GALWAY GIRL: A Jack Taylor Novel
Ken Bruen
Mysterious Press
ISBN 978-0-8021-4793-6
Hardcover
Thriller

GALWAY GIRL works very, very well even though it should not. The same can be said of more or less all of Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor novels. Taylor is a difficult figure to behold. He is a former Galway Garda turned informal private investigator who alternates between almost perpetual drunkenness and occasional, abbreviated bouts of sobriety. Taylor is bent though not broken, damaged though not destroyed, even as he slides further toward those respective endgames with each installment of the canon due to his propensity to make bad choices and engage in worse actions with unfortunate consequences that ripple elliptically from his epicenter. Bruen’s prose style consists of short, choppy sentences shot full with grim street poetry and relayed for the most part (with occasional shifts of perspective) in Taylor’s first-person voice. It is noteworthy that as a result the reader occasionally knows what Taylor is going to do before Taylor tells him so, something which provides plenty of opportunity for cringing.

Cringing? Oh, yes indeed. GALWAY GIRL is cringeworthy and more, in all the best ways. The reason is that even when one anticipates that Taylor, or any character really, in GALWAY GIRL is going to do one still hopes against hope that they won’t. Hopes such as these are repeatedly dashed. The tale is so beautifully and bleakly told, however, that one simply cannot. stop. reading.

Let’s discuss specifics for a bit. GALWAY GIRL shares its title with a marvelous Steve Earle song (as well as a better known but less appealing, different tune by Ed Sheeran). Earle’s “Galway Girl” is referenced repeatedly throughout Bruen’s identically titled work. I listened to Earle’s song non-stop while reading GALWAY GIRL, and recommend that you do as well. Earle’s song is about a woman who breaks his heart; Taylor’s Galway girl is a woman who is out to kill him. Her name is Trish but she goes by Jericho, and she has a major mad-on for Taylor specifically as the result of a prior action of his. A note here: each of Bruen’s Taylor novels builds on the last --- isn’t life just like that? --- but he does a prime job of giving newbie readers (and those of us who have difficulty remembering where we left the phone, let alone what happened a year ago) just enough information to follow along. Jericho recruits two other somewhat twisted Galway residents into her scheme, which involves inflicting as much pain, psychic and otherwise, upon Taylor as she can. And inflict it, she does. What is interesting in GALWAY GIRL, however, is that Taylor performs an act of kindness which, instead of badly boomeranging on him and everyone around him, actually carries the seeds of his potential salvation, however temporary, with a few twists, turns, and curves. The result is an ending that is dark as pitch but oddly satisfying.

Bruen as always gives his readers more in GALWAY GIRL than a top-flight story. There are plenty of cultural recommendations disguised as stream-of-consciousness mentions, current events commentary (you won’t agree with everything, I guarantee it), and, if I am not mistaken, an occasional third-person sighting of the author in his own book. It is but one indication of the casual power of Bruen’s writing that I am already cringing at what might happen in Bruen’s next Taylor tale, even as I eagerly and impatiently anticipate it. Very strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Someone is targeting the Irish Guard (police) in the unusual and twisty thriller, Galway Girl.

Jack Taylor, is a former Guard and currently alcoholic private detective who is trying to get over his daughter’s recent murder when he witnesses a Guard shot point-blank in front of his apartment. In addition, he has several concurrent cases. An ambitious priest asks Jack to run off his famous actress sister’s leeching girlfriend. A woman wants Jack to make her daughter’s killer confess to his crime. When the killer is beaten to death, Jack is arrested for the crime.

What seems like a random drunken tumble into Jack’s life does come together in a clever whodunit by the end. The twists and turns of the plot almost gave this reader whiplash so unexpectedly and quickly they were coming by the end.

There is also an extraordinary amount of Irish atmosphere. Hopefully, you have a love for Irish poetry, soccer, Irish literature, and/or 1980s and 1990s rock bands like Snow Patrol and Oasis. It may take a while to get used to the writing style but once you do, it really adds to the immersion in Galway.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Galway Girl. It has a lot of everything: Irish atmosphere, great characters, a twisty plot, and best of all, a slam-bam final act. 5 stars!

Thanks to Mysterious Press, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ken Bruen has written one twisted tale of revenge and malice. Jack Taylor is grieving the death of his daughter and in a foul mood. When his former co-workers start turning up dead he goes into survival mode. Up against a demented female foe, he must wade the depths of evil, trust unexpected allies, and hope; no pray; to survive. Quick, hard core crime that makes you think about the lengths you would go to to protect those you love.
Contains explicit language and violence.

Published by Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press on November 5, 2019

Ken Bruen always packs a lot of story into his novels, while using a bare minimum of well-chosen and artfully arranged words surrounded by quite a bit of white space. Some of those words nod at current political realities or popular culture, including music and crime novels, while others illuminate the complexity of Galway, where snooty fern bars compete with grimy pubs that leave hardcore drinkers like Jack Taylor largely undisturbed. (Speaking of pop culture, two songs called “Galway Girl,” one by Ed Sheeran and one by Steve Earle, have been hits in Ireland. Bruen tips his hat to both songs during the course of the novel.)

Jack is mourning his latest tragedy (no spoiler here, but read In the Galway Silence to find the most recent explanation for Taylor’s heavy drinking) while a fellow named Scott, son of a recently deceased Guard (an Irish cop), is commencing a killing spree that targets Guards. Jack, a former Guard turned private investigator, witnesses one of the killings.

The same killing is filmed by a person who calls herself Jericho. Recent novels featured a woman named Emerald who tormented Jack; Jericho is her replacement. Jack, as he laments, seems to be a magnet for “crazies, lunatics, dispossessed, neurotics.” Most of them are homicidal.

A subplot involves a woman who wants to hire Jack because the mayor’s eleven-year-old son drowned her ten-year-old daughter. The woman thinks Jack might make Jimmy confess. What she means is, Jack might get revenge on her behalf, but even Jack won’t murder a child. The woman turns out to be more Machiavellian than Jack suspects.

Another subplot involves the sudden appearance of the son of Jack’s former best friend — a bestie until Jack killed him. With good reason, Jack is running low on friends. His dead friend’s son wants to even the score, but he’ll need to stand in line. That storyline is likely to stretch into future novels, as will Jack’s relationship with a falconer — a relationship that will only last until Bruen decides to kill him off.

One of Jack’s friends (but only when he wants something from Jack) is a priest. The priest wants Jack to get rid of his sister’s lesbian lover because a relative’s lesbian relationship isn’t good for the priest’s image. That storyline ties into another. In fact, the storylines generally weave together, suggesting that each bit of evil in Galway is part of a larger whole. Another of his friends is a nun, perhaps the only character in the series who sees something besides darkness in Jack’s heart. She features prominently in the plot before the novel ends.

I always enjoy and recommend Bruen’s novels, and this one is no exception. The story has less power, however, than some other Taylor novels, if only because of its familiarity. Crazy female killers is a theme that should have been put to rest with Emerald. Reprising it with Jericho has a “same old” feeling while making me wonder just how many crazy female killers Galway can support. Still, for Ken Bruen fans, even a lesser Jack Taylor novel is better than living through another year with no new Jack Taylor novel at all.

RECOMMENDED

This is the fifteenth book in the Jack Taylor series set in Ireland. Taylor, whose daughter was killed in the previous book, has hit rock bottom. He’s angry, drunk, and out of control all the time. Then someone begins killing Garda (police) officers.

This is not exactly an easy read on any level. If this is your first exposure to Jack Taylor you might want to read previous entries in the series to get to know Jack better. If you like mysteries full of violence, complicated with several sub-plots, multiple characters who are not introduced in any meaningful way, you’re going to love this book. Added to all that is the author’s writing – it’s almost staccato, it’s hard to tell who is speaking at times, and the dialogue difficult to track. Jack’s penchant for obscure poets doesn’t add much to the book either.

If you’re a Ken Bruen fan, you’re going to love this book.

My thanks to Mysterious Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC.

Wow. I just finished reading the second half of Ken Bruen’s latest entry in his darkly moral Jack Taylor series, Galway Girl. Is Ken Bruen Ireland’s answer to James Lee Burke or vice versa? Chock full of pop culture references, violent scenes, tender moments and biblical justice, Galway Girl is a quick short shot to the solar plexus of the reader. Highly recommended as always!

This must be at least the third book in which the song Galway girl has been a recurring character in itself. So, take a moment to appreciate the influence of that one song on the collective conscious of an entire generation.

The first thing to get used to in this book is the language. It is English. But the author has chosen to portray the local slang in all its glory, and once you have have managed to somewhat decipher the euphemisms and obscure references, you begin to enjoy this somewhat gory thriller.

The main protagonist is so completely lost and such a unfathomable character that until the very end, I could not decide whether he was truly a hero or just a lucky drunkard. There is also an old wood sprite like man who comes to the rescue of Jack and adds that fantastical twist which ultimately ends in an even more fantastic climax.
Did I ultimately enjoy the book? Yes. Would I want to read it again? Not Really. Would I recommend it to someone? Certainly to fans of the Crime Thriller genre.

Someone is killing Garda officers. Brutally. And they are all connected in some way to Jack Taylor, a former officer who is drinking his life away after the murder of his own daughter. This is Irish Noir at the max. Be aware that it's dark, it's violent, it can sometimes come at you from an angle you didn't expect. Jack initially refuses to get involved in solving this nightmare but comes around. There's a soulless quality to these killers, most especially Jericho, a young woman with a death wish for both herself and others. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. I haven't read all of the books in this series so this was more or less a standalone for me= and that was fine although I do suspect I missed nuances (to the extent there are any- this is pretty blunt). Fans of the TV series will also find this a good read. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

I couldn't connect to the characters and the plot didn't keep my attention.
Well written but not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The latest installment of the Jack Taylor books sees our protagonist deep in a funk and mourning the death of his daughter. When he witnesses the murder of a young Guard almost on his doorstep , he is drawn into the investigation, little knowing that he is also a target. As events and people from his past rise up to haunt him, he must figure out what is going on before more of his few remaining friends become targets.
As always the book incorporates real life news and events, giving it a very definite grounding in time and place , and Jack's trademark black and bleak humor is still his most redeeming feature, along with his loyalty to those who deserve it. Once again I found the writing a little disjointed, but in a way this almost mirrors the way Jack seems to think, so I am willing to go with it. There are no shortage of surprises to keep the reader hooked along the way and I am sure that fans of Ken Bruen and his creation will find a lot to enjoy in this book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and the author, Ken Bruen, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Galway Girl in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read. I thought the authors portrayal of the main character, Jack Taylor, was gritty and realistic. He is a man on the spiral of self destruction but at the same time wanting his life to have meaning. 3.5 stars.
Worth a read for fans of the genre.

3.5 stars

I finally caught my breath after reading this fast paced, action full book about Jack Taylor. I can't believe he's still alive and kicking after the death of his daughter in a previous book. Sunk in his alcoholic stupor, he seems to have his defenses lowered and gets sucked into several scams that get him arrested. A murder of someone close snaps him out his reverie and he plots revenge.

Meanwhile three depraved young people start killing members of the Garda and then a famous person. They have ties to Taylor. It's up to him to stop the murders. I am not sure if there is anyone left who is close to him so I have no idea where another book would go.

This is a dark read full of literary references. It kind of just flows and there are times when I wasn't sure of who was narrating. Still the action was nonstop and I kept reading to find out what would happen next.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

This book is a wondrous literary tribute to various authors as well as musicians (e.g. Rolling Stones) and experiences of another era. It cannot be compared to other books that are referred to as "Murder Mysteries" for it is not that, nor a police procedural. For all the good the Garda does in preventing or solving murders in Galway they can be regarded as background noise or buzzing mosquitoes that descend on Taylor occasionally with no impact or results that lead to justice.

Yes, there are people killed by a psychopath as well as other random murders. Garda members are being killed. The psychopath has her eyes set on Taylor, however, and anyone he may care about even though he is not close to recovery after the death of his daughter (previous book).

There are mostly dark moments but also sparks of restoration and hope in contacts between Taylor and his nun friend, for example. Prior to preparations in the area for a papal visit Jack gets to exchange friendship with a nun who gives him a new jacket to replace his Garda jacket. "'Will you try it?' I said, 'To tell the truth (always a precursor to a lie) I kind of associate wax jackets with the royal family and toffs massacring pheasants.' She began to laugh, said, 'You're a holy terror.'" A sad ending to that visit being marked by the psychopath to be sure.

As Galway is busy with pope preparations, Jack gets busy with falcon training from a new friend he is connected to via his father. "His voice, I would learn, was a blend of Hipster (the sixties type), Scottish, Surfer, Biker. If he'd been literary, he could have played Hemingway or James Crumley."

Of course, Taylor continues his drinking ways...or the beat goes on. This is a good read.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for advanced copy through Net Galley

3.5 stars rounded up.
Another tale of murder in Galway, Ireland. Jack Taylor is an ex Garda(police), now private eye. Jack is depressed and drinking heavily, grieving over the murder of his daughter in a previous book. There is a trio of psychopaths murdering people and Jack is a suspect. The murders are resolved. This is a dark book with sarcastic comments on Irish society.
One quote: "The days after my daughter was murdered right before my eyes, I was Briste, broken, in Irish."
Thanks to Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#GalwayGirl #NetGalley

My first Ken Bruen and what an interesting read it was - quirky, violent, lyrical, Irish noir. Perhaps number 15 in the series is not the best place to be introduced to Jack Taylor, but despite the pared back style of the writing I caught the sense of the man and his backstory pretty quickly.

Garda officers are being killed, initially by the son of a revered officer who soon pairs up with the son of a man killed by Jack Taylor and a psychotic Galway girl by the name of Jericho to form an unholy trio of killers. Ex Guard and now PI, Jack Taylor, drowning his sorrows with Jameson and drugs over the brutal murder of his daughter, refuses to help the Garda until it becomes personal and he takes matters into his own hands, wreaking a most unusual revenge.

My first taste of Ken Bruen has made me curious for more of his flawed, dissolute character and his brilliant, sardonic writing laced with quotes from music and books.

Thanks to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic and Mysterious Press for providing me a free copy of this book for this honest review.

Those readers familiar with Ken Bruen know that although he has written some lighter books (such as the very funny Max and Angela Hard Case Crime series with Jason Starr), he mostly writes dark books. The Jack Taylor series is probably his darkest and most well-known series, and GALWAY GIRL is one of the darkest books in the series so far. This book and the series take place in Galway, Ireland where Taylor, a former member of the Irish Guards, frequents the bars for his Guinness and Jameson while occasionally working to help others.

Taylor has had a tough time of late and so have the local Galway Guards (Garda) as someone has been killing them off. Jack Taylor doesn’t really want to get involved but does anyway, especially when one of the guards is one he recently met.

Jericho is an evil woman from Galway who enjoys killing and having others help her. She has something against Jack Taylor because she believes he was responsible for killing her former lover. The two are working against each other with only one likely to survive in the end.

I’ve read eighteen books by Ken Bruen, including 6 of the 15 books in the Jack Taylor series. I read the first four books and IN THE GALWAY SILENCE, the book just prior to GALWAY GIRL. Although I have most of the books in the series, I am behind but decided to read IN THE GALWAY SILENCE, a book I picked up in August when I was in Galway, to be somewhat caught up prior to reading GALWAY GIRL. Although I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the series, or even recent books in the series, it does help, especially to understand the reason for the depressed state that Jack Taylor is in at the beginning of GALWAY GIRL. I also think being familiar with some other writers with some similar styles to Ken Bruen helps appreciate the author references that Bruen sprinkles throughout his books but that’s just the fun of reading Bruen.

#GalwayGirl #NetGalley
Crap writing with crap plot.
The title is appearing unnecessarily in the book again and again. Writing and editing are not good. I think the book is in its first draft. A lot of work is required on this one. Character of Jack was ok but others were not tolerable.

A great character in an unconventional story with a muddled plot.

I became aware of Jack Taylor through the TV series. Watched it, loved it. There's also a book series? I'm in!

The basic info on Jack is that he's a former officer with the Garda Síochána (the police force in Ireland) who now works as a private investigator. He's a dark anti-hero. Imagine the classic P.I. character, add a double-dose of hardluck, mix in a liberal amount of irreverent attitude and a potty mouth then have him border on the edge of Irish caricature... Got the picture? Makes no difference because Jack doesn't care if you do or not.

Galway Girl is a dark gritty crime story that has a lot to do with things in Jack's recent past, I would surmise that it's most likely a direct sequel to one or more books in the series. Almost, but not really, like a kind of extended epilogue. Someone is murdering members of the local Garda. Jack gets involved in the case while also pursuing a few other things that may be tangentially connected. It all plays out like a long, confused game of chess.

I won't get much more into specifics for fear of spoilers - I'm not sure what aspects of the story may or may not be surprising or unexpected for longtime readers of the series.

This is the first book that I've read in the Jack Taylor series... There are several others on my shortlist (translation: ginormous reading pile) but for whatever reason this was the one I chose to read first. That was probably a bad idea - I don't recommend that other readers do it (a classic case of "do as I say not as I do").

It works as a stand alone book but not exceptionally well. On the other hand there's an awful lot of backstory that might alienate series regulars. I liked it but that has more to do with how much I enjoy the main character. The story was on the weak side and the plot was convoluted but it's fun to watch Jack work.

I will go back and read the rest of the series (though it may not be in order).

***Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author Ken Bruen for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I'm afraid that I couldn't read much of this book. I didn't get past the first chapter. I found the characters predictable and the dialogue poor. It wasn't a book that I wanted to continue reading

Jack is going through some pretty tough personal losses and unfortunately they continue. But with the help of a glass or bottle or two of Jameson or a pill or three he will survive, barely. He’s been in pretty bad shape for several books now so I was beginning to fear for my old friend Jack but he’s back, maybe not in the finest form, but well enough to deal with a psychotic young woman with her little gang who are murdering and committing mayhem and who have set their sights on Jack as their next victim.....he has been warned, it will not be a pleasant death.
Loved this book. Ken Bruen is a wonderful writer with a great sense of his Irish roots. And his charm and wit shine from the pages.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review