“Gerard Doyle compels the listener into the midst of this gritty thriller…Doyle is brilliant with the Irish accents, handling also Americans and others…Doyle takes every advantage of this taut suspense, making it seem effortless. Listeners will be riveted. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile
Description
In this electrifying noir thriller, a young Irish ex-cop travels half a world away to investigate the murder of a beautiful girl he once loved.
Alexander Lawson is a former detective for Northern Ireland’s police force who, after a disastrous stint in the drug squad, became addicted to heroin and resigned in disgrace. Now twenty-four, sickly, and on the dole, Alex learns that his high-school love, Victoria Patawasti, has been murdered in America. Victoria’s wealthy family sends Alex to Colorado to investigate the case, and he seizes the opportunity for a chance at redemption.
But things don’t go as planned. Plagued by a heroin habit, forced to go on the run after the only credible witness to Victoria’s murder is accidentally killed, wanted by both the Colorado cops and the Ulster police, Alex struggles just to stay alive.
Praise
“Gerard Doyle compels the listener into the midst of this gritty thriller…Doyle is brilliant with the Irish accents, handling also Americans and others…Doyle takes every advantage of this taut suspense, making it seem effortless. Listeners will be riveted. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile
“A storyteller with the kind of style and panache that blur the line between genre and mainstream.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[Listeners] will be hooked by both McKinty’s skillfully woven suspense and Doyle’s almost endearing interpretation of this memorable protagonist.” Publishers Weekly
“He is a cross between Micky Spillane and Damon Runyon—the toughest, the best. Beware of McKinty.” Frank McCourt, New York Times bestselling author
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Dec 31, 2004 |
| Release Date | January 1, 2005 |
| Release Date Machine | 1104537600 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense, Hard-Boiled |
Author Bio
Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles. His father was a welder in Harland and Wolff—the shipyard where they built the Titanic; his mother was a school lunch lady and secretary. Adrian went to Oxford University on a full scholarship where he studied philosophy.
Emigrating first to America and then Australia he found work as a door-to-door salesman, a driver, a bookstore clerk, a barman, a high school English teacher, and a semipro rugby player.
His debut crime novel, Dead I Well May Be, was shortlisted for the 2004 Dagger Award and was optioned by Universal Pictures. He is the author of more than a dozen crime novels that have been translated into over forty languages. He has won the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Barry Award, the Macavity Award, the International Thriller Writers Award, and is a three-time winner of the Ned Kelly Award.
His 2020 novel The Chain was a New York Times bestseller and appeared on twenty-five best-of-the-year lists. His 2022 novel The Island was an instant New York Times bestseller and made five best-of-the-year lists including those of the London Times and the New York Times.
Adrian is a member of the Linnean Society and the National Audubon Society. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Narrator Bio
Gerard Doyle, a seasoned audio narrator, he has been awarded dozens of AudioFile Earphones Awards, was named a Best Voice in Young Adult Fiction in 2008, and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He was born of Irish parents and raised and educated in England. In Great Britain he has enjoyed an extensive career in both television and repertory theater and toured nationally and internationally with the English Shakespeare Company. He has appeared in London’s West End in the gritty musical The Hired Man. In America he has appeared on Broadway in The Weir and on television in New York Undercover and Law & Order. He has taught drama at Ross School for the several years.
Overview
In this electrifying noir thriller, a young Irish ex-cop travels half a world away to investigate the murder of a beautiful girl he once loved.
Alexander Lawson is a former detective for Northern Ireland’s police force who, after a disastrous stint in the drug squad, became addicted to heroin and resigned in disgrace. Now twenty-four, sickly, and on the dole, Alex learns that his high-school love, Victoria Patawasti, has been murdered in America. Victoria’s wealthy family sends Alex to Colorado to investigate the case, and he seizes the opportunity for a chance at redemption.
But things don’t go as planned. Plagued by a heroin habit, forced to go on the run after the only credible witness to Victoria’s murder is accidentally killed, wanted by both the Colorado cops and the Ulster police, Alex struggles just to stay alive.