Irish Eyes: A Callahan Garrity Mystery (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathy Hogan Trocheck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2001 | Series: Callahan Garrity Mysteries

In her former life as an Atlanta cop, Callahan Garrity trusted no one more than her partner, Bucky Deavers. Now, when her old friend asks her to go to the annual St. Paddy's Day bash, she can't say no. Looking for fun, Callahan gets the shock of her life instead. Bucky is shot in a liquor store on the way home.

Stunned but clear-headed, the tenacious PI turns on all her skills to find the culprit. What she discovers, though, are accusations that Bucky might be working both sides of the law as an accomplice In a string of robberies.

With her friend's life and reputation hanging in the balance, Callahan , her mom, Edna, and her feisty band of House Mouse employees kick the investigation into high gear, using their unorthodox methods to get answers. This time, it will take every skill they've got to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding an Irish police organization and prove that the case is more than it seems.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Atlanta PI and former police officer Callahan Garrity displays her usual pluck in the eighth outing of this warm-hearted series. On the way home from a St. Patrick's Day party, Garrity and Bucky Deavers, her partner on the robbery squad from her days on the force, stumble on a liquor store holdup. Bucky is shot in the head while a key witness, the liquor store cashier, flees the scene with her screaming baby. Garrity has her work cut out for her. Bucky, like many underpaid cops, has been moonlightingAas a security guard for the owner of the store where the robbery took placeAand the police suspect him of having been involved in the crime. To clear her former partner, who lies close to death in the hospital, and to locate the missing witness, Garrity enlists the aid of the Shamrock Society, whose members include ex-cops from the Atlanta neighborhood where she grew up; she also calls upon two elderly sisters who work for House Mouse, the cleaning business Garrity runs to pay the rent. After another cop is shot, Garrity begins to suspect that something is rotten at the Atlanta P.D. Meanwhile, her current love, Mac MacAuliffe, is contemplating a job offer in Nashville. Trocheck skillfully blends family, generational, ethnic, racial, medical and criminal conflicts into her Irish stew. Her Garrity is an appealing heroine, hard-working and principled, while Bucky is just one of many well-drawn members of the community of family and friends for whom she gives her all in this satisfying tale. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A story called Irish Eyes that begins on St. Patrick's Day and features a protagonist named Callahan Garrity would seem to be aimed at a very targeted audience. In fact, this eighth installment in Trocheck's series will appeal to Irish and non-Irish alike. Former Atlanta cop Garrity returns to crime solving when her ex-partner, Bucky Deavers, is shot on the way home from a party he finagled her into attending at the Shamrock Society. With the help of the eccentric staff of her housecleaning business, Garrity vows to get to the bottom of the shooting. This is an entertaining, suspenseful romp. The plot zips along but not too fast to blur the exceptional characters. Trocheck's obvious firsthand knowledge of Atlanta makes her descriptions of the city shine with realism. Evanovich fans will appreciate some similarities, but Trocheck's humor is drier. Irish eyes won't be the only ones smiling while reading this first-rate thriller. Jenny McLarin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061098698
• ISBN-13: 978-0061098697
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kathy Hogan Trocheck has published 17 novels, 10 critically-acclaimed mysteries under her own name and seven other bestselling novels writing as Mary Kay Andrews.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Trocheck earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1976. She started her professional journalism career in Savannah, Georgia, where she covered the real-life murder trials which were the basis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She left journalism after a ten-year stint as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Her first book, Every Crooked Nanny, featuring a clever, snoopy housecleaner named Callahan Garrity, appeared in 1992. It was followed by seven other Garrity novels including To Live and Die in Dixie (1993), Homemade Sin (1994), Happy Never After (1995), Heart Trouble (1996), Strange Brew (1997), Midnight Clear (1998), and Irish Eyes (2000). The two Truman Kicklighter novels were Lickety Split (1996) and Crash Course (1997).

The first novel to be published under the name Mary Kay Andrews was Savannah Blues (2002). It was followed by Little Bitty Lies (2003); Hissy Fit (2004); the New York Times bestseller, Savannah Breeze (2006); the New York Times bestseller, Blue Christmas (2007); Deep Dish (2008); and the New York Times bestseller, The Fixer Upper (2009).

Her mysteries have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Macavity Awards.

As a lifelong "junker" the author claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market, and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio.

She is a frequent lecturer and writing teacher at workshops including Emory University, The University of Georgia's Harriet Austin Writer's Workshop, the Tennessee Mountain Writer's Workshop, and the Antioch Writer's Workshop. Her mysteries have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity Awards.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of two grown children and a proud grandmother. After a brief hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow. She divides her time between Atlanta and her restored beach cottage on Tybee Island, GA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irish luck for Garrity, Trocheck, March 19, 2000

By 

Steve Burns (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Irish Eyes: A Callahan Garrity Mystery (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Hardcover)

There are all the usual reasons to like "Irish Eyes," the eighth Callahan Garrity mystery, and some new ones. Spunky sleuth and cleaning-service operator Garrity and her gaggle of Southern stereotype associates deal with life, love and death in Atlanta in their usual manners. And, as in most of author Kathy Hogan Trocheck's previous adventures, Garrity has to deal with the changing social and political landscape of a Southern megalopolis that is growing too fast for its own good. This time, ex-cop Garrity's former associate, Bucky Deavers, is shot in a liquor store while Garrity is waiting outside in the car after a St. Patrick's Day event. Soon after, the only witness to the shooting disappears with the security-camera videotape. The spin soon has Deavers, critically wounded in the hospital, as being a rogue, but Garrity doesn't buy it, and she typically won't let the matter drop. It leads her into a world of police corruption that leaves more dead bodies. Meanwhile, Mac, Garrity's significant other, is talking about moving to Nashville. He's fed up with the uncontrolled urban sprawl, and wants Callahan and her mother, Edna, to come along. And it is surprising who is the more stubborn of the two. For comic relief (and some fair gumshoe work of their own), Baby and Sister Easterbrooks return with priceless dialogue and antics. Neva Jean and Swannelle also provide moments in which it is difficult to keep reading through the laughter. Though the main character is the author's alter ego, Trocheck keeps Callahan honest and humble, usually through Edna and Mac. And Callahan, like everyone else, sometimes has to depend on luck to achieve her objectives. So if you are ready for the best dose yet of Trocheck-style humor and humidity, intrigue and insanity, read "Irish Eyes." It follows a trail well, and is obviously leading to some new ones.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery lovers will want this great P.I. mystery, February 17, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Irish Eyes: A Callahan Garrity Mystery (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Former police officer Callahan Garrity owns and operates the successful cleaning service, The House Mouse. Callahan also is a licensed private investigator, who works an occasional case.

On St. Patrick's Day, Callahan and her former police partner Bucky Deavers attend a party sponsored by the Shamrock Society, a fraternal organization of Irish-American police officers. However, Callahn finds little to entertain her and wants to leave. Bucky begrudgingly agrees to take her home. Bucky stops at a local liquor store, but an armed robber shoots him in the head before safely escaping the scene. The store clerk also vanishes.

While Bucky struggles for life in a hospital, rumors surface that he is crooked and part of a series of ATM robberies. Callahan cannot believe that her ex-partner could ever do such horrible acts. She decides to clear his name and uncover the identities of the real perpetrators even though she places herself in danger from individuals desperate enough to kill so that they can keep their identities secret.

Kathy Hogan Trochek can always be counted on to provide her audience with an absorbing and entertaining tale. IRISH EYES, the eighth Garrity Callahan novel is her best work in this strong series due to the powerful characterizations. The heroine's strength, near obsessive determination, and stubbornness feel believable yet stays within the persona of the previous seven stories. The mystery is fun and the ambiance of the South comes across throughout the tale. This original story line will leave fans anxiously anticipating Callahan's next exciting adventure. Ms. Trochek know how to keep each work in her ongoing series fresh and exciting.

Harriet Klausner

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, enjoyable , but........., February 25, 2000

By 

suzatm (PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Irish Eyes: A Callahan Garrity Mystery (Callahan Garrity Mysteries) (Hardcover)

5 for overall book, 1 for circumstances/results. Kathy Hogan Trocheck is one of my favorite writers and this latest book was very good with the mystery, the suspense and the comic adventures of Neva Jean, Baby and Sister. However, my personal opinion rating of the outcome is a 1 as you will understand when you read the book. As in her past books, Kathy Trocheck doesn't really hold any punches with any of her main or semi-main characters. She writes things keeping true to real life, but in wanting to escape into a book I don't like real life to get too close to the characters I have grown to like after a number of books. But that's just my opinion. Don't pass this one up by Kathy Trocheck. From book one she has proven you can be great and still get better.