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Title details for The Cold, Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty - Available

The Cold, Cold Ground

#1 in series

by Adrian McKinty
Gerard Doyle
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

Fast-paced, evocative, and brutal, The Cold Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles—and of a cop treading a thin, thin line—from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author Adrian McKinty.

"McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years." —Tana French

Northern Ireland, spring 1981. Hunger strikes, riots, power cuts, a homophobic serial killer with a penchant for opera, and a young woman's suicide that may yet turn out to be murder: on the surface, the events are unconnected, but then things—and people—aren't always what they seem. Detective Sergeant Duffy is the man tasked with trying to get to the bottom of it all. It's no easy job—especially when it turns out that one of the victims was involved in the IRA but was last seen discussing business with someone from the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force. Add to this the fact that, as a Catholic policeman, it doesn't matter which side he's on, because nobody trusts him, and Sergeant Duffy really is in a no-win situation.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Detective Sean Duffy

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 5, 2012

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481588294
      • File size: 289987 KB
      • Duration: 10:04:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 3, 2012
      This series starter from McKinty (Fifty Grand) introduces hard-boiled but likable Det. Sgt. Sean Duffy, a Catholic who remains brashly, winningly sardonic even under the pressure of 1981 Belfast's overwhelmingly Protestant police force. With the hunger strikes ongoing, Duffy tries to prove himself by finding an apparent serial killer targeting gay men, but is impeded by Northern Ireland's revolution-racked but socially conservative culture. As Duffy tries to decipher gnomic clues involving opera and mythology, he begins to suspect that the suicide of a hunger striker's wife links the apparently apolitical murders to the equally ruthless paramilitary and IRA factions. Though an anachronistic tone occasionally jars with the period atmosphere provided by carefully observed detail and cameos from the likes of Gerry Adams, the deft mix of noirish melancholy with express-train pacing and blockbuster-ready action enticingly sets the stage for Duffy's future adventures.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      No question, THE COLD, COLD GROUND is an exciting launch for what is sure to be an anticipated crime series. Great detective stories are built on three key elements--setting, story, and protagonist--and this one deploys each one magnificently. The setting--Northern Ireland in 1981, during the hunger strikes--is portrayed with frightening detail. The clever story evolves slowly as plot points are pinned to cultural biases that transcend "The Troubles"--for example, homosexuality and unwed motherhood. Police detective Sean Duffy wins us over chapter by chapter with his tenacity, his swaggering, witty dialogue, and his record collection--he spins The Velvet Underground when in need of a lift. The audiobook exceeds all expectations because of narrator Gerard Doyle. His storytelling is understated, and his dialect work is remarkable. This is the ninth collaboration between author and narrator, and this team totally rocks. R.W.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2013

      In this time capsule of a mystery novel, McKinty, with great skill and authenticity, transports readers to the Northern Ireland of 1981, at the height of the "troubles," when Bobby Sands and other IRA hunger-strikers are inflaming an already violent and unstable Belfast. DS Sean Duffy is a maverick on several levels, including being a Catholic in the largely Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary in the town of Carrickfergus, near Belfast. Duffy is trying to solve the murders of two gay men, one of whom turns out toMEDIAbe the head of the IRA's internal security force. Gerard Doyle reads with an Irish accent that sounds impeccable, lending added authenticity to dialog and language. The Cold Cold Ground is reported to be the first book of a "Troubles" trilogy, so look for these great characters and this engrossing setting to continue through at least two more books. VERDICT Not to be missed. ["For fans of Stewart Neville's crime novels, a new and harrowing Irish trilogy is under way. At turns violent and labyrinthine, McKinty's fine police procedural is also the ultimate page-turner," read the review of the Seventh Street: Prometheus hc, LJ 11/1/12.--Ed.]--Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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