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lmk217's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
woody1881's review against another edition
4.0
Sean Duffy is back. I really like this book on Audible because it is read by Gerard Doyle, who has the perfect Irish accent!
Like the first in the series, this one gets a bit out there, though not to the point where it is completely unbelievable. Interesting writing style.
Like the first in the series, this one gets a bit out there, though not to the point where it is completely unbelievable. Interesting writing style.
cjgmiranda220's review against another edition
5.0
I can't stand a goody-goody main character. I like my leading characters flawed. This was a great mystery story during a time of great conflict.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 ⭐ I'm so glad I found this series. In this second installment of the Sean Duffy series, McKinty pulls in the story of John DeLorean and his manufacturing plant in Belfast, as well as the Falkland Island War, working in perspectives that I, as an American, had never considered.
And McKinty gives us realistic side stories, like Duffy's ongoing love-hate relationship with his neighbors, especially when a black woman moves in down the Street. Duffy says, "Carrickfergus was as ethnically complex and diverse as a joint Ku Klux Klan-Nazi Party rally." And the ongoing tension of an undeclared civil war. When a dead body in a suitcase leads him to the widow of an UDR man, he tells us, "The Ulster Defense Regiment was a locally recruited regiment of the British Army... There were about five thousand UDR men and women in Northern Ireland. The IRA assassinated between fifty and a hundred of them every year."
Besides the brilliant backdrop I also love how McKinty incorporates music into Sean's character. What he listens to tells us as much about his mood as the text. At the start of the novel his sometime girlfriend, Laura is leaving for Edinburgh. Duffy is home feeling sorry for himself and listening to Nick Drake when he decides, "changed my mind. Nick Drake, like heroin or Marmite, was best in small doses."
McKinty also starts to really fill out the rest of the group Duffy works with. I loved that Matty was a Douglas Adams fan!
Altogether a great mystery with terrific pacing and characterization. McKinty keeps turning out multifaceted stories that dont get crazily complex, but do keep me guessing.
And McKinty gives us realistic side stories, like Duffy's ongoing love-hate relationship with his neighbors, especially when a black woman moves in down the Street. Duffy says, "Carrickfergus was as ethnically complex and diverse as a joint Ku Klux Klan-Nazi Party rally." And the ongoing tension of an undeclared civil war. When a dead body in a suitcase leads him to the widow of an UDR man, he tells us, "The Ulster Defense Regiment was a locally recruited regiment of the British Army... There were about five thousand UDR men and women in Northern Ireland. The IRA assassinated between fifty and a hundred of them every year."
Besides the brilliant backdrop I also love how McKinty incorporates music into Sean's character. What he listens to tells us as much about his mood as the text. At the start of the novel his sometime girlfriend, Laura is leaving for Edinburgh. Duffy is home feeling sorry for himself and listening to Nick Drake when he decides, "changed my mind. Nick Drake, like heroin or Marmite, was best in small doses."
McKinty also starts to really fill out the rest of the group Duffy works with. I loved that Matty was a Douglas Adams fan!
Altogether a great mystery with terrific pacing and characterization. McKinty keeps turning out multifaceted stories that dont get crazily complex, but do keep me guessing.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
The second book in the series was a bit slow, but took off near the end. I continue to enjoy the snappy dialogue and unusual twists.
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
Second in the "troubles" trilogy. I finished just as the "fasten seat belt" beep sounded at Midway Airport. A police procedural featuring Catholic Irish Belfast cop, Sean Duffy. Pulls you through like a meat grinder.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
Set in the early 1980's, I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET is the second book in a trilogy built around Sean Duffy, a Catholic cop working in the reality of Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland in the middle of The Troubles. This is when neighbourhoods and towns are divided by religion and loyalty, when unemployment and community disaffection are soaring, and local cops check under their cars for bombs every single morning they head out for work.
It's a bit disconcerting to think that this is a timeframe that many of us know well, although it's now regarded as "the past" or historical. After all, this is my teenage, young adult years. Hence there's much that resonates, even in another country. The music, the clothes, the vinyl LPs. The way that Duffy's evenings are spent with the record collection, because TV is so dire, there's not that much difference between my rural Australia and his Carrickfergus. There is, however, a big difference when it comes to the society in which Duffy is operating. The Troubles override everything. The tensions between religions and alliances are palpable, and the isolation of the unemployed and the powerlessness of people playing out in violence and disruption is visceral.
The complications of the plot in this book are partially the complications of that life, a torso in a suitcase, the need to track down an identity, and a murderer fighting for focus every day with sectarian violence, police station bombings, neighbourhood division and the pressures of political interference. The picture drawn is clearly a society tearing itself limb from limb, and for a while it almost seemed like the idea of a limbless body was some sort of fascinating metaphor. But, as in real life, there's nothing glorious or meaningful about yet another self-interested, self-involved murder and somewhere, deep under the layers, it all comes down to one of the same old same old - money, sex, influence or power. Having said that, there is a bit of heavy lifting going on towards the end of the book and whilst some readers might find some of the plot elements a little bit dodgy, for this reader, it didn't require too much effort to just go with the flow.
As a central character, Sean Duffy is a keeper. He's flawed, complex without being complicated, very real and profoundly likeable. The situation in which he lives his life is stark and beautifully drawn. The dialogue and interaction between the characters is absolutely pitch perfect, you can see, hear, feel these people's presence. The writing is glorious, the books are littered with the most lyrically beautiful passages, particularly where McKinty steps up to describe the worst of possible circumstances and events.
For this reader, I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET is possibly not quite as perfect as THE COLD COLD GROUND, in the same way that I sometimes ponder whether the Scottish Play is not quite as perfect as Hamlet.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/i-hear-sirens-street-adrian-mckinty
It's a bit disconcerting to think that this is a timeframe that many of us know well, although it's now regarded as "the past" or historical. After all, this is my teenage, young adult years. Hence there's much that resonates, even in another country. The music, the clothes, the vinyl LPs. The way that Duffy's evenings are spent with the record collection, because TV is so dire, there's not that much difference between my rural Australia and his Carrickfergus. There is, however, a big difference when it comes to the society in which Duffy is operating. The Troubles override everything. The tensions between religions and alliances are palpable, and the isolation of the unemployed and the powerlessness of people playing out in violence and disruption is visceral.
The complications of the plot in this book are partially the complications of that life, a torso in a suitcase, the need to track down an identity, and a murderer fighting for focus every day with sectarian violence, police station bombings, neighbourhood division and the pressures of political interference. The picture drawn is clearly a society tearing itself limb from limb, and for a while it almost seemed like the idea of a limbless body was some sort of fascinating metaphor. But, as in real life, there's nothing glorious or meaningful about yet another self-interested, self-involved murder and somewhere, deep under the layers, it all comes down to one of the same old same old - money, sex, influence or power. Having said that, there is a bit of heavy lifting going on towards the end of the book and whilst some readers might find some of the plot elements a little bit dodgy, for this reader, it didn't require too much effort to just go with the flow.
As a central character, Sean Duffy is a keeper. He's flawed, complex without being complicated, very real and profoundly likeable. The situation in which he lives his life is stark and beautifully drawn. The dialogue and interaction between the characters is absolutely pitch perfect, you can see, hear, feel these people's presence. The writing is glorious, the books are littered with the most lyrically beautiful passages, particularly where McKinty steps up to describe the worst of possible circumstances and events.
For this reader, I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET is possibly not quite as perfect as THE COLD COLD GROUND, in the same way that I sometimes ponder whether the Scottish Play is not quite as perfect as Hamlet.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/i-hear-sirens-street-adrian-mckinty
dwintaylor's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
juliebcooper's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the mix of real and fictional characters set against the tumultuous backdrop of Belfast and NI in the early 80s. Looking forward to the 3rd installment of this series.
sandin954's review
5.0
Second in the series which is set in Belfast during the eighties and just as good as the first. Sean Duffy is a great character and plot had many twists and turns. Listened to the audio version which was superbly narrated by Gerard Doyle.