Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
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Author:
Declan
Burke lives in Ireland with his family. To date he has published four
critically acclaimed novels. In addition Declan hosts a website dedicated to
Irish crime fiction, Crime Always Pays.
Description:
Ex-PI Harry
Rigby’s life is a mess. Recently released from a psychiatric prison after killing
his brother, he now drives a taxi and delivers drugs as a sideline. He’s
estranged from his ex-wife and a son who may or may not be his. Events take a
turn for the worse when close friend Finn Hamilton commits suicide, throwing
himself from a building and almost taking Harry with him.
Now it
seems everyone is after Harry. The police, led by Detective Tohill, immediately
suspect Harry’s involvement, however much he protests. Finn’s mother Soairse,
matriarch of a crumbling business empire, and Grainne, her daughter, both demand
his help to find the truth behind Finn’s death, whilst in the background
Gillick, Saoirse’s oily lawyer, manipulates everyone for his own ends. And Harry
owes the gang leaders for the drugs he was carrying to Finn.
Before Harry
is crushed between these powerful forces he must find out what is really going
on…
Appraisal:
Occasionally
there are books that get me into trouble. Big trouble. By this I mean I spend
too much time reading and not enough with the family. Slaughter’s
Hound was one of these rarities – over several days I did little else other
than keep my nose in my Kindle. Frankly
I should have known better having been recently consumed by Mr. Burke’s
excellent The Big O.
To the book
itself. Slaughter’s Hound starts,
literally, with a bang when Finn throws himself off a high building onto
Harry’s car. Rewind in time and the story runs up towards the suicide and then
beyond. Initially the pace is steady as Harry tentatively feels his way around
- he’s not been a PI for a while and is reluctant to get drawn into a world he
no longer wants to inhabit for people he doesn’t like.
However, in
the latter half the tempo rises, Slaughter’s
Hound becomes an increasingly compelling read. There’s twist after turn –
more crosses and double crosses than a well-stocked graveyard.
The sense
of place is powerful, Burke’s narrative style is set against the perfect
backdrop of recession torn Ireland, where the wealthy rub shoulders with the
criminal set – necessity born out of situation.
Then
there’s Harry’s reaction to the events going on around him and how they impact
on his life. He becomes increasingly violent in an eye for an eye principle. This
lends a significant additional dimension to what’s already a multi-layered
story and lifts Slaughter’s Hound
even further above the norm.
The
characters are strong enough to carry the weighty story on their shoulders with
ease. However I would defy you to actually like any of them, even Harry as he
wields an increasingly heavy hand in retribution.
There’s a
gritty, dark humour here too. Plenty of cracking one-liners, such as:
The traffic was slower on Strandhill
Road for some reason, the cars dawdling along like a fat kid early for school.
Okay it’s
not quite one line, but you get my drift.
Finally, Slaughter’s Hound is quite different to The Big O in almost every respect. Both
are excellent in their own right and demonstrates Mr. Burke’s writing ability.
Overall
another excellent read from a highly talented author.
FYI:
Graphic
scenes of violence.
Format/Typo Issues:
None.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
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