I have read several of Ken Bruen's wonderful Jack Taylor novels, They all are imbued with great dialogue, poetry, action, angst, Ireland, literary and musical references, quirky characters.
In a word, they are special. But THE DRAMATIST is my favorite.
Jack Taylor is newly sober in this entry in the series and finding it a chore. Bruen turns the heat up by placing Jack in harm's way in a number of ways. Taylor finds it especially hard to keep things on an even keel when his ex-drug-dealer, now in jail, asks him to find the murderer of his daughter. He also becomes involved with an old lover and her scary husband, a vigilante group, and the usual assortment of Bruen characters and temptations.
Bruen's books are outstanding because of the fully-realized life he invests Taylor with. Oh, and the plots are great, too. But he generously allows you to enter into Jack Taylor's world in a way few authors pull off. You know him. You root for him. I am a sucker for Tommy Gavin on RESCUE ME and Jack Taylor does it for me too.
The end of this book will send you over the edge. I guarantee it. I am not much for crying but this one made me bawl.
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@Barrie Summy
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@Barrie Summy
10 comments:
So nice to read a book where you like the characters and the author! Mine, I simply couldn't root for either! I shall look for this one!
Sounds like a good one. Especially the end. Thanks for the review. :)
This was the first Bruen book I read. The ending was stark, but not as stark as if I had read the previous books in the series. I remember David Thompson at Murder by the Book look chagrined at me when I said I hadn't read the three previous ones. I have since but the ending is still dark. Bruen's got such a wonderful poetic voice. It looks so easy to write (there's lots of white space on the pages) but oh so difficult to write.
Bruen, damn him, used this book to just reach inside and rip my heart out.
sounds exciting, I'll have to check it out. Nice review. my review
This sounds like a really intense read, esp. the ending. Glad you liked it, Patti.
I've never read any Bruen books. This one sounds interesting - I think I'll have to check out the first book in the series.
You've convinced me; I'm getting this book. I was looking for something to read while I'm on vacation the week of Aug. 16, so thank you!
I haven’t heard of Bruen. Thanks for the introduction. Sorry to be so slow to visit - I was offline last week.
Wow, that sounds intense! I think I'd feel wrung out at the end.
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