Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda
Siochana--The Guards, Ireland's police force--and staring at the world
through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway
with nothing to look forward to. In his sober moments Jack aspires to
become Ireland's best private investigator, not to mention its
first--Irish history, full of betrayal and espionage, discourages any
profession so closely related to informing. But in truth Jack is
teetering on the brink of his life's sharpest edges, his memories of the
past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future
nonexistent.
Nonexistent, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a
strange request and a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. Odds
are he won't be able to climb off his barstool long enough to get
involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by
getting hired, Jack has little idea of what he's getting into.
Stark, violent, sharp, and funny, The Guards is an exceptional novel,
one that leaves you stunned and breathless, flipping back to the
beginning in a mad dash to find Jack Taylor and enter his world all over
again. It's an unforgettable story that's gritty, absorbing, and
saturated with the rough-edged rhythms of the Galway streets. Praised by
authors and critics around the globe, The Guards heralds the arrival
of an essential new novelist in contemporary crime fiction.
Ken Bruen's The Guards is a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel.
