The Organised Criminal by Jarlath Gregory is about blood, family and
organized crime. Jay O'Reilly, reluctantly returning for home for his
cousin's funeral, is offered a job by his father. His family's criminal
activity had made Jay determined never to return. His father is a
well-known smuggler with a far-reaching nefarious empire.
Though Jay likes to think he's turned his back on his community, his
lost-past still fascinate him. The job is deceptively simple, worryingly
so, but lucrative. Despite himself, Jay is tempted, tempted by the
money, tempted by the possibility of escape and a chance to make things
right.
Gregory's wry wit questions the ethics, conscience and loyalty of Jay,
his family and his friends. Spiked with black humor throughout, Jay's
feelings of loneliness, displacement, dissatisfaction and even hatred
elevate this thrilling celtic noir novel and show that a job is never
just a job. It becomes a story of fear, family-ties, male friendship and
power.
As Jay contemplates the job, he reacquaints himself with the place and
the family he left, only to find that it is exactly as hard, cold and
unwelcoming as he remembered. When the truth behind his father's offer
is finally revealed, Jay faces a primal struggle between familial bonds
and moral obligations.
