Customer Reviews

The Dead Yard: A Novel (Dead Trilogy, Book 2)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I "read" this book as a download from Audible. Gerard Doyle is the narrator and seems to become Michael Forsythe. He's amazing. I hope everyone gets to "hear" this book and Doyle's reading of it.

This book is extremely lyrical and smart, drolly humorous at times, and viciously violent. I don't think I've been so tense since the basement scene in The Silence of the Lambs. The last 30 minutes or so, I literally was pacing back and forth, my heart beating as fast as it could, and my stomach was nauseated by dread.

I don't like to read reviews that tell the story of the book, so I won't go into that here. All I can say is that if you are a fan of great writing and good thrillers, and you have a strong heart (and stomach), then you will absolutely love this book.

McKinty is wonderful, and the McKinty/Doyle pairing was made in entertainment heaven. And if Michael was real, I'd be in love with him.

BUY THIS BOOK! Even better, listen to it!

Man, is this book fast-moving. And, man, is it well-written. Ever since I stumbled on _Dead I Well May Be_ by accident, I've been in awe of Adrian McKinty's skills as a writer, which are again on display in this, his third novel (after the equally good _Hidden River_). My one area of concern, though, is the wisdom of bringing back character Michael Forsythe from the debut and giving him another go-around. That first book was so epic in its violence and existentialism that this one can't help but feel like a bit of a let-down by comparison. Still, it's great to have another McKinty book to get lost in, no matter what the topic or who the protagonist.

Michael is forced by circumstances (he was jailed in a bit of soccer hooliganism turned violence and wants to avoid extradition back to a certain Mexican jail) to infiltrate an IRA splinter cell operating in the Boston area. It is the eve of an historic cease fire (the book is set in the 90s) and the Sons of Cuchulainn, a small, largely ineffectual group headed by a pair of small-time exiles from Northern Ireland who turn out to still have a bit of spine as events spiral out of control. Michael falls in love with Kit, the daughter of the cell's leader, which may prove unadvisable, as they begin to check his cover story and to suspect that he isn't who he says he is. The story builds to a messy, violent climax in the wilds of Maine, with the suggestion that Michael will be back for another go-around (Bridget, his girlfriend from _Dead I Well May Be_, is a rising star in New York's Irish rackets).

Still, as much fun as it is to spend time with Forsythe, I'd almost rather that McKinty would present us with yet another small-time loser for a protagonist. His debut was so strong and so self-contained and so fittingly-structured and concluded that there really was no need to revisit old pastures. This book can't help but pale by comparison, even though it's ten times better than the bulk of what's passing for crime thrillers these days. McKinty just has a way with words and dialogue and a view of the world that can't be beat. Even though I'd count this novel as something of a disappointment, I'm still strongly recommending it and I'd recommend his other books as well.

He's back. Lock up your daughters, stay indoors and get ready for the worst. Michael Forsythe is infiltrating a devious bunch of thugs in the swamps of New England. You know its not going to be pretty or end well for anyone. If you read Dead I Well May Be and wondered what this crook, ne'er do well and all round rascal was going to get up to next, this is your answer. Keep a valium next to the bed if you've a nervous disposition, or, better yet, a valium, a shot of old Bushmills and your trusty .45.

This fascinating story of life under cover shows how everything can turn into a dangerous test. If almost everyone you meet is a stranger reacting to someone who isn't you, the most innocent comment can turn fatal. Such a situation is almost totally isolating because you never get to be yourself and you don't know how many of the people you deal with may be acting the role of someone they aren't. Forsythe keeps track of who he really is by reminding himself of who he is pretending to be. He is careful not to be trapped by knowing too much history, not to be lured by understanding literary references, not to get it about North American politics. Still, as survival becomes the issue, caution has to stop.

I read this book in galley two months ago and have been itching to review it since. It is a sequel to McKinty's Dead I Well May Be which came out in 2004. That book was praised for its menacing tone, snappy dialogue and complexity. This one has those elements but also an understated dry (Irish?) wit which serves as a counterpoint to some of the more horrific elements in the quick paced narrative. It is the story of an undercover operative in a sleeper cell- not that original in itself, but then what story is? The selling point rather is the way McKinty tells the tale. His voice is completely original: dark, poetic and (for a crime novel) beautiful. The last third of the book moves very quickly (maybe too quickly) but the last chapters and the ending itself are very satisfying. A great book that lingers long in the memory. Look for The Dead Yard in many top ten lists in December.

I listen to books when I have to drive to LA, when I have to weed the garden or clean the windows or take the dogs for a long walk. This is one of those books that you don't want to get out of the car for. You want to plant more zenias. You want to repaint the entire house exterior! Good story, endearing protagonist, and the writing--it's intelligent, noir yet laugh out loud funny, and yes, lyrical, which I can't even imagine fully appreciating were it not for the masterful talent of the narrator, Gerard Doyle. I just discovered this author and can't wait to read more. BUY THIS AUDIBLE BOOK. You have hours of pleasure ahead!

It's been five years since Adrian McKinty's Michael Forsythe topped Darky White and his Harlem-based Irish gang in "Dead a Well May Be", an explosive and brilliantly crafted novel so black and cold, so brutal, that a simple 'noir' label is way to tame. But compared to "The Dead Yard", the predecessor is nearly docile, as the years have only hardened Forsythe's stone-cold skills and have sharpened McKinty's prose: beautiful poetry of violence, survival, and again, another staggering installment of vengeance.

Innocently enough, "Yard" starts with young Michael on holiday in the Canary Island of Tennerife. But a football riot lands him in prison - again - and a Spanish one this time. Threatened with extradition to Mexico to finish out the sentence in Hell started in McKinty's debut novel, Forsythe is coerced into helping British Intelligence penetrate a rogue Irish terrorist cell in Boston. Michael succeeds on getting inside "The Sons of Cuchulainn" through a cockamamie plan concocted by M16 that was just daft enough to actually work. And soon Michael, the Irish bad boy we can't resist liking - albeit with a touch of guilty pleasure - is knockin' off banks and swapping tales of Ireland with his revolutionary new-found buddies, while seeming to bed every woman in sight, from the new boss's daughter to the agent in charge of his mission.

But is this is beginning to sound like 007, take heart: author McKinty will have none of James Bond's suave and debonair foolishness, no fast women and faster cars, tuxedos, or martinis in these pages, but a surfeit blood, gore, and political idealism blinding common sense and clouding reality. Forsythe is the classic tragic hero and if, indeed, McKinty is idealistic in his own right, his passion blazes across the pages in fiery passages: "...will I despoil your corpse and throw your tattered carcass onto that black barge that Death steers into the silent sea..." Take that, Lord Byron! McKinty understands the use of foreshadow, carefully meting enough light to plot the course to come, but a steady hand on the meter insures the reader stays only engaged and curious.

From the beginning of "Dead I Well May Be", where the reader sees a somewhat naive Michael Forsythe trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of both sides of the law in his adopted America, by the end of "The Dead Yard" we've seen a transition, a coming of age in America tale so ferocious, so shocking in cruelty and violence that even Cormac McCarthy begins to look a bit constrained. Yes, McKinty's rough words may offend your weaker sensibilities, and have others asking if he's gone too far. But for me, Adrian McKinty's brand of noir crime have earned him a prime spot at the table with the new masters like Bruen, Huston, Swierczynski, and Gischler. "The Bloomsday Dead" wraps up this trilogy, and I can't wait to see where McKinty will take Michael Forsythe and his continued epic journey to Hell and back. Superb stuff - "Slainte", Mr. McKinty!

McKinty has a sharp eye and a gift for turning a phrase. He can set a mood in two or three words; or he can bring apprehension into your soul steadily through progressively less subtle forshadowing and progressively more menacing potentials. In The Dead Yard these abilities were on audacious display. Those of you in contact with your primal and limbic emotions will no doubt love the disturbing violence and the very intimately personal way in which the violence is delivered. And, mind you, I do not consider "disturbing" violence to be bad, as it is closer to the truth of violence than the way we are usually led through it with iatrogenically induced sensory-deprivation.

Michael becomes Sean to infiltrate a small gang of aging sociopaths, who just by the way happen to have a hot young daughter to confuse the issue. The infiltration is successful (as you know it would have to be) and he begins trying to earn the trust of those he must betray. As he becomes familiar, and even friendly, with the cell, he retains at even the most tempting times a comprehension of the nature of the beast he is fighting. It seems that one member of the band, although not the titular head, is the main decision maker and psychopath: "Touched." Touched is an excellent embodiment of evil, and a fine clown as well. A clown of sorts, that is, until you learn exactly what he is capable of. Once you do, the action is fast and furious and doesn't let up until the bloody resolution.

An excellent work, and excellently read by Gerard Doyle. Under his spell, I found myself beginning to speak in the cadences of my ancestors from County Cork!

The end was a little cliche, and I did not care much for Kit. McKinty would try to show something less than shallow in her, but he had nothing to back it up with except that she had pretty eyes and lips, etc.

I will look for others of McKinty's books, read by Doyle, and read as many of them as fast as I can get my hands on them. Besides James Lee Burke, McKinty is my new favorite crime writer.

This is a really, really good book, well written and well performed by Gerard Doyle. I love how McKinty, when he runs into a cliche, will call himself on it right in the text. It makes the writing feel fresh, natural, instead of formulaic.

I highly recommend you read McKinty's first book, _Dead I Well May Be_, which introduces the character of Michael Forsythe, before reading (listening to) this one. It's not essential in terms of plot, but you'll understand him better, and a few details that, while not plot critical, are unexplained in this novel, but covered in that one.

This book is fast, funny, and furious! I couldn't put it down. Adrian McKinty is a superb writer who keeps you at the edge of your seat, reading to beat the devil... but then you go back and re-read passages because they're so beautifully written. I've read everything by him and wish he could crank out the books as fast as I can read them because I'm always left in a state of depression until his next book comes out (or else I go back and re-read one I've already read). Mark my words, McKinty will soon be up there at the top of the heap of best-selling authors really soon. Get on the bandwagon now!