From Publishers Weekly
This complex follow-up to A Stone of the Heart again features Sgt. Matt Minogue of Dublin's Garda Murder Squad, here called upon to investigate the strangulation of 73-year-old Arthur Combs, an unprepossessing man who kept to himself. But Combs was actually a British agent, and had been barred from England for nearly 40 years as a security risk. Unbeknownst to Minogue, MI5 agent James Kenyon is poring over Combs's personnel files to make sure that Combs's death won't bring to light anything that will embarrass the government. When the man who had "handled" Combs is killed by the Irish National Liberation Army, the puzzle begins to come together, but it is up to Minogue to find the surprising linchpin in the case. Brady is juggling many elements--ornate motives; the efforts of Kenyon vs. those of Minogue--and his plotting is occasionally dense. Characterizations, however, are ripe and the conclusion is particularly clever.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Dublin's answer to Maigret, Sergeant Matt Minogue (introduced in the provocative A Stone of the Heart, 1988), in trying to sort out the murder by strangling of a rambling tippler, 73-year-old Englishman Arthur Combs, finds himself in the middle of a WW II spy cover-up involving MI6. Anxious about incriminating bits that Combs may have left behind, the English send a man in to dog Minogue's investigation. Soon Combs's former contact, Ball, is murdered by Irish terrorists; Combs's secret data is retrieved from an out-to- pasture horse; and Minogue's simple murder case is overrun by nefarious British intelligence types who--with more murder on their minds--want to keep the lid on Combs's wartime activities and the dastardly lengths his superiors went to keep him at them. By the time Minogue pieces together Combs's story, several more have died; the British embassy is busy ferrying its wounded warriors back home; and Minogue is recommended for promotion. A handsomely written, dark journey into Irish politics and English duplicity. Brady is a master of the telling detail, and within the framework of the political novel, has created memorable characters, most especially the estimable Minogue. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
