the audiobook (although as I've noted before...sometimes her male characters aren't well differentiated by voice).

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2022 #19 The Roommate (McTiernan) - Cormac Reilly #0.7

 

The Roommate by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like The Sisters, this book is a prequel of sorts in the Cormac Reilly series. Niamh Turley gets in a bind when she loses her (first) roomate, and Cormac Reilly is a garda on the case (in Dublin, prior to his move to Galway). This was a free audio novella for subscribers to McTiernan's newsletter (although I accessed it through audible), and well...it suffers a bit for it. The condensed mystery novella isn't really McTiernan's strength, and once you start the Cormac Reilly series, these prequels unnecessary. The Sisters (review here) does give some backstory to a character who appears in the series proper, but The Roomate has less connection. We don't really get to care enough about the extremely naive Niamh to truly empathize, also her boss (the principal of the school where she teaches) seems to be hell-bent on making her life difficult. There are some overlapping strategies with McTiernan's novella The Wrong One, so I hope not to see that particular approach again. To give it a label (it is a common move in mystery and suspense) would be to offer a spoiler, so I won't, but it seems a bit clichéd.

It does, however, deserve kudos for the good old-fashioned "babysitter and the telephone" moment, which is delivered at the right time. I hope McTiernan sticks to full-length novels for the Reilly series, because her writing is more effective when she has the time and the space to develop both plot and characters.

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2022 #13: The Scholar (McTiernan) - Cormac Reilly #2

 

The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good follow-up to The Ruin in many ways. Cormac Reilly is now finding his footing with the Galway Garda, slowly building on relationships he can trust and figuring out who is there to do him in. Carrie, too (whose "origin story" is in The Sisters, has come into her own, and they both negotiate the enigmatic behavior of superintendent Murphy. Outside the station, the dark world of academia and scientific research rears its ugly head, full of jealousies (petty and not-so-petty) and desperation.

The connection between the two major deaths in the story becomes fairly clear -- for most readers probably long before Cormac and/or Carrie put two and two together. But do not fret...McTiernan knows how to write a plot twist, and this one is plausible for the most part. She artfully keeps us guessing with a lot of possibilities, and for those who wished we had more character development of Emma in The Ruin, this is the story you've needed. Also receiving more attention is Fisher, who actually plays a fairly significant role in the end.

As was the case with previous books, I sometimes felt there was too much emphasis on the "procedure" of procedural (e.g. details about zooming into video footage), but overall a really good balance of characterization and plot. Aoife McMahon delivers a convincing reading, although occasionally her male characters start to blend a bit.

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2022 #11 The Sisters (McTiernan) - Cormac Reilly #.5

 

The Sisters by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a prequel, this really doesn't do much, if only because it has nothing to do with Cormac Reilly, but instead gives us a short story about Carrie Ryan's beginnings. I found it not long enough to care about either of the sisters-- Aifric OR Carrie-- and the "case" wasn't quite riveting enough to match the energy of The Ruin. I'm just now working my way through the series, so I'm hoping my time spent with "The Sisters" will pay off down the road as Carrie plays a bigger role, but this really felt a bit more like fanfic in the context of the series. Will update this review if I feel there is a payoff later in the series.

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2022 #9 The Ruin (McTiernan) - Cormac Reilly #1

 

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There's a lot going on here, perhaps too much, in some respects. A bit slow to get started, McTiernan spends quality time on character development, which I appreciated. Set in Galway, the book ties together the fates of DI Cormac Reilly and Aisling Conroy fairly artfully, across the span of roughly 30 years. Reilly is a good enough character to warrant a series, and his humanity runs underneath the surface -- subtly revealed by his actions, whom he trusts, and his concern for children. McTiernan spends a good amount of effort helping us appreciate Aisling and Maude, the two central characters of this story. Initially Cormac's experiences at the Galway police (Garda) station seem like inconsequential background, but there are few elements of the story that don't somehow connect to the main mystery. Some of the characters are underdeveloped (Emma), but in so doing, actually turn out to be useful for understanding the main protagonist (Cormac).

Occasionally McTiernan's descriptions are overwrought -- Emma putting her knickers on, the cabinetry in a minor character's house--as if a writing teacher got a hold of the manuscript with a red pen and forced her to embellish the descriptive language. She also seems to have a strong dislike of Google, despite the fact it ends up helping solve the main mystery (I was surprised to hear an actual product criticized as opposed to a more general statement about internet privacy).

Ultimately, the story is one to invest in. I didn't love the rationale behind the culprit's (one of them) behavior, and the only "thriller" like moment really happens right at the end. It disrupted the rhythm for me, this move from police procedural/detective story to thriller, but that's a small quibble. One of the best aspects is how McTiernan does NOT wrap everything up with a nice little bow. The events that transpired years ago in the crumbling mansion are, sadly, ever-present in some village, or city...resulting in ruined lives. McTiernan offers that justice is as complex as the nature of evil, and certainly any "system" of justice is just as flawed and, at times, ineffectual, as the humans within it.

Aoife McMahon provided an excellent narration, moving deftly through all the different characters and regional Irish accents. She very much helped bring the characters to life --the gloomy Cormac, the ambitious and loving Aisling, the strong Maude, and a host of more minor characters (Domenica Keane was extremely noteworthy).

I'm looking forward to listening to more in the series.

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