Book Review: The Death of an Irish Lover

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Death of an Irish Lover     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Bartholomew Gill
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Peter McGarr # 15
Morrow, Jun 2000, $23.00, 265 pp.

The Leixleap Inn owner Tim Tallon calls his childhood acquaintance, Ireland’s Chief Superintendent Peter McGarr to report a double murder. The victims are two Eel Officers, Ellen Gilday and her superior Pascal Burke. They have been found in an illicit position that defies her recent marriage to a local lad.

Peter, as the head of homicide in the country, begins his investigation into the killing of two cops. He quickly realizes that several motives exist. They could be victims of a love crime from either her spouse or one of his string of lovers. They could be victims of an IRA assassination since a questionable confession from a former member provides a clear-cut tie to the group. Finally, there is the economic crime as there is a thriving eel poaching business that the two cops were assigned to control.

The fourteenth McGarr mystery is a taut police procedural that shows why the lead character has been a favorite of readers for over two decades. The story line is exciting as the motive for the killings keeps switching based on the latest findings. McGarr remains one of the more endearing fictional detectives as he still retains his wit and intelligence even with the frustrations of a seemingly ever-changing case. Bartholomew Gill proves he still is one of the masters of the Irish mystery without the trite maudlin gushiness that many authors feel is a requirement of a tale set in Ireland.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner