Customer Reviews

The Death of an Irish Lover: A Peter McGarr Mystery (Peter McGarr Mysteries)

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Bartholomew Gill's latest Peter McGarr police procedural seems a wee bit strained. The plot has promise, a philandering member of the "eel police" is half of a double homicide, with a young, recently married co-worker sharing death's bed. Tim Tallon is the inn-keeper, and a childhood acquaintance of McGarr's; in fact, the playground bully. Hughie and Rut'ie are back to their old tricks. We have a whiff of the IRA. There are some ancient jokes told to polish the bona fides of raconteur Benny Carson. In all, the characters are going through the paces. Despite the tragedy you find it hard to muster sympathy. Despite the "humor" you find it hard to smile. Loose ends, gratuitous violence (in his mid-fifties, McGarr must prove he's still a tough guy), and an improbable ending by half. Gill has done an admirable job in keeping an ongoing series fresh and intersting, but he misses here.

The Death of an Irish Lover is a well-crafted mystery but reading it could prove to be a bit depressing for any woman over say, 35. In this mystery the hero, Peter McGarr, has a wife much younger, better looking, and wealthier than he is who simply adores him. The only other woman in the story the author casts as attractive to men is the younger, drug-addicted prostitute. All other women are unattractive by virtue of their age, desperation for a baby or desperation for a man or craziness. One of McGarr's employee's, Ruth, is supposedly so desperate for her ultra masculine co-worker Ward that she is willing to have his baby, live with him half time and share him with the mother of his other children! A good mystery but at the same time a male fantasy.

Bartholomew Gill is an Irish writer of intriguing police procedurals which blend hard realism with romantic story-telling, set always in very confined settings, full of local color and local characters. The intricacies of eel-fishing on the River Shannon, and eel-poaching by IRA sympathizers, who sell the eels at high prices to finance IRA activity, are the offbeat sources of the realism and romance here.

When two members of the "eel-police" are found shot to death in bed, in what appears to be a slaying by a jealous husband, Detective Superintendent Peter McGarr and his motley assistants from Dublin are called in. As they investigate the killings in the seemingly idyllic town of Leixleap, the reader is exposed to the slippery underbelly of small town Irish life--the petty jealousies, the abusive liaisons, the manipulations of those clever enough to play "the system," the limited expectations of the young women, and the ties that bind everyone to a beautiful village which has few legitimate opportunities.

Ultimately, it's the characters which make the novel come truly alive. McGarr, his family, and his assistants are colorfully drawn, all with unique characteristics which make them memorable. His psychological acuity makes their behavior plausible, and the limited setting provides for much interaction among them and the townspeople. These interactions, not outside sources, lead to the complications which enliven the plot. Gill alternates pathos and humor to moderate the most violent scenes, and his depiction of a child caught unwittingly in the turmoil is especially affecting. This is an absorbing mystery and a welcome change of pace from urban thrillers--no less violent, but perhaps more affecting because its world is so small and its characters, so chummy. Mary Whipple

The Leixleap Inn owner Tim Tallon calls his childhood acquaintance, Ireland,s Chief Superintendent Peter McGarr to report a double murder. The victims are two Eel Officers, Ellen Gilday and her superior Pascal Burke. They have been found in an illicit position that defies her recent marriage to a local lad.

Peter, as the head of homicide in the country, begins his investigation into the killing of two cops. He quickly realizes that several motives exist. They could be victims of a love crime from either her spouse or one of his string of lovers. They could be victims of an IRA assassination since a questionable confession from a former member provides a clear-cut tie to the group. Finally, there is the economic crime as there is a thriving eel poaching business that the two cops were assigned to control.

The fourteenth McGarr mystery is a taut police procedural that shows why the lead character has been a favorite of readers for over two decades. The story line is exciting as the motive for the killings keeps switching based on the latest findings. McGarr remains one of the more endearing fictional detectives as he still retains his wit and intelligence even with the frustrations of a seemingly ever-changing case. Bartholomew Gill proves he still is one of the masters of the Irish mystery without the trite maudlin gushiness that many authors feel is a requirement of a tale set in Ireland.

Harriet Klausner

Love all things Irish! and Gill's books are on the top of my list! The Irish heart and soul are in these books. Plus, they are really good mystery stories.

Another winner in the Peter McGarr series, which were written by American author, Mark McGarrity, until his untimely death last summer. The characters are well rounded, never stereotyped, and the endings never easy to predict.
There are enough false leads to keep you guesing until the end. As always we get a picture of Ireland, from the small town gossips to the dark underbelly of the criminal world. McGarr and his cohorts are interesting characters despite their all too human frailties. In a country where murders are refreshingly rare, McGarr keeps busy solving all that come his way. This book is a good read.

Peter McGarr is new to me, but this is the 14th installment of Gill's police procedural series. Investigating the murder of two cops found "en flagrante," McGarr finds himself involved with IRA related, eel-poaching criminals on the Shannon River. While neither of those topics is high on my "to read" list, Gill's interesting facts on the life cycle of eels would have created more reader interest if they had been presented earlier in the book. It is pretty apparent that some of the clues are red herrings, but the finger of guilt points to just about everybody in the village, changing with every new bit of evidence or hearsay. Therefore, Gill could have named the murderer at any point. His last chapter is a satisfying wrap-up of the murder, but many of the other story-points in the book are left unattended, like flotsam on the Shannon.

Chief Superintendant McGarr is getting older, but he still manages to find an improbable situation in the village of Leixleap: a man with many lovers, possibly killed by one of them;gun running and eel poaching; a little hint of IRA involvement ... and so on. The plot and action are slow to start and then become cluttered with distracting side plots. Unfortunately, this does not live up to the fine earlier novels, such as "Death of an Irish Sea Wolf", "Death of an Irish Tinker" or "Death on a Cold, Wild River".