THE DETECTIVE UP LATE by Adrian McKinty is an Irish Detective thriller read by the stellar Gerard Doyle.

I have a habit of reading series out of order. This is the 7th in the Detective Sean McDuffy series. It is my first one!

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this taught Detective suspense, especially in Doyle's narration. The Irish accents as well as other UK accents were very distinguishable, which made following the story much easier.

The story itself follows McDuffy as he investigates a missing 15-year-old, about whom nobody seemed to care. As he digs in, he uncovers many men who did "know" her, putting he and his team at real risk. Set against the early 90's in Northern Ireland, The Troubles are still tense for this Catholic detective in a protestant area.

I have to admit, I was expecting a much lighter thriller, given my previous McKinty read of The Island. This was gritty and real; much heavier than the popcorn thriller I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised. The narration, again, sold me.

Thank you, @netgalley & @blackstonepublishing for sharing this ALC for my thoughts. It was published on the 8th, it is available now!

I'm so happy Adrian McKinty has returned to his wonderful Sean Duffy series for another adventure. A few years ago McKinty was frustrated by his lack of commercial success gave up writing and worked instead as an Uber driver and bartender. Fellow crime writer Don Winslow gave McKinty's books on to his own agent who convinced him to try again.

This time he wrote a thriller called The Chain which ended up a bestseller and potential film. While I was pleased that one of my favourite writers was back and successful, I didn't love the book. I did recommend it to patrons at my library but always with the instruction to "try the Sean Duffy books because they're the best!"

The Detective Up Late begins on New Year's Eve. Sean and his partner Beth are in Israel celebrating and hopeful that this new decade may see the end of hostility in Northern Ireland at last. The couple has other plans for the new year too. The dangers of Sean's job terrify Beth and she's convinced him to move to her native Scotland. He's agreed to stay part-time until he qualifies for his full pension but he's done with being a detective--after one last case. His last case deals with a missing teenager from a family of Travellers. Duffy is disgusted by the dismissive attitude everyone seems to have about the missing girl and is determined to learn the truth about what has happened. This search leads him into dangerous situations (of course).

I love so much about this series. Duffy is his usual grumpy, world-weary and sarcastic self; the dialogue is magical. Music is all over the series from the Tom Waits lyrics that double as book titles to Duffy's frequent comments on pop music.

Despite this being Sean Duffy's Last Case, the very best news is that there will be 2 more books in the future and I cannot wait.

Gerard Doyle did a great job on the narration and I'll be looking for his other books.

A dark and gritty atmospheric police procedural that takes place in Northern Ireland in 1990, with a seasoned detective determined to solve one last case before he leaves the department. I loved the detective's somewhat snarky personality, and the many references to music and other 80s/90s tidbits. The setting was described so skillfully, I felt like I was right there in the middle of it. The plot was complex with lots of suspects, but the pace stuttered a bit here and there for me. That being said, the narrator of the audio version was fantastic and and I could have listened to him talk all day with his lovely accent.

Adrian McKinty has kept us waiting for the latest in his superb historical Northern Irish series set during the Troubles, a religiously divided country, featuring the incomparable and unforgettable DI Sean Duffy, a Catholic RUC Head of CID at Belfast's Carrickfergus station, a man with a strong sense of justice. I listened to this on audio, narrated by the fabulous Gerard Doyle, approximately 9 and half hours long, all of it gripping and engaging. It is the beginning of the 1990s, and Duffy is in Israel with Beth and young daughter, Emma, he is a weary man at 40, prematurely aged after an 80s that has taken its toll, with all the riots, bombs and assassination attempts. He has hopes that things will improve, but he is not willing to bet on it, as he continues to check under his car. Enough is enough, he is not prepared to endanger his family who he has moved to Portpatrick in Scotland.

Duffy is in charge of his last case, along with DS McCrabban, leaving a nervous if excited DS Lawson in charge when they go, and still handling the jumpy informant John Strong. He will become a part timer working 7 days a month, for just over 3 years so that he can receive his pension and retire. A 15 year old girl from the traveller community, Kat McAtamney has gone missing, but no-one is taking it seriously, particularly as she had run away before. Duffy is not having this as he pours his energies into the investigation, surely a missing person case will not bring life threatening dangers? Duffy could not be more wrong, visiting her mother and siblings at their caravan, identifying a group of sinister older men as suspects, but there are powerful forces who do not want him to investigate what begins to look more and more like murder.

McKinty is in top form in this riveting addition to this marvellous series, Duffy's interior life is a joy to be immersed in once again, full of dark humour, wit, and sarcasm, littered with his trademark musical, art and literary references. Duffy is not a man for following rules or giving into pressure, and not a man who will put up with any threat to his family as one of his new Scottish neighbours discovers the hard way. There is plenty of suspense, and unexpected twists and turns that fans of this exceptional series will adore, I for one hope that I do not have to wait long for the next in the series. There is just no way the Duffy we know is going to settle for the quiet life, he has become acclimatised to living life on the edge, with the kind of investigating abilities that Lawson is aware he cannot emulate. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for the ALC.

Detective Sean Duffy hopes that the 90's are going to be better than the 80's. He still has a target on his back and with a girlfriend and child, the stakes are high. After surviving the riots, bombings, and assassination attempts, all he wants to do is stay alive. But his final days in charge, a missing persons case grabs his attention. Duffy begins to look into the case but the more he digs the more sinister it becomes.

The Detective Up Late was a great read. This is my first Sean Duffy book but I've read two others by Adrian McKinty. This was an audiobook ARC and the narrator did a phenomenal job. It grabbed my attention and held on all the way through. I liked that Sean was a grumpy and he clearly needed to get out of the force, maybe he wouldn't be AS grumpy. Adrian Mckinty is a great writer. I am usually not into detective books, but I felt like this one was pretty strong. So even if your preference isn't detectives, you can love this one too!

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC and the chance to listen and review it honestly.

Happy reading!