The Ghosts of Galway by Ken Bruen / Review by Kevin Tipple
The Ghosts of Galways
By Ken Bruen
Mysterious Press
$24.27
ISBN 978-0802127334
Publish Date: November 7, 2017
Book of the Day
One does not read Ken Bruen to be uplifted and hopeful for humanity. One reads him for the stylistic beauty of his prose and his ability to capture powerful emotion in few words. That is especially true of his latest mystery, The Ghosts Of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel. This is an intense read where the past and the toll this mortal coil takes on the living is the story from the first to the last page.
Jack Taylor has survived a suicide attempt as well as a botched medical diagnosis. Those two incidents have not changed Jack Taylor’s outlook on life. His new job has not improved his outlook either, but it keeps him away from people and that is good for everybody.
These days he is working as a security guard. While he works nights by himself and it is boring, at least he can read on the job and get paid to do so. The warehouse on the docks does not really need protecting, but with a phone and a flashlight, he does so each night. That is until his supervisor tells him the owner, Alexander Knox-Keaton, originally from somewhere in the Ukraine wants to see out at his mansion.
While the man’s name is clearly a fake, his money is not. Jack Taylor goes out to see Mr. Knox-Keaton and learns the man knows something about his work and background in getting things done. He wants to hire Taylor to find a book known as The Red Book. Believed to be the true first book of heresy, it decries the book of the gospels also known as The Book of Kells. According to Mr. Knox-Keaton, the book has been stolen from the Vatican by Father Frank Miller. The priest is now hiding out in Galway and has offered the book for sale. Mr. Knox-Keaton wants Jack Taylor to find the priest and negotiate the purchase of the book. He will pay very well for Mr. Taylor to do so and does not really care how he goes about getting the job done.
The last thing Jack wants is to deal with any priest for any reason. But, the money is too good to pass up. It does not help that Em, also known as Emily and a few other names, is soon back in his life and definitely involved in the hunt for the priest and The Red Book. She is also involved in a couple of other matters that could easily get Jack Taylor killed.
The Ghosts of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel is both a remembrance of things past as well as a settling of a number of scores. The past is a living, breathing presence in books by Ken Bruen and that is especially true here. Blending pop culture references and a steady pace with the mystery, author Ken Bruen creates an intense and very emotional read. The Ghosts of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel is a very good book and one you should read.
ARC was supplied by the publisher by way of Killer Nashville for my use in a review for Killer Nashville.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2017
Kevin Tipple When not offending someone in person or online due to his strange sense of humor, Kevin reads and reviews books, watches way too much television, and offers unsolicited opinions on anything. His short fiction has appeared in magazines such as "Lynx Eye," "Starblade," "Show and Tell," and "The Writer's Post Journal" among others and online at such places as "Mouth Full Of Bullets," "Crime And Suspense," "Mysterical-e" and others. The fact that most of those publications and sites no longer exist is not his fault. You can still read his short stories by purchasing a copy of Mind Slices: A Collection of New and Previously Published Stories at Amazon and elsewhere. For those sure that the author has no brain, an image of his documented MRI was used for the cover. Fully trained before marriage, Kevin can work all major appliances and, despite a love of nearly all sports, is able to clean up after himself.