A Deadly Calling is a dark and fast-paced thriller with some very well-described violence, and it also shows the underbelly of crime in Galway. Once you start reading it you want to reach the end to learn what will happen to the characters and if justice will be done. Good plot and story, entertaining!

This is the first book to feature taxi driver Ben Miller. It's set in Galway, is an easy but violent read and centres around Ben's dealings with corrupt Garda. It was an interesting storyline but failed to keep me interested due to the constant attacks on Ben and the confusing plot. The ending was unsatisfactory and just felt a bit rushed. Overall, a little disappointing. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I wanted to like this, I'm always interested in Irish authors and stories set in Ireland but this was.. not good.

The plot seems totally secondary, the only interest seems to be in moving from setpiece to setpiece without any letup or really any reason. There are some terrible inconsistencies throughout. For example, the best bit of the book is the relationship between Taxi and Nirvana (and this bit is really well done early on) and this is built as they drive to riverbanks and beaches - but later on there is a whole plot point about how Taxi is terrified of water and struggles to control the car.

Ugh. Sorry, I wanted to like it but :(

‘But then the first dead woman turned up.’

Galway, Ireland, 2009.

Ben Miller is a taxi driver who, in his struggle to make a living, has occasionally engaged in criminal activity to make ends meet. Caught by Garda Superintendent Mairtin Folan with drugs in his taxi, Miller makes a deal. Folan, corrupt to the core and involved in a sex-trafficking ring, wants an informant, someone to help him locate particular women. When someone starts murdering the women, Folan wants Miller to help him find the murderer. Folan tries to cover up the murders, but his plans are threatened when Miller decides to help the women under threat.

But who is killing these women, and why? Can Miller prevent any more deaths? Or is he and the non-corrupt gardaí he is working with also in danger? The actual murders are largely peripheral to this story, which focusses more on the reach and impact of the corrupt gardaí Miller is dealing with. Miller survives plenty of beatings in his quest to protect one of the women, but while his actions are well-intentioned, his planning sometimes lets him down.

There’s plenty of violent action in this relatively short novel and while the story held my attention from the beginning, I was disappointed by what was (to me) an inconclusive ending.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes. I've since bought a copy.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Great story. Sean Gibbons has done a good job with this tense and gritty thriller. Ben Miller was my favourite character and he’s sure put through hell by Mairtin Folan. I quite like the pace of the story, and I was keen to find out what happened in the end.
Ben Miller certainly isn’t thrilled that Superintendent Mairtin Folan has him over a barrel after finding him with drugs in his taxi. Now Miller has to do pretty much anything Folan tells him to. What makes it worse is Folan is not the cleanest cop on the force, with his interest in a number of whores living in his investment properties. Since he makes quite a nice profit from this little side business, Folan isn’t happy when three of his girls end up murdered. Now he’s demanding Miller find the killer.
Overall, it’s an interesting and entertaining read, and I look forward to more from this Author in the future. 4/5 Star Rating.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for an advance copy of A Deadly Calling, the first novel to feature taxi driver Ben Miller, set in Galway in 2009.

Ben lives on the fringes of illegality with the odd dodgy deal and this has landed him as an informant and dogsbody to Superintendent Folan, a corrupt Garda who runs a sex trafficking and prostitution ring. When someone starts murdering the women Folan instructs Ben to find him, while he himself tries to cover up the murders. This changes when Ben decides to help one of the women who has escaped not just Folan, but the killer.

I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed A Deadly Calling. All the elements are there, danger, action, unidentified killer and an interesting premise, but it simply didn’t hold my attention. I found it an easy novel to put down and I never heard the siren call luring me back. To be fair the tension ramps up as the novel progresses and Ben gets more and more out of his depth.

I assumed that the murders would play a central role in the novel, but this isn’t the case. Instead it’s more of a violent duel between Folan and Ben with Ben coming off worse every time. I’m not averse to violence in a novel, but this seems like one long repeat of Ben getting beaten up by various gardai with a bit of plot thrown in to leaven the read and it’s quite a short novel. I also think that the novel lacks sharpness. It’s one thing to be reactive in real life, it’s another in fiction and Ben never appears to have a coherent plan or goal. This is summed up in the ending which is less than conclusive and, to my mind, massively disappointing.

Dark and gritty Irish crime drama. Ben Miller is a taxi driver who treads a very gray line but really just wants to do 'the right thing' although a lot of people want very different results