В первой книге Джек Тейлор бухал по-черному, во второй – сидел на коксе, в третьей – начал употреблять вещества и теперь окончательно потерял связь с реальностью. Бродит по Голуэю, разговаривает с несуществующими людьми, раздумывает над суицидом. В начале романа Джек приходит в сознание на больничной койке после приступа белой горячки. Врачи говорят: бросай пить – иначе подохнешь. Билл Касселл говорит: с тебя должок, Джекки, найди для меня человечка. Старую монахиню из всем известного приюта святой Магдалины. Найдешь и тогда мы, считай, в расчёте. Билл не врёт, но слишком сильно давит, а Тейлор этого не любит. Не по нраву ему и новый клиент - яппи-гей Терри Боулс, подозревающий мачеху в убийстве своего отца. Нет-нет, Джек Тейлор от работы не отлынивает, просто играет всегда по своим правилам. Очень жёстким правилам. В итоге, людей и врагов вокруг детектива становится с каждым днём все меньше и меньше. Кто-то повесится, кто-то станет овощем после инсульта, кого-то убьёт рак, кто-то впадёт в кому из-за наркотиков. А еще ведь есть ребенок-дебил, но это уже отдельная песня. Пусть и не Джонни Дюхэйна.
Talk of the town just now is Philomena, the movie. It tells the story of a woman who was a victim of one of the wicked manifestations of the Catholic Church. The film looks OK. I may see it one day, perhaps on DVD. However it plays out, I’m pretty sure it won’t be able to shine a prayer-candle to Ken Bruen’s The Magdalen Martyrs. I loved Jack Taylor before arriving at this novel. It’s difficult not to. He articulates his inner workings with charm, humour and a good deal of learned profundity.Here, he becomes involved in 2 cases. The first is to investigate a rather interesting woman who likes her drink and whose ex-husband suspects is guilty of murder. The second, a job from a killer whom he couldn’t turn down, is to track down an old lady with associations with the Magdalen Laundry.The cases are hugely interesting in themselves and give the book its movement and superbly dimensioned characters. Although that’s crucial to the plot, the main story is one of addiction – the effects of intoxicants, withdrawal, black-outs, extreme actions, hallucination, self-loathing, guilt, depression, the works.Jack moves from the booze to pills to periods of abstinence. As he plods through each phase, he sees his reflection the world and the people around him. He talks about his life and his failings in such an articulate and entertaining way that I doubt there can have been many better accounts of these extremes. Bruen would argue with this last statement and win because he knows far more than I – each chapter begins with a quote that has been selected perfectly to set a tone or underline a point.Talking of quotes, here’s one of his own that I rather cared for:“I can’t blame books for the chaos of my life, but they’ve always been there on the journey.”This novel works wonderfully on so many levels. It’s a brilliant piece and one that only emphasises Bruen’s right to be accorded such a high status within the crime-writing world and the world of literature.
What do You think about The Magdalen Martyrs (2006)?
Third in the series featuring Jack Taylor, Magdalen Martyrs continues the story of the ex-Guard. In this installment, his old nemesis Bill Galway, a local tough guy no one wants to mess with, is calling in his debt (you had to have read the earlier books to understand what I mean). Cassell didn't ask for payment from Jack when he did him an earlier favor, but now he's calling in his marker. It seems he wants the whereabouts of one Rita Monroe, who used to work in a Magdalen laundry (read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalen...). Simple task, right? Well, not if you're Jack. He's concurrently working another case in which an arrogant idiot hired him to find some evidence that his father had been killed by his stepmother. Both cases take some unexpected turns (as usual), leading Jack deeper into his own personal abyss. As you read this series, you're not really doing so for the mystery aspect. Jack's character is what absolutely makes these novels. The other recurring characters are also drawn very well, but Taylor is definitely the star here. You could read these novels individually as stand alones (meaning following the series), but I think the reading experience is enhanced if you follow them in order. There are recurring characters, continuing subplots and frankly, you gain a better and more full understanding of the character of Jack Taylor if you begin with the first one, The Guards and work your way through.I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone following the series; if you're reading them solely as mystery novels, you're going to miss a lot.
—Nancy Oakes
This is the first time in a long time that Ive read three in a row by one author. These are addictive mysteries, with the usual flawed, haunted main character, but this guy lives in Galway, is a former member of the Guards (police), and doesn't always solve the problems put before him. They are so well written and don't follow any formula. Lots of humor. Jack loves to read -- books play a large part in all his stories. As does contemporary music. Well, contemporary to those of us of a certain age. The mysteries are compelling and the characters, varied and distinctive.
—Kasa Cotugno
Auch der dritte Jack Taylor Roman hat alles was ich an dieser Serie so mag: einen ständig am Leben verzeifelnden "Ermittler" der permanent mit dem eigenen Suff, seiner Vergangenheit und den Auswirkungen seiner Taten kämpft. Es wird zwar nie besonders viel ermittelt aber trotzdem schafft es Ken Bruen wieder dass wir alle mit Jack mitfiebern und hoffen dass er sich doch endlich mal auch erholen kann. Sieht aber nicht so aus. Diesmal inklusive: Sadistische Katholiken, enttäuschte Mütter, flüssiges Ecstasy, Drogensex, tote Freunde und Buchreferenzen en masse. Eine der wenigen Buchreihen die ich uneingeschränkt in der deutschen Übersetzung empfehlen kann. Kleine Vorwarnung: nach 300 Seiten kommt wieder der kalte Entzug und das endlose Warten auf den nächsten Teil.
—Electric
