Another superb Jack Taylor outing! Ken Bruen continues to construct a page turning read with Galway Girl

Against all odds, Galway’s best known fixer is still alive & kicking. Well…kicking may be an exaggeration. Jack Taylor is in a bit of a funk. All the years of hard living are catching up with him & a recent loss has him in a tailspin.

If that weren’t bad enough, people around him are dropping like flies. A lovely young cop who made the mistake of being seen with him, another he used to work with…both were killed in brazen attacks. If he didn’t know better, Jack might think he’s the common denominator. Oh wait…

Jack has always been a well read guy so I hope he’s up on his Faulkner because the past has just come roaring back to haunt him. The story picks up on events from book #11 (Green Hell) one of the best in the series IMHO. In this instalment, someone is out to destroy everyone Jack cares about before finishing him off. The reason? Well, that would be telling. But we soon learn why an unlikely trio of killers has painted a target on his back.

Jericho is a young Galway girl who’s….uh….a little different (I really don’t want to tick her off). She’s come back to get revenge for a loved one & as far as she’s concerned it’s all Jack’s fault. But she needs help & quickly recruits a couple of locals who have their own bones to pick with the former guard. And so begins a deadly game designed to make him suffer. Let’s face it, Jack doesn’t have a lot of friends left & he’s in no shape to take another emotional hit. But having nothing to lose can be very liberating.

Jeez Louise, this one had me looking over MY shoulder, never mind Jack’s. The first “Holy Crap” moment comes at 5% in & the narrative keeps you nervous as you try to anticipate Jericho’s next move. In typical style, the author mixes violence with Jack’s darkly humorous observations on books, sport, politics & Irish culture. It should come across as the story of a bitter man who’s hit rock bottom but Bruen includes small moments that give us a glimmer of hope for his long suffering anti-hero. I had no idea where this was going & I defy any reader to predict how it ends. All I’ll say is if you happen to suffer from ornithophobia you might want to follow Jack’s lead & keep the Jameson nearby.

It’s bleak, Irish noir laced with the blackest of humour. In other words, it’s Bruen. So I’ll end with this. Jack, we have to chat. I love you like a brother & worry about you between books. But after the events of this one, I’m rethinking our relationship. Maybe we should keep it casual. You know, like infrequent pen pals or something 😳

Bruen introduces a few strong characters in this episode of the Jack Taylor - but not a lot of them last more than a couple of chapters!! Overall, I wasn't really sold on the plot or the writing style however if you are a fan of Bruen then you will likely enjoy this one too.

Bruen’s Jack Taylor series evolved with the Galway titles. Almost surreal, the tally of murders matching the bottles of Jay. It’s the usual formula you’ve come to expect.
Postmodern mystery, stripped down and so spare that if you took out the news reports, literary quotes and self-indulgent references you could probably get the whole book into a Twitter thread. Galway Girl takes a couple of disparate ideas – the bitter revenge killing of guards and a charismatic psycho serial killer blended together with details from earlier titles. Highly enjoyable with an ending resolved in a predictable but intriguing ending. Galway Girl’s on a par with last year’s In the Galway Silence but not nearly as good as the excellent, Ghosts of Galway. If you’re a Jack Taylor fan it’s indispensable.

And yet again... another Bruen gem featuring ex-Guarda and present day private eye, Jack Taylor.. Since his daughter was killed in his presence, he has teetered on the abysss. … attempting to drown himself in Jameson and drugs.. Jack is a lush …. who revels in his sarcastic ballsy behavior .....a virtual pain in the ass. His Guarda friends try to enlist his aid in solving the senseless assassinations of Guarda officers.
Implemented in the complex plot is a demented trio of misfits. The murders appear to be perpetrated by the son of a beloved officer … in a bizarre sense of revenge and rebellion. While the drunken Jack enters the fray, he is stalked by two others who seek revenge and his demise. Stapleton is the son of former friend of Jack … who Jack decided needed killing. Next enter the Galway Girl … a beautiful psychotic young women who goes by the nom de plume of Jericho. In one of many altercations involving Jack , he found it necessary to kill Jericho's friend, lover and muse. Jericho , using her feminine wile, brings the trio together in a gang determined to exact the ultimate revenge on Jack.
Ken Bruen with his magnificent skills as a storyteller manages to whip this complex and twisted narrative into an entertaining yarn with an unexpected denouement. Along the way he created a noir gem, littered with multiple literary and musical allusions. Although this can be enjoyed as a standalone …. readers will want to read the other 14 Jack Taylor novels to appreciate his rich back story. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic & Mysterious Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Ken Bruen has his own writing style like no other. And the 15th novel in the Jack Taylor series, Galway Girl is no exception – hardboiled and dark. This is a series that readers either love or hate – nothing in between, and Jack Taylor is a tough, alcoholic progagonist who solves his crimes in unusual ways. The prose is like no other – jumping from subject to subject, character to character, and fans who are used to this, having read the previous novels, can follow it. Those who haven’t yet read the Jack Taylor series may be a bit confused, and have trouble understanding and following.

The setting is in Galway, Ireland, and while the characters do speak English, they are mostly light on their native tongue, Irish. Bruen uses a lot of profanity, which brings out the fact that the characters are of the lower classes, and certainly not the elite that most readers can relate to. It also makes readers wonder if Bruen has control of his language, or uses the profanity as a way of filling in for not knowing what to write. There is also a lot of violence – murders, mostly, and this novel is about Jack Taylor searching for a gang of three murderers who are killing the Guard (police). Bruen does do a good job of developing his characters, but unlike many series, the main characters (as well as the bad guys) are not very likeable, and won’t appeal to everyone. In fact, some readers won’t relate and won’t like the setting, characters, or story.

For those thriller fans who like ups and downs, twists and turns, and language and violence, this is a series that will appeal. Because there are fourteen books written prior to Galway Girl it is recommended that readers start at the first installment. This will insure that they understand the brutal, callous style of the author, as well as the Irish underpinnings which are interesting, but foreign to most. This is a novel that definitely won’t appeal to everyone.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Senseless killings of policemen by a killer who has no morals or values. The detective trying to find this killer lives in a alcohol grieving existence. Book is extremely dark and violent.

The Jack Taylor series of books is just getting better with every one. Can't believe we are on Book 15. Jack is reeling from a personal tragedy and consuming vast amounts of Jameson whisky. Garda officers are being murdered and Jack's Garda friends ask him to investigate. The author has a unique writing style, the book is filled with action and historical references as Jack hits rock bottom. I recommend thriller lovers to discover Ken Bruen. You won't be disappointed. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I love Bruen but mostly it's his character Jack Taylor I never tire of, and Bruen's increasingly brutal style of presenting this seemingly hardened cop, now retired, with heart of gold just keeps going on. Guards are being killed and while we know who it is, the guards themselves have not figured it out .. Taylor's drawn in (again).. really strong one.

First in the series for me loved this book the characters so excited to grab up all the books in this series.Will be recommending to anyone who enjoys ba well written series,#netgalley#groveatlantic

I love this series and flawed Jack Taylor. Loved the Galway setting and plot. Just a good mystery book
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

This was my first read in the Jack Taylor series and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, I loved that it was set in Galway having lived there for some years and all the references to places, found it enjoyable as I could envision it. I love a good detective series and feel I have missed out on this one with this being my first but I can say hand on heart, this is not the last time I will be reading about Jack Taylor and how he became who he is up until this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've read every Bruen and really liked them all. His sensibility, sense of noir, love of noir authors and movies, etc...But to be honest, I didn't love GalwayGirl—just too much stream of consciousness type writing—not linear-jumping from thought to thought. There were glimmers of the kind or writing I fell in love with but it was hard to find. So i would recommend this for Bruen completists.

What a great book. Thought bruen got back to form in this one. Jericho was a great character and the fact that she seemed one step ahead most of the way was brilliant. Loved it. easy five stars

If the title of the novel suggests romantic notions of Steve Earl’s song or maybe Ed Sheeran’s more recent version, you’d be misled. Guards are being killed senselessly in a twisted sense of rebellion by the son of a revered former officer; the son of a man Jack Taylor killed years before is stalking him; and this Galway Girl is a psychopath who calls herself Jericho. The trio has youth, cunning and a complete lack of scruples. Is Jack any match for them when they decide to join forces to wreak revenge on him?

'Galway Girl' is a very Irish novel, written in a lyrical style, but the beauty of the language belies the darkness and violence of the content. And a reader coming to the series for the first time may find the story confusing with its references to past events.

The story also rambles at the beginning as the focus shifts from the killing of the guards to the introduction of Jericho who becomes the main antagonist, and we wonder at the role of Stapleton (the son of Jack's former friend and the man he killed).. However, it finds its bearings (much as Jack does) and then moves quickly through to a chilling and unexpected ending.

Fans of the series will be used to Bruen's style and enjoy it. For them, 'Galway Girl' is a must read. For others, I recommend dipping your toes in the water by reading the first in the series, 'The Guards", as a prelude.

This is the first Jack Taylor book I have read but I am a long time fan having watched him on PBS over the years. He has now hit bottom and lots of bottles. Former colleagues are dying and Jack is pulled in with the hope he can catch this killer. And the killer is one very psychotic piece of work. This is a very dark read but if you have enjoyed the TV series, this will fit right in. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Boozing, brawling, brutal Jack Taylor is back at it again in Galway Girl. Attracting troubled no matter what he does, no matter where he goes. Someone is killing his Garda pals and he is more or less into the investigation, but not really. A lot of the time he's reflecting on current events, such as Roseanne Barr's racist rant that got her sacked, soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand and Father Ray Kelly's appearance on Britain's Got Talent.
Maybe if Jack had put more attention into the case he might have saved a few Garda lives.
In my mind the dishevelled, drunken forlorn detective stereotype has had its day.

Police officers are being assassinated in Galway City. The assassins hold grudges; the leader is Jericho, a heartless, sadistic young woman who is hell-bent on doing as much damage as possible to one ex-officer, Jack Taylor. Her motive is personal and, in her attempts to destroy him, she has only pleasure for any collateral damage along the way. Jack is a bitterly cynical, jaded, and equal match for his nemesis. Despite horrendous personal losses, he forges ahead seeking revenge. Ken Bruen’s writing style is unique and I love it. No-holds-barred language and unrelenting action are relieved by literary and musical allusions throughout. His characters linger long after the last page.

Ken Bruen never disappoints. His Jack Taylor series continues with members of the garda being knocked off one by one, and it's not so much a whodunnit, but why, told with Bruen's trademark mix of Black Irish wit and poetry. Earlier installments should be read if any sense is to be made of Jack and his motivations.

This book was excellent! Totally kept my attention and I wanted to find out what would become of the main characters. Highly reccomended.