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5.0 out of 5 stars
Gill in top form, Jun 2 2004
This 1996 Peter McGarr mystery takes place primarily on the remote island of Clare where a man named Clement Ford washed up on the beach 50 years before and has lived ever since.As the book opens, Ford is alerted to the arrival of a strange boat in the harbor. After so many years, his pursuers have caught up with him, in search of revenge and the treasure Ford absconded with at the end of World War II. By morning, several people are dead, Ford is missing and Chief Superintendent McGarr's fishing holiday is over. With the help of his familiar Murder Squad team, his feisty, scholarly wife, Noreen, and the efficient mainland computers, McGarr begins to put together the pieces. Of less help are the closed-mouth islanders, many of whom despise "foreigners," whether they be mainland police or longtime benefactors like Ford, known to be behind the anonymous Clare Trust. McGarr soon realizes that the killers did not achieve their objective - the treasure - and will return, losing themselves in the annual reunion of several thousand of the world's O'Malleys. Gill is at his best here; his literary wit in top form, his characters gregarious and sharp, and the suspense heightened by harsh, windswept terrain and sudden, violent spring storms.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A great Irish escape to Clare Island, County Mayo., May 7 2002
Though some of his settings feel a bit reminiscent of Agatha Christie, Gill writes for a totally different audience--readers who do not shy away from realistically depicted (and sometimes gratuitous) violence, who do not expect the police to be models of probity, and who want their mysteries to be more than simple whodunits. In this 1996 combination of modern mystery and World War II thriller, set off the coast of County Mayo, Gill tells the tale of Clement Ford, a mystery man with a hoard of hidden treasure. Ford has just been tracked down by his old enemy, Angus Rehm, and the result is three deaths, three disappearances, two missing boats, and the arrival of Chief Inspector Peter McGarr from the Garda Siochana and his detectives, each of whom is also dealing with personal problems--alcohol, illicit affairs, and the demands of family--while trying to solve the mystery.Local beliefs and superstitions, ancient history and pagan monuments, the geological record, and family history are interwoven with the more modern attitudes toward religion, the British, and authority in general, as Gill creates a lively "personality" for Clare Island. The mystery develops a global scope as Clement Ford's true identity and his World War II connections to Angus Rehm emerge in the final pages. One of a long series of engaging Peter McGarr mysteries with a cast of well-developed repeating characters, Gill focuses on some intriguing aspect of Irish history and culture in each (e.g. eel-fishing, secret religious societies, literary history). The novels written prior to the recent Death of an Irish Sinner can be read in any order, but events in the latter are so explosive that it is difficult to go back if you read Irish Sinner too soon. The series is a fascinating look at Ireland and its characters--great fun and great escape reading.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Ireland through the mystery novel, Dec 14 2000
I plan to use this book with my high school juniors. To find a modern and interest-grabbing book which will whet their appetites for British Lit is a difficult task. I believe this book will do it with its fast-moving, physical plot encompassed in solid prose, idiomatic phrasing and cultural enticement. Though I am not usually a fan of the mystery genre, this one grabbed me.
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