Gallows Lane
by Brian McGilloway

Release Date: 4th Apr 2008
Publisher: Pan Macmillian
ISBN: 978 0 230 70061 1
RRP: £14.99

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The second novel featuring Inspector Devlin by Brian McGilloway.

Devlin is up to his old tricks again, ruffling the feathers of nearly everyone in sight and bogged down in a serious attack on a young woman whose dead body is found beaten to a pulp in a local housing development and a seemingly irrational request by his boss to get rid of James Kerr, a local ex-con who has found his way back on the wrong side of the Irish border after being recently released for good behaviour.

Then, Devlin’s in-house antagonist, Harry Patterson and his partner discover a second “find” of drugs, guns and such forth in a local field after an impromptu search. Devlin suspects foul play and inevitably makes his opinion known, despite being advised to be a team player in order to increase his chances of promotion to Super. When the field’s owner is hauled in for questioning to make the find appear kosher, it triggers a set of events that results in several gruesome murders and Devlin is of course, knee deep in it.

What I like about Devlin is that he is so grounded. How many of these police thrillers feature middle aged bachelors who can afford to be reckless because they have nothing to leave behind... with Devlin, you get the sense that it isn’t recklessness, but a desperate need to not only be right, but to do the right thing.

In classic whodunit style, we are hastened into making incongruous conclusions, which are then immediately turned on their head. What McGilloway achieves essentially is a nice balance between a plot-driven storyline and the need to bring central characters to life. This is the kind of thriller that will appeal to those that like the suspense minus the gratuitous bloodlust.

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