myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one more than the last one. He stayed on track and didn't ramble on.
stacy08's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting concept, telling you what will happen at the beginning of the chapter then telling how it happened. Somehow I was always surprised, even though I knew what was coming. Actually was listening to this as I cleaned and raked leaves. I had to find more work so I could keep on listing, didn't want to stop.
bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
Adrian Mc Kinty writes very good thrillers, though this character isn't my favorite of his, he promises a lot of action. This book is set in and around Boston - The North Shore. Despite the geographical, and cultural gaffs, I found this an enjoyable and entertaining listen. Michael Forsythe is working undercover for British Intelligence and the FBI trying to infiltrate a small American group that supports IRA splinter groups.
I was annoyed by some gaffs which revealed ignorance of the local culture - always a risk for anyone writing a book set in a specific place. Three come to mind - when in Revere, miles north of Boston, a reference is made to the Back Bay as if it's close by (it's not). One character talking about baseball probably makes the biggest gaffs from the perspective of a Red Sox fan. A true Red Sox fan would find it hard to talk about the team from NY, as anything but the MF Yankees (this book is set in the 90's not after the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004). I still often refer to them as "the team that shall not be named" (references to Harry Potter) or the team from NY. The third gaff was a language error. For some reason, when the characters are on their way to rob a bank they have to stop and buy ice cream cones. The one buying the ice cream insists they must have sprinkles on them. Pleezzzz - these are NEVER called sprinkles anywhere in eastern Massachusetts at least not in the 1990's. They are JIMMIES:
http://www.thedialectdictionary.com/view/country/Boston/7388/
I am editing this to add in my research on the term, I discovered, they character gets chocolate 'sprinkles' which are jimmies, and was asked to get sprinkles which are multi-colored. This may have been the author's point though it'd help to include that if he's going to have the whole ice cream episode.
I was annoyed by some gaffs which revealed ignorance of the local culture - always a risk for anyone writing a book set in a specific place. Three come to mind - when in Revere, miles north of Boston, a reference is made to the Back Bay as if it's close by (it's not). One character talking about baseball probably makes the biggest gaffs from the perspective of a Red Sox fan. A true Red Sox fan would find it hard to talk about the team from NY, as anything but the MF Yankees (this book is set in the 90's not after the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004). I still often refer to them as "the team that shall not be named" (references to Harry Potter) or the team from NY. The third gaff was a language error. For some reason, when the characters are on their way to rob a bank they have to stop and buy ice cream cones. The one buying the ice cream insists they must have sprinkles on them. Pleezzzz - these are NEVER called sprinkles anywhere in eastern Massachusetts at least not in the 1990's. They are JIMMIES:
http://www.thedialectdictionary.com/view/country/Boston/7388/
I am editing this to add in my research on the term, I discovered, they character gets chocolate 'sprinkles' which are jimmies, and was asked to get sprinkles which are multi-colored. This may have been the author's point though it'd help to include that if he's going to have the whole ice cream episode.
dustin_o's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mizbee's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't like this one as much as the first in the series. Female characters merely "love interests", annoyingly shallow.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book in Adrian McKinty's trilogy featuring Belfast bad boy Michael Forsythe. In the first book, Michael almost single-handedly destroyed an Irish mob group, after which he had a price on his head and was forced to go into witness protection.
In this book, we find him living with his new identity and on vacation in the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, he manages to get in the middle of a riot between football hooligans, even though he wasn't really involved, and he is arrested by Spanish police.
Thrown into jail, he could be facing several years in a Spanish prison, or, even more worrying, he could be extradited back to Mexico to face charges there. He had escaped from a prison there in the first book.
Facing these unpalatable possibilities, Michael is visited in prison by a couple of representatives from British Intelligence, MI6. The MI6 leader, a woman named Samantha, offers him a way out. He can work undercover for them and infiltrate a rogue IRA sect in the U.S. called the Sons of Cuchulainn and help to destroy them.
This all takes place in the 1990s at a time when a tenuous cease fire is being negotiated in Northern Ireland and there is hope that peace may finally be about to break out there. The Sons of Cuchulainn want nothing to do with peace and are determined to throw a spanner into the works of the negotiations. Michael's job, should he choose to take it, will be to stop them.
Michael (now called Sean) reluctantly agrees and a day later is on a plane back to America and on to Boston where he must seek to ingratiate himself to the small group of sociopaths who are the heart of the Sons of Cuchulainn.
McKinty writes with a poetic lilt and some of the best parts of the book for me are the dialogues between various characters, which just seem spot-on. Michael/Sean's is a distinctive voice and, as he is the narrator of the story, we hear that voice throughout and we see things always through his eyes.
Some of the things that we see are truly appalling. The scenes of torture and murder were very hard to read but they are an essential part of the story, an essential tool for revealing the violent and sadistic activities of the enemy Michael/Sean must face and defeat if he is to live.
The suspense builds and builds. Since there is a third entry in this trilogy, the reader can be pretty sure that Michael Forsythe is going to make it out alive, but it is a near thing, and blood flows like a river on the way.
I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart, but it is an exciting and very well-written thriller.
In this book, we find him living with his new identity and on vacation in the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, he manages to get in the middle of a riot between football hooligans, even though he wasn't really involved, and he is arrested by Spanish police.
Thrown into jail, he could be facing several years in a Spanish prison, or, even more worrying, he could be extradited back to Mexico to face charges there. He had escaped from a prison there in the first book.
Facing these unpalatable possibilities, Michael is visited in prison by a couple of representatives from British Intelligence, MI6. The MI6 leader, a woman named Samantha, offers him a way out. He can work undercover for them and infiltrate a rogue IRA sect in the U.S. called the Sons of Cuchulainn and help to destroy them.
This all takes place in the 1990s at a time when a tenuous cease fire is being negotiated in Northern Ireland and there is hope that peace may finally be about to break out there. The Sons of Cuchulainn want nothing to do with peace and are determined to throw a spanner into the works of the negotiations. Michael's job, should he choose to take it, will be to stop them.
Michael (now called Sean) reluctantly agrees and a day later is on a plane back to America and on to Boston where he must seek to ingratiate himself to the small group of sociopaths who are the heart of the Sons of Cuchulainn.
McKinty writes with a poetic lilt and some of the best parts of the book for me are the dialogues between various characters, which just seem spot-on. Michael/Sean's is a distinctive voice and, as he is the narrator of the story, we hear that voice throughout and we see things always through his eyes.
Some of the things that we see are truly appalling. The scenes of torture and murder were very hard to read but they are an essential part of the story, an essential tool for revealing the violent and sadistic activities of the enemy Michael/Sean must face and defeat if he is to live.
The suspense builds and builds. Since there is a third entry in this trilogy, the reader can be pretty sure that Michael Forsythe is going to make it out alive, but it is a near thing, and blood flows like a river on the way.
I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart, but it is an exciting and very well-written thriller.
bubbazuzu's review against another edition
5.0
Love, love, love this book. I'm a big fan of Adrian McKinty but this has got to be his best book. The pacing is excellent. The characters are richly drawn. Even the setting is spot on. McKinty has a great knack for knowing when to change the tone of the book. The softer character driven sections are expertly placed to balance the gritty scenes. He doesn't rely on the action to move the book along; its a natural progression of the story, organically grown, so you don't grow tired of it and you don't feel exhausted either.
By the way, I listened to this novel via Audible and the narrator Gerard Doyle nails it. I can't imagine anyone else narrating McKinty stories.
Bottom line, whether you listen or read a hard copy, get a copy of this book. Now.
By the way, I listened to this novel via Audible and the narrator Gerard Doyle nails it. I can't imagine anyone else narrating McKinty stories.
Bottom line, whether you listen or read a hard copy, get a copy of this book. Now.
jlmb's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining thriller. Nothing to gush over but a solid story that holds your interest.