Colleen Chi-Girl's review / bookshelves: historical-fiction, ireland-irish, 2019, thrillers, crime-mysteries; this is a belated review as the book was read in late Nov. 2019. Blame it on work, Covid, and overwork...

This was another fun and interesting Ken Bruen thriller featuring our fave ex-guarda, Jack Taylor, as our down and dirty protagonist. From a window, Jack witnesses the murder of a high-ranking woman guarda. Other guardas have been targeted as well, so we have to beg and hope that Jack gets his act together and discovers what's going on in his beloved Galway. He sure knows his town and we are treated to Jack's unorthodox way of doing things, as well as his savvy street-smarts for catching clues that others miss.

The Galway Girl of this book is a total psychopathic killer called Jericho and she's not to be confused with the wonderful Irish song of the same name by Steve Earle. Could it be that Jack has a past with Jericho?! As their paths cross, Bruen doesn't hold back, so hold onto your seats. He takes us through some very dark, gritty, and suspenseful twists and turns while Jack pulls it together. This might be one of the darkest stories of the series, which bothered me in a few places, but don't worry, it's still worth it. It's Bruen's ability to have us love Jack Taylor with all his miserable issues because Jack is a true hero and well, lovable.

I am curious how many of you book fans are also fans of the TV-series featuring the ruggedly handsome Iain Glen as Jack Taylor? I watched a lot of the series when it was on in 2010-2015 or so.

Funny, violent, sarcastic and witty--this is a typical Ken Bruen novel, and that is a good thing! The 16th installment in his wildly popular Jack Taylor series. In this one, Taylor is cajoled out of his booze-addled depression into helping solve the murder of a high-ranking officer in the Garda. Taylor uncovers a unique set of killers as different as they are diabolical. Bruen's great wit and and fantastic dialogue set this crime novel above many others; it provides another great tread through the dark criminal side of Ireland and shows what's at stake for Taylor, who grows in this book. I loved it.

Ah, the Jack Taylor series. So good and this one is to. I believe this is the fifteenth. Great twists.

Enjoyed Galway Girl. Crime drama realistically depicted. The twists were believable, which is especially important in crime dramas.

I would like to thank Mysterious Press and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

This book is the fifteenth in the Jack Taylor series and my first by this author, when I requested it on the Netgalley site I didn't know it was a series.

It features Jack Taylor struggling to recover from a family tragedy until one day a high ranking officer in the local police force is killed and other officers are found dead. Taylor is going to investigate a trio of weird young people, who want to bring Taylor down, their leader being a psychotic girl from Galway who is mourning the death of her lover.

A book read in one go, so much so that I hooked on the story, so captivating, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns with endearing characters.

Another tale of murder in Galway, Ireland. This is a dark book with sarcastic comments on Irish society. It was an interesting read - quirky, violent, lyrical, Irish noir.

Galway Girl, by Ken Bruen, continues the Jack Taylor series that is always shockingly sharp, funny, sardonic, violent and all-around amazing 21st century Iris noir. Jack Taylor is a former member of the Irish police (Garda Siochana) who goes from one series of nasty events to another. This time he is up against a sadistic serial murderer named “Jericho” who commits her murders with joy and elan. Her next target: Jack Taylor. And so let the game of “cat-and-mouse” begin. If you are planning to read this 14th effort in the series, then I am jealous! Savor the ride, enjoy the prose, then hang on to the very last page.

Another fast paced and gritty entry in the Jack Taylor series. this time members of the Garda are being targeted for termination and Jack is eventually pulled in to try to put a stop to the mayhem. lots of familiar characters (those that are still with us) and some new crazies make this quite an enjoyable page turner with Bruen's usual wit and prose. recommended for those that follow the series, newbies might be a little lost, but a rollicking ride regardless. thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

GALWAY GIRL by Ken Bruen is the 15th book in the series of Jack Taylor, the abrasive and cynical ex-Garda who defies those he previously worked with and for as he has since having left the force years ago.

Jack still hasn’t had time to process the recent death of a loved one; actually Jack really never gets over those that he’s lost where he shoulders the blame, as guilt has always been part of his life since being instilled in him a long time ago at the hands of his Mother, who continues to haunt him from the grave.

Surprisingly, it is members of the force who have made his life miserable for years that plead with him to look into the recent string of deaths of members of the force, as his ability to go into dark places and use unconventional methods they cannot seem to give him an advantage in finding the killer(s) if possible.

Jericho is the name of the manipulative and psychotic leader of a group that has terrorized the locals while developing their plans for attacking the Garda officers, and Jack figures into their plans as well, as usually occurs when he agitates while provoking a response from those he goes up against.

Assistance to Jack comes from an unlikely source when he’s seriously injured and in need of a hiding place in the form of a rugged ex-roadie with years of experience with impressive credentials that have made him a loner with survival skills that he uses to prepare Jack in defense of the threat he faces.

Will Jack again come out on top in this one as he has in the past, or will he finally find he’s unable to physically face up against the brutality and psychotic nature of his opponent this time around?

Classic Jack Taylor action in this one, with the dry dark humor always present in the thoughts and words that cut to the bone at the hypocrisy and foolishness he experiences on a daily basis.

Highly recommended for those interested in police procedural novels with a rough around the edges protagonist who succeeds in spite of himself, as he’s his own worst enemy.

5 stars.

I originally told the publisher that I wouldn't give feedback on this book. The unusual poetry/prose formatting of the book, along with the usual struggles of reading on my phone, combined to make the book completely unreadable for me at the time.

However, I ran across a hard copy at my local library and picked it up. The issue of the unusual formatting was the same there as on my phone. I simply didn't know what to make of it. Is this brilliant? Is this awful? I have no idea. But I couldn't finish the book. Obviously, this author isn't for me.

Giving three stars because I don't know how else to rate it. (Normally, I wouldn't assign stars to a DNF, but I have to on Netgalley.)

Once again, Ken Bruen paints a vivid picture of Galway City - Eyre Square, the Spanish Arch, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop etc. and it’s underbelly through the persona of Jack Taylor ex-Garda/sometime PI . We follow Jack as he lurches from scene to scene, and his next drink, amidst a stream of seemingly random attacks. He is being pursued by a trio of young killers, each with a personal vendetta against him.

The prose is staccato, explicit yet evocative. There is little reprieve from the violence and mayhem. Lots of white space, poetry and cultural/political/historical asides.

The lyrics of the two (upbeat) songs of the same name form a reprise in the reader’s mind (a disconcerting ‘ear worm’) whilst the pitch of the violence inflicted by THE Galway Girl escalates.

The pace is unrelenting and there are multiple plot twists. It’s a challenging but compelling read! Highly recommended.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for the opportunity to review Galway Girl.

Ken Bruen long sanding series featuring Jack Taylor who seems to have hit bottom drinking and drugging. After a Garda is murderedJack is called back to solve the case. A dark Irish suspenseful/police procedural. Good stuff.

Unintelligible but totally fascinating

A little research suggests that “Galway Girl” is probably the 15th in the Jack Taylor series. The novel is located in Ireland (presumably Galway of the title) and Jack is ex Garda, a drunk and reluctant private investigator. He stands accused of murder but fortunately has a cast-iron alibi. So starts a weird, yet wonderful story of mayhem.

I nearly gave up on this crime/mystery as, after reading at least a quarter of the book, I had no idea who was whom or what was going on. However, I am glad I persevered. The writing is almost conversational in its style and switches from subject to subject without warning. The author clearly expects the reader to either keep up or give up and makes no allowances for those for whom the pace is too much.

One of my favourite authors is Umberto Eco. It took me a while to realise that there was no point in trying to understand each individual word, sentence or paragraph. It was much better to allow the words to wash over me, looking forward to the later realisation that I instinctively understood how the plot was developing. In many ways “Galway Girl” is similar, albeit much more down-to-earth and rawer.

I won’t promise that I shall be looking out for Jack Taylor books in future, but I enjoyed the experience (I think) of reading this one. If you want to try something a little “off the wall” then give this a go as you won’t be disappointed.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to read.

Jack Taylor is a former police officer turned private investigator.
He is mourning his murdered daughter, drinking heavily.
Members of the Garda, the state police force of the Irish Republic , are being murdered, one by one.
Taylor is asked to help in the investigation. Along the way he attracts trouble and engages in hostilities with a psychotic woman named Jericho.
This fascinating plot was buried in a stream of consciousness style of writing. Run on sentences and ideas blurred the storyline and made it confusing.
I am not a fan of this writing style so I did not really enjoy reading this.
It was disappointing, I am usually quite fond of Irish mysteries, but this one was not for me.
Thank you to Grove/Atlantic for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Stabbing and dashing: Galway Girl by Ken Bruen
If James Ellroy had a British disciple that person would be Ken Bruen. He's been around a long time has Ken, I recall reading a few his novels back in the mid 90s, one of my colleagues really loved him. I used to really love James Ellroy, but have to say I got stuck one third of the way through one of Ellroy's most recent novels, Perfidia, finding it just too excessive and hard going. So it was a relief that I was able to finish Galway Girl. But it did require a ginormous suspension of disbelief and not a little patience with the paradoxically impatient stabby dashy style.

Galway's quite a small place, isn't it? So how come so many people get stabbed to death there and how come the bishop's cousin and the bishop himself... OK, don't ask. Don't stop to ask. Don't think. Just grip the prose and go for the ride. And there you have it. An unbelievable plot, unbelievable characters, lots of unbelievable action... But written with some brio and in an extremely. Punchy. Sort. Of. Style.

I think I quite liked it...

This felt like an unedited script/outline of a novel. Every chapter included random pop culture references that most of the time did not seem to be related to the story. Set in Ireland, the detective noir novel switched perspectives frequently and was difficult to follow. What I read seems to have the bones of a much better book.
***I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

I would encourage people not to read this book if they're depressed!!! The story is dark and violent and so are the characters. The writing is good though the use of dialect makes it challenging at times to read.

Ken Bruen is a brilliant writer, and I admire him – but I’m not a hardcore fan. Those of his books that I’ve sampled have been quirky, gritty and compelling. I loved The Guards, the first Jack Taylor novel, but after a few others in the series, the unrelenting hipness and the flood of pop references began to seem glib and facile—like that insecure friend who has to name-drop all the celebrities he’s crossed paths with.

In Galway Girl, Taylor is at rock-bottom, grappling with devastating loss and suspected of a series of police murders. In a patchwork of street poetry, snippets of arcane literature, and cryptic song lyrics, the story line was sometimes obscured. At about 86 %, the plot cohered for me (although I have a feeling cohesion may not be high on Bruen’s list – like one of Galway Girl’s characters, I often felt “utter confusion as to what the hell was going on.”)

A bit later, I identified with a TV program Taylor watched that was “so wickedly off-kilter you just went with the flow.” Good advice for Bruen readers. Satisfying ending! Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

Irish noir!

Jack Taylor, ex Garda, Jameson whiskey glugging alcoholic, and private investigator, attracts tragedy and psychotics in equal amounts. Jack has hit an all time low with the murder of his daughter. The last thing he needed was to become emerged in random acts of murder targeting the Gardai.
How is it that this man limps or more often than not, slides from one disastrous situation to another just by being?
The action in Galway Girl is brutal and swift buoyed along by the protagonists who are involving themselves in a deadly game of one upmanship. And when Jack becomes the target, well anything can and does happen.
Does Jack walk on the wild side, flatlining his emotional needs in a bottle of whiskey or has he just become so inured to what normal people are horrified by that he just can't seem to care?
(My visual image of Jack is as always tied to the onscreen detective as portrayed by Iain Glen in his Gardai coat, a few days stubble on his chin, decidedly rumpled, lurching through various mishaps, often without conscious intent).
Jack, always a puzzle and a pleasure!

A Mysterious Press ARC via NetGalley

Galway Girl is the 15th Jack Taylor novel by Ken Bruen. Released 5th Nov 2019 by Grove Atlantic on their Mysterious Press imprint, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

Jack Taylor is a mess. He's insubordinate, mentally ill, a blackout alcoholic, and generally completely fed up with everyone's bullsh*t. Most of Bruen's plots have a ton of disparate threads that come together at the end (usually explosively) and this one is no exception.

This is a beautifully written, often poetic thriller with a palpable Irish noir vibe. The plotting is taut, the setting is amazing and alive in the prose, and the secondary characters (at least the ones who manage to stay alive til the end of the book) are worthwhile and full of, well, character.

Although it's indisputably a really solidly entertaining book, fair warning, the language is rough and it's violent in scary and unpredictable ways. There is nothing cozy here but for lovers of gritty PI procedurals, this is a winner.

The returning characters have developed a lot over the series, and the author doesn't give a lot of back story, so it might be best to pick up some earlier books to get a sense of the characters and their backgrounds.

Amazing book. Five stars.