Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Brian Mcgilloway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2008 | Series: Inspector Devlin Mysteries

Taking its title from the name of the road down which condemned Donegal criminals were once led, "Gallows Lane" follows Inspector Benedict Devlin as he investigates a series of gruesome murders in and around the Irish borderlands. When a young woman is found beaten to death on a building site, in what appears to be a sexually-motivated killing, Devlin's enquiries soon point to a local body-builder and steroid addict. But days later, born-again ex-con James Kerr is found nailed to a tree - crucified - having been released from prison and returned to his hometown to spread the word of God. Increasingly torn between his young family and his job, Devlin is determined to apprehend those responsible for the murders before they strike again, even as the carnage begins to jeopardise those he cares about most."Gallows Lane" is the heart-stopping follow-up to Brian McGilloway's acclaimed debut "Borderlands". 'Brian McGilloway joins the roll-call of excellence in Irish crime fiction' - Marcel Berlins, "The Times". 'A satisfying mystery with an attractive central character' - "Sunday Telegraph". 'Another masterly thriller' - "Irish News".

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974, and teaches English at St Columb's College, Derry. Previously he has written plays and short stories. He lives near the Borderlands, with his wife and their two sons.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 321 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (April 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230700616
• ISBN-13: 978-0230700611
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,159,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen's University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb's College in Derry, where he is currently Head of English.

His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as 'one of (2007's) most impressive debuts.' The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. The new Devlin novel, The Rising, will be published this Spring in hardback in the UK, alongside the paperback of the third novel, Bleed A River Deep. The US edition of Bleed A River Deep will be available in Sept. 2010, published by Minotaur.

Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their three sons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 Stars - Good plot, HATE the portents, April 9, 2009

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin Mysteries) (Hardcover)

First Sentence: James Kerr returned to Lifford on a blustery morning in May, shuffling under the heavy clouds that scudded across the sky towards the North.

DI Benedict Devlin has a lot to deal with. He as been asked to keep an eye on recent parole James Kerr and encourage him to leave the area.. Kerr claims here's not there to commit crimes but first to talk to someone. But people Kerr knew start to die and Kerr, himself, if found murdered. Two girls have been drugged and beaten; and one died. Devlin want to find the killer before he strikes again.

How nice to read a police procedural where there is more than one case that needs to be solved. How nice, too, when the protagonist is a married man with children and without great angst or addictions, other than the stresses of the job. That doesn't mean he is perfect. In fact, McGilloway has made Devlin a classically flawed human.

The story is set in the Borderland of Ireland, where a concern is felons escaping either way over the border to the North or South. Again, it's a nice chance to have the story not set in a large city. The political aspects add to the veracity and interest to the story.

The plot is well done with lots of threads and relationships. The story was never predictable and I certainly never guessed the primary killer.

There were a couple little problems. McGilloway loves portents, which did make me crazy. I occasionally felt lost in the story and had some problems keeping the characters straight. .

One rather amusing thing was that my copy was clearly a first state, first printing. Each chapter heading is a date. Unfortunately someone missed that the first state copy went from Sunday May 28, Monday May 31, Tuesday Jun1, Wednesday June 2, Thursday June 1...and didn't get on track until page 66 and Friday June 4th. It was definitely disconcerting.

Even so, McGilloway has a wonderful style and I look forward to his third book.