Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Blood Ties by Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway is an Irish writer from Derry. He writes two crime fiction series, one about Inspector Ben Devlin in Lifford on the border between north and south Ireland and the other about Detective Sergeant Lucy Black of Derry. His Inspector Devlin books have been nominated for multiple awards and appeared on several best of the year lists.

The sixth Devlin, Blood Ties (Constable, 2021) is set in March 2020, on the eve of the Brexit vote and as COVID took over the world. Devlin is moving his widowed father in with his family to ride out what everyone believed would be a brief lockdown. His oldest has started college and is away from home for the first time. Devlin is reflecting on the rate of change around him and not liking it. He is worried about his father and is worried about himself, as he sees his role of father fading into the background and wonders what will take its place.

Absorbed with these fears, he is called to the scene of a particularly bloody murder: A 30ish man alone in an under furnished and anonymous house, which turns out to be an air BnB. Devlin thought the victim looked familiar but could not place him. A search of his telephone and laptop showed he had been meeting teenaged girls on the internet and was in Lifford to meet one who looked far too young.

When his fingerprints are checked, Devlin learned that the victim was from the area and had been convicted some years ago in the brutal murder of a high school classmate while high on drugs. People still remembered the dead girl and grieved for her, and almost anyone could have turned killer. Then the angry fathers and brothers of his current targets had to be checked. Devlin had almost too many possibilities. No one really cared about finding the killer, once the victim’s identity was known, so Devlin largely worked alone while caring for his father.

Ben Devlin is a great character. He is introspective, not typical of the usual fictional detective; his concern for his father is deeply moving. His internal soliloquies are among the best parts of the book. The writing is exquisite. Flowing, expressive prose implements an intricate plot, I found myself deeply involved in no time. The plot was more convoluted than the first chapters led me to expect and the ending is a well-constructed surprise. Highly recommended.

·         Publisher: Constable (March 25, 2021)

·         Language: ‎English

·         ISBN-10: ‎1472133641

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1472133649

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.