Customer Reviews

A Stone of the Heart (Penguin Crime Monthly)

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John Brady's first 'Matt Minogue' mystery is a great police procedural. Minogue, a Detective Sergeant with Dublin's Garda, is caught up in a murder investigation that may or may not be related to the 'Troubles' up north. Before it is solved more murders take place and Minogue, himself, is threatened. Brady, who lives near Toronto, has a wonderful hand with dialogue and as one reviewer wrote, it begs to be read aloud. Great for anyone who likes Ian Rankin or Peter Robinson (another Canadian).

The first in the series with Minogue still a sergeant. It's set in an Ireland that reminded me of John Le Carre's cold war Germany. The IRA and the British are involved and there are intricate double double-crosses. The bad guys lose but the good guys don't quite win and are not all good. I had to read it twice to get the plot straight but it was well worth it. Not much humor . Perhaps not the book to read if you're trying not think about September 11, although again that makes it all the more relevant.

A Stone of the Heart is the first Inspector Matt Minogue novel, set in Dublin. Minogue was a victim in a bombing where a man he was supposed to be protecting was killed. He has been on invalid status with the police and is somewhat prone to melancholy and a bit of introspection. His worries spill over into his life and work, where he feels that he is not as valuable to the police force as he once was. And in turn, he makes some of his co-workers and superiors a bit edgy. The action begins when Minogue is sent to Trinity College in Dublin to investigate the death of a student named Jarlath Walsh. Everyone Minogue questioned except Walsh's girlfriend Agnes tells Minogue that Walsh is involved with drugs, but Minogue isn't so sure that that's really the case. Walsh's killing takes on new meaning when Minogue becomes involved in the search for a cop killer, and he finds that Walsh's seemingly random death is related. To be honest, the first part of this book is so incredibly slow that I wrestled with putting it aside and picking up something else. I stuck with it to the end, and it's only about 3/4 of the way through when the action really picks up. Most of the book deals with setting up Minogue's character, because this is the first in a series. Hopefully in the books following this one, we'll all know that Minogue is a bit of a neurotic, a victim of ptsd and we can move on to a faster-moving plot. Overall, not too bad, but beware...it is slow. If you're a mystery reader like myself, you may find it a bit tame but it's still an okay read. Recommended for those who like mysteries set in Ireland or mysteries in general.