The Scholar by Dervla McTiernanMy 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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