I should mention right off the bat that the publisher was kind enough to send me a digital copy of ‘The Ghosts of Galway’ through Netgalley for review.

I honestly had no expectations when I started reading the book. In fact, I wasn’t even aware that it is the latest in a series of books centred around the character of Jack Taylor, so much so, I’m not entirely clear on his history. Only that he used to be a Guard, and things have been on the downward spiral for a while.

He’s a security guard when the story begins, but the name Jack Taylor apparently still commands respect. His employer sets him on the task of tracking down a rare anti-Biblical book, but things go sideways pretty soon.

The story itself is a rather simple tale of revenge with an odd cult thrown into the mix.

Most of the characters are barely developed, though I suspect it is by design, as we read the story from the point of view of the protagonist. Due to that, we only come to know as much about any character as Jack Taylor cared to share.

The narrative has a thick noir-style to it, with our hardboiled cynic of a protagonist barely even making an effort to pick himself up. He stumbles from folly to folly before feeling enough anger to do something about his life.

I must spend a little more time on the cynical worldview Jack Taylor has. I could easily relate to it, though I suspect it says more about me than it does the character himself.

It is frustrating to see Taylor not give a damn when his world is collapsing about him. In fact, at one point, he suffers a deeply personal tragedy, but so lost is he that he cannot bring himself to do anything about it.

The antagonist of the story, Emily (who fancies emeralds) is a rather complex, unhinged and scary young girl. She has a penchant for dramatic, showy and deliberate violence.

One of Emily's many shocking actions is a straw that broke the camel’s back, and it directly sets up the novel’s conclusion.

And what a brilliant, dark and richly satisfying ending it is, too.

The author pulls no punches. His staccato style of prose makes for lines that are the equivalent of an emotional gut punch. His penchant for breaking sentences up over several lines makes it easier for him to write lines that carry great shock value.

I may be only a recent initiate to the seedy world that Jack Taylor inhabits, but there is little doubt in my mind that this is a world I’m eager to discover from the start.

A solid tale, darkly told.

Jack Taylor is in a dark time in his life, having recently dealt with an incorrect medical diagnosis and an attempted suicide. He has lost his position as a guarda and is now a nighttime security guard for a Ukrainian thug. Jack drinks too much. Way, way too much. Having little regard for life he is perfect for a dangerous side job his Ukrainian boss puts him on- find The Red Book . the first book of heresy, taken from the Vatican and possible in the hands of a rogue priest. Jack also dislikes priests so his quest makes him extra irritable- if this is possible. His current situation also causes him to cross paths with Em, a woman he has a love/hate relationship with which includes no trust whatsoever. In fact, they threaten to kill each other frequently throughout the book The only positive thing going in his life right now is his dog.......
Jack is the perfect choice for this 'mission' since he doesn't exactly care if he lives or dies, which leaves him to make risky, haphazard decisions and confront homicidal criminals to get the answers he's looking for. He makes enemies along the way and faces consequences of his actions. He's a guy without anything to lose- the most dangerous kind.

This is my first Jack Taylor novel and, while I really liked it, I believe I would have liked it more if I knew more about Jack's past. The book hints of what he's gone through but I will have to go back and read to really feel where he is in his life right now. What makes him as dark as the city he lives in. He's cynical and depressed and dependent on alcohol. But there is also humor (dark, of course!) which carries through the book so it's not a completely dismal read.
I'm left with many questions I need to find the answers to: What is Jack and Em's relationship about? What is up with Jack's mom and priests? What was the grave medical diagnosis and is that what lead Jack to attempt to take his life?
Looking forward to going back to the start to follow Jack down the path that lead him to The Ghosts Of Galway.

The Ghosts of Galway is an interesting story told in a most unique way. You could call it author drunk or author stoned or author crazy. But crazy doesn't really describe the writing so much as it does the story. We get a view of the life of one Jack Taylor, a life that is not for me to describe now having seen how author Ken Bruen does it. It's a very unpredictable story, but I did enjoy it, even if at times I thought I was the crazy one. You won't read another novel like it any time soon.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

The description of this book interested me greatly. Though I had a difficult time following the plot line, the writing kept me going. But the characters and their motivations I found unsatisfying and confusing, and felt that the author just didn't give me enough to go on to understand them better.

I didn't care for the authors' writing style. It was very ADHD. The author jumps from topic to topic and didn't develop the characters in any depth. He unnecessarily name drops a bunch of book, and movie titles and the names of many different types of alcohol that do nothing to enhance the story. I know there is a story there but the way it was written made it difficult to follow the story line.

As in previous Ken Bruen novels, Jack Taylor has the bitter edginess of an alcoholic. There were, however, far too many f-bombs. I get it … he’s supposed to be rough-talking. To repeat, excessive on the f-bombs as well as too many killings for the sake of killing.

I enjoyed the comments throughout and all their Irish-ness as well as the subtle humor shown in both comments and thoughts.

The most minor part of the book is the plot. It’s there, but the real stuff is the side happenings with a little bit of character development thrown in..

The writing is erratic and choppy, but it works. It gives a feeling of the anything-but-smooth life of Jack Taylor.

I did not like and found annoying all the ramblings and the sporadic and erratic references to other literature. It was as though the author has severe ADD and can’t keep his mind on the tale.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Ghosts of Galway.

I really enjoy the Jack Taylor series and this one did not disappoint. A glorious mix of fascinating characters in abundance. Ukranian gangsters and priests, coupled with some dark and witty writing, makes this another great read from Ken Bruen. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

The Ghosts of Galway is the latest instalment in Bruen's Jack Taylor series. At the outset Jack is in a right state, following a failed suicide attempt. Amid considerable self-loathing and ongoing pain, he takes a job as a security guard. His reputation precedes him, however, and he is soon summoned by the boss to take on a more lucrative job, recovering a missing religious text: the Red Book.

Jack makes snippy references to Dan Brown, but still takes the gig. In the process, he soon finds himself involved with Jeremy, the leader of a nascent cult, and with Emerald, a ruthless woman prepared to stoop to almost anything.

Emerald reminded me a bit of Alice from the Luther TV series; both appalling and attractive at the same time. She's a complex and distinctive character, and a perfect foil for Taylor's surly, alcohol-fuelled PI. Neither is to be under-estimated, and both are implacable.

I enjoyed the prose in this book, with its blend of a very hard-boiled narrative with almost poetic strings of short sentences. It is a bit circumlocutory (perhaps intentionally?) at times, for example we are introduced to the character of Sister Maeve in almost the same terms, three times.

I'm a bit late to the party with this series, picking it up at instalment 14. I sensed that there might be plot twists here that I could be missing due to not having read earlier entries in the series. This wasn't a problem, but it has whetted my appetite for going back and reading the earlier books.

Much of the time in any book featuring Jack Taylor by Bruen, we are contemplating and admiring the well-worn character of the now-ex-Guard in his Irish setting - his heavy drinking, his violent but heartfelt ways of dealing with people - including a psychopath who has fallen for him, and a manipulative dying fake-religious leader. And there are layers that the deft Bruen manages to indicate and which he helps us navigate too. Who is a good person and who not - he is concerned to separate them out whatever they may think of him. This is a conspiracy involving priests, drugs and hard ball ... you have to know that Bruen is digressive and to realise that you will be weaving among opinion not only about matters in hand, but books, styles of talk, music and general comment on newsworthy event. Attending closely (painless) you can pull a plot together and soon you are admiring how he did it. Really top value and distinct one.

This is the 13th novel in the Jack Taylor series from the prolific, award-winning Ken Bruen. I love Noir and crime fiction and ripped through this in a very short time. The first person point of view prose of the rambling, sometimes shambling, Jack Taylor is riveting. The author tips his hat to other crime writers, quoting snips from their novels where appropriate, but I especially loved that the title is homage to James Lee Burke’s “In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead.” James Lee Burke is one of my top favorite authors—though I only read the Robicheaux stories—I never really fell into the Montana or Texas novels. Big plus, Electric Mist is my favorite of his novels.

Apparently, Jack has had a long and harrowing fall from having once been a Garda, and he’s left a lot of violence and hatred in his wake, but new trouble always seems to find him. Also, the story takes place in 2016 where the deaths of music icons Bowie, Prince, and Cohen have an affect on Jack’s inner landscape, as does Trump creeping up America’s skirts…something ugly has crept into Galway dragging with it a fallen priest, a psycho ex, and a long list of innocents.

I’ve never read Ken Bruen before, and I love his short and lilting, yet brutal, style, the near stream-of-consciousness of Jack’s thoughts as he races from pun to pun only he seems to get. He must have a good rep, though, as everyone wants to hire him to get the job done.

My one complaint: Contractions don’t get used enough and the language sometimes feels a little stilted, which takes away, in my opinion, from the casual style.

So, I’m going to go back to the beginning of this series and start reading. You should to, if you like noir and crime fiction :)

I liked this one. It was a solid read. Among contemporary hardboiled mystery writers, Ken Bruen is one of the most interesting. Maybe not a Don Winslow, but surely in par with Jason Starr (whom he written a couple of novels with).
Just like Chandler and Hammett, Ken Bruen writes a very heightened prose. It's very effective when the prose breaks up and turns into some kind of strange, hardboiled poetry.
Recommended!

I've only read a few Irish noir/crime books, but I find them intriguing. This was my first Jack Taylor novel, and I loved it. While I had no trouble following the characters or plot, I now want to go back and read ALL the prior Jack Taylor novels. Written in a spare, rather choppy writing style, the grit and violence is interspersed with dark Irish humor and comments referencing current day pop culture and classic and other literature. It is a quick and easy but gripping read; sudden and brutal acts of violence punctuate the plot when least expected. Ken Bruen - you have a new fan! Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Loved it!

This is another installment in Bruen’s Jack Taylor series so I think you’ll enjoy this more if you’ve read the previous books which would have given you a more thorough understanding and appreciation for the characters plus Bruen’s writing style which can be on the rough side with lots of ‘colorful’ language. For non-UK people: he uses words and phrases common to Ireland and the area so if you aren’t familiar with them you might feel lost. If you haven’t read him before, particularly his previous Taylor novels, hopefully you’ll cut Bruen some slack and if you aren’t familiar with the different phraseology look at this as an adventure, a chance to expand your vocabulary and appreciate a culture different from yours.

Bruen returns in his typical brilliant fashion to provide another nail-biting plot that combines some great action sequences with Taylor’s wonderfully written emotional trauma that is his life. Fans of Taylor will love this book as you get dive back into the type of humor only an Irishman can write with settings that somehow still jump off the page as if you’re there taking in the beauty and grit around you.

Bruen is not for the faint hearted as he doesn’t pull his punches and seems to revel in graphic details which comes out full force in this novel. Whether his plot devices contain politics (after all with Trump president who is NOT wading into those waters these days?), bloody violence, disturbing psychological behavior, or seemingly impossible actions for a man who at his age should be spending his time having a pint of the black stuff while telling rousing tales in the pub Bruen is going to hit a nerve and that edginess is what makes him worth reading.

I am grateful to the publishers and netgalley for letting me read this book but in all honesty I can not find any redeeming factors about it. This is the thirteenth book in the Jack Taylor series by Ken Bruen and I wanted to read it as I live in the west of Ireland. I had heard good things about the previous novels in the series and the concept of the stolen red book showed promise but the writing was extremely haphazard with minor details being treated in more depth than the story itself. The story did not flow at all, there was a lot of unnecessary profanity and the book was a mess. Sorry but I can not recommend it to anybody.

I had never read the series following this character, but I'm glad that I was able to be gifted the opportunity to read a copy from Netgalley. The feelings of strife and vindication are all too real, and the action - delightfully shocking. I'd love to continue the series.

Ken Bruen is a master. I have never read a Bruen book/story that I did not thoroughly enjoy. Always great characters and spectacular writing.

A violent sentimental fugue of a novel, enjoyable for Bruen's prose and love of place. Jack has gone far far beyond redemption and the blood alcohol level and body count in Bruen's Galway is unsustainably high. Black humour holds it together.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Alexander Knox-Keaton is from the Ukraine with his odd name and is the owner of the security agency at which Jack Taylor (our hero) works. Jack is recovering from a failed suicide attempt and seems less likely to go off on people anymore – or so he convinces himself.

But go off on people he does. Jack is back with all his attitude and savoire faire. When his boss asks him to retrieve “The Red Book” Jack scoffs until he sees the check his boss has proffered. There are those who claim it to be the first real book of heresy. An ex-priest by the name of Frank Miller supposedly has the book. Jack locates him in an old hotel and roughs Frank up a bit to get the response that he had some pages but has since burned them.

When Jack is questioned about the ex-priest’s death, Jack admits that he met him once. Upon returning to Alexander Knox-Keaton’s home to report Frank’s death, he gets summarily dismissed. What about the dead man? Jack stubbornly refuses to give up the case. He begins to investigate his death and gets into all kinds of trouble.

At the same time, some group is dumping dead animals in the street and Em has been badly beaten and is in the hospital.

So it’s business as usual for our lyrical Irish hero. Well-read and pugnacious, Jack goes about his business in his inimical way. As Em recovers Jack learns that she has something to do with The Red Book as well.

As the bad guys make life difficult and close in on Jack, he fights back in his truly Jack Taylor style. Increasingly plagued by the ghosts of his past, Jack forges on in his quest.

This book is very well and uniquely written and plotted. It’s Ken Bruen at his best. I like Jack in spite of his – err…um…faults. I like the way he sees his world – and the way Mr. Bruen puts it on paper. The Jack Taylor series is one of my favorites and I certainly hope Mr. Bruen keeps writing the novels.

I want to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read.

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the humour. Atmospheric and funny and beautifully and skilfully written. Definitely worth reading.