St Patrick's Day Special (Mystery Crime Thriller) (Ben Jordan) [Kindle Edition]

JJ Toner (Author)

Book Description

Crime is rampant in Ireland. It is 2004 and the ancient land of saints and scholars, has changed. Corruption is endemic in high places. Irish society thrives on the twin pillars of institutionalized greed and organized crime. Church steeples are outnumbered by the tower cranes of avaricious developers and the cities resonate to the sounds of police sirens.

Detective Inspector Ben Jordan of Ireland’s Organized Crime Unit focuses on crimes of violence involving firearms and terror. His nemesis, Aloysius Lafferty, specializes in bank and building society heists, cash-in-transit robberies, and “tiger” kidnappings.

The two men face off in a deadly game of suspense that only one can win. Lafferty fights dirty, murder and deception his weapons of choice. Jordan is determined to work within the law, whatever gets thrown at him. But then Lafferty drags Jordan’s family into the battle...

Product Details

• File Size: 434 KB
• Print Length: 311 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: JJ Toner; 1 edition (August 27, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005JPEGKG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,021 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Hitting Thrills. September 7, 2011

By Paul D Brazill

Format:Kindle Edition

J J Toner's St Patrick's Day Special hits the ground running and doesn't let up. Gritty realism and social commentary combine in a wonderfully well written, hard hitting thriller.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of St. Patrick's Day September 6, 2011

By julianalbrandt

Format:Kindle Edition

Set in present day Ireland, Ben Jordan is an officer who has worked on the same case for the past three years. Jordan has worked tirelessly to put Aloysius Lafferty, a crime lord, behind bars. Just when Lafferty's about to be put behind bars, Gannon, the man testifying against Lafferty, is shot and killed, and Jordan is back to square one.

I have to admit that I mostly read YA, but even still JJ Toner's novel, St. Patrick's Day Special, held me captive from beginning to end. This is the first book I have read by Toner and I find myself looking forward to the next installment of the Ben Jordan Books.

Jordan's unfailing obsession with Lafferty took hold of me and was most likely the reason I couldn't put this book down. It was as if Jordan's obsession became my own.

My one criticism, if it can be called that, is that on occasion, I got lost during dialogue because of infrequent tags. In general though, I was turning pages as fast as I could. The twists at the end left me both anxious and also laughing. It was, overall, a well-crafted read.

Also, as I'm from the U.S., I actually really enjoyed reading about a setting I wasn't as familiar with, as well as the differences in word choice.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fasten your seat belts! October 9, 2011

By Les Edgerton

Format:Kindle Edition

Secure your seat belt before embarking on this ride! Just a warning to expect twists and turns aplenty on JJ Toner's wild crime ride. I'd say that this was a page-turner and if I was just reading to be entertained that would be true. But, I'm also a writer and I had to keep stopping to make notes on his techniques that I plan to steal for my own writing! I'll leave it to others to deliver the plot points--I'll just say that the tension never leaves the page and Ben Jordan doesn't spiral down into the abyss--he plunges into it head-first. And, lest you think all is grim on the Toner landscape, the black humor he employs at just the right moment lightens the read with delicious and perfect pitch. Get this book and then keep your eyes open for his next one!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrill ride from page one to the end December 12, 2012

By Marti J.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

WOW! I have discovered a new detective. D.I. Ben Jordan is an honest cop, albeit slightly flawed. The book is set in Dublin (I live in the US) but I quickly adapted to the language differences.

J.J. Toner has given us a page-turner novel that will keep you reading until the end. The characters in the book are described in detail. The who is a "villain" and who is a "good person" will not be revealed until the end of the book.

Turn to page one, and D.I. Ben Jordan will take you by the hand and drag you along for his adventures when he is trying to solve a murder. Be sure to put on your seat belt and body armor as you follow along with Jordan!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty crime thriller July 8, 2012

By David Gaughran

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book immensely. While the main character, Detective Ben Jordan, embodies a familiar trope in crime fiction - world-weary cop who (ab)uses alcohol as a way of coping with his job - the characterization is really strong. The writer has a great ear for Dublin slang (the taxi-drivers were especially amusing), which really adds to the atmosphere of the book. The villains were pitched just right - sick and ruthless, without being too over-the-top. And there's just enough humor to dispel the bleak, gritty nature of the narrative. Being from Ireland, he has really captured the time (early 2000s) very well. It's an interesting start to (what I hope is) a series, and I'll be looking out for the next one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Author knows his subjects!! May 29, 2012

By lanpcs

Format:Kindle Edition

Great read and enjoyed the main character who is a cross between House and Columbus. Very fast paced crime thriller, and kept me entertained on the way to my holidays even made the journey enjoyable. We have the bad guys, corrupted Garda and even an undercover Interpol agent what more would you want along with a great story. Excellent read, hope the author writes more Ben Jordan books as I will definitely purchase them. Makes a change for me as an Irish reader to read an Irish based novel that is realistic without over doing the " Irish " bit. The author knows his Irish sense of humor and there are plenty of tongue-in-cheek moments in the book. Recommended read *****

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars St. Patrick's Day is Special April 2, 2012

By Wright Forbucks

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a second generation Irish American. My grandmother "came over" when she was eighteen years old. She could make awesome soda bread, without a measuring cup, and led a large family by example. Being so, I occasionally like to read books set in Ireland, thus my initial attraction to JJ Toner's St. Patrick's Day. I had previously read JJ's comical science fiction short stories and I thought they were great. In St. Patrick's Day Special JJ has established a character named Ben Jordan. Ben deals with complex family issues, including his own faults, while working through a tangled murder mystery. It all works, especially the family interactions. I also enjoyed the setting of the novel and found myself, on more than one occasion, googling some term or address to learn more about Ireland. If you like thrillers you're going to enjoy St. Patrick's Day, especially if you're Irish and thus have considerable experience with drinking and/or playing a piano...

More About the Author

My background is in Mathematics and computing, but I have been writing full time since 2005. I write short stories and novels (2 thrillers published on kindle so far). Many of my short stories have been published in mainstream magazines; some have won competitions. Most recently, I have wandered into some very dodgy company who have encouraged me to write noir stories. Two of these have been published: in Noir Nation (#1) and eNoir (#1) and a third will appear soon in Paul D Brazill's upcoming book, Drunk on the Moon 2 featuring Paul's werewolf detective Roman Dalton.

My web site: http://www.jjtoner.net/
General blog: http://euclid-thoughts.blogspot.com/
eBook blog: http://jjtoner.wordpress.com/

I live in Ireland with my wife and our youngest son.