Adrian McKinty knows how to write a gripping read. I absolutely recommend this author to all thriller fans. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone for a copy.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think the atmosphere and the overall vibe was my favorite part. The narrator was great. I enjoyed the mystery overall. I did predict the killer but I didn’t predict the twist! Absolutely fantastic read! Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read/listen to the great book!

This was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into the narrator, which just took away from the story. I love everything I have read by Adrian McKinty so I’ll have to pick this up in paperback and give it another go!

I am new to this series but I had a chance to listen to this from NetGalley, and only one day to listen to it so I went ahead. This is a standard police procedural, solid and with realistic characters. The characters make a lot of comments and jokes, but it doesn't take away from the seriousness of the situation.
This particular detective is involved as kind of a last hurrah and he wants to help because nobody else seems to care what happened to this missing girl. People have different motives for having interacted with the missing girl and you start getting a picture of her just from what they say.
The most interesting part of the book is how the place and time impose their own character on the story, and it's fascinating for someone like me who knows little about Irish history.

The Detective Up Late

I did not do my homework with this one. I assumed (wrongly) because the last Adrian McKinty I heard buzz about was a standalone - the Chain (still sitting lonely on my bookshelf) - that this one would be too. In fact, this is the only the book in the Sean Duffy detective sentries. Who knew? Someone. Just not me.

As far as style, this is more detective procedural than thriller. It fits how I picture an Irish or Scottish detective story set in 1990 should be. It is a bit slower than I would have liked but it was methodical and followed the plot in such a way that when the murder is solved, I wondered why I hadn’t figured it out sooner. It just made sense…although in my defence there were multiple possible suspects throughout the story.

If this is how DI Duffy does his last case - which it is supposed to be - I look forward to going back and seeing how he’s handled previous ones.

Sean Duffy is a great character. He is troubled, storied and successful. He is the cop his coworkers love to hate; he’s not like the rest of them, he’s unapologetic and he doesn’t always do things by the book BUT he gets results. His sarcastic sense of humour had me chuckling even while his penchance for violence had me shuddering.

As an added bonus, I listened to this one and the narrator - Gerald Doyle - was perfection.

When I picked up the book, I didn’t know that it’s 7th book in the series! But, it was good as stand alone book. I never felt that I’m missing something.
Really good written. I read couple other books by McKinty, and I liked them all, so I knew what to expect.
The story was slow burning from the beginning, and get more intense and intriguing as its progress. The ending was perfect.
I loved the main character, especially his sarcastic humour.
I really enjoyed the narrative of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing the audiobook.

Not what I expected from this author - this was the first book in the series I read so I was a little lost to start. Decent book overall, just not really my type of genre.

I think if I were to read the other books in this series (I was unaware this was a series), instead of listening to the audiobook version, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. With books like The Chain, I had high hopes for the Detective Up Late. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to keep up and there weren’t many moments where I had the feeling of “holy shit”. However, I will say that Sean Duffy’s character is one funny son of a gun! Thank you to netgalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The detective up late. By Adrian McKinty. Narrated by Gerard Doyle. Fiction, Mystery, Police Procedural, Crime.
Everything about this book reminds me of growing up around my grandma. Her stories, all the mysteries we would watch and read together. Watching the news about Ireland with her. She would have loved this book.

I loved this book. Beautifully descriptive, perfectly narrated and addicting from the start. Full of history and mystery till the end.
It's the end of the eighties. Sean Duffy has one last case before retirement; a missing Traveler teenager. For a simple last case it becomes deadly very fast.

All in all this is a great audiobook, perfect narration and a fast pace. It's hard to put down.
I'd like to thank Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a latecomer to this series, having only read the sixth and now this, the seventh. I miss Ken Bruens, Jack Taylor novels and have been looking for a replacement. While Sean Duffy is not quite as raunchy as Jack, he has the same determination to find the truth and finish the job. It's the eighties and Duffy is Catholic in Protestant Belfast,it has not been easy, but now after this, his last case,he will be turning over the reins to another. He will still work one week a month, so he can still receive his pension,but it won't be him in charge. There's just this one last case, best laid plans and all that,but he wants it solved before he steps down.

A teenage girl has gone missing, she is a traveler, and Duffy wants to know why as well as where. Not straightforward, things are not as they seem, and the case may not be solvable. Atmospheric,well plotted,with some interesting characters. Well done.

The narration was excellent.

This is my second book by this Irish author and he’s becoming a firm favourite. Typical for me, I did not realise this was a series - in fact it’s the 7th in a series. That said, and without reading the earlier books, I felt it could be totally read as a standalone. Full of action, rich characters and atmosphere and peppered with dark humour its a wonderful, literary, police procedural. The audiobook was superbly narrated by Gerard Doyle.
Many thanks to @blackstonepublishing for and ALC 🎧⭐️

While I have heard of Adrian McKinty through one of his very popular books, The Chain, this was my first time reading one of his works and meeting Detective Sean Duffy. Given that this was #7 is a series, there were references that likely would have been more clear, had a read/listened to the first six books in the series. Despite that, I enjoyed The Detective Up late and this won't be my last McKinty book.

The author does a nice job of putting the reader on the streets of Belfast, experiencing all that Detective Duffy is experiencing. Detective Duffy is not the usual detective, and I enjoyed his sarcasm and wit. I found the details of Northern Ireland and foreign police procedure quite interesting.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing Audiobooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of The Detective Up Late.

I listened to this book and really enjoyed the sarcasm expressed out loud and the accent was perfect! I loved it! The plot was rather complex, I sometimes had to concentrate hard, but it was worth it! Brilliant conclusion!
I received a complimentary ARC of this audio novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

I am a big fan of Adrian’s other books but this one was a struggle for me to get through. I do understand that it’s a bit of a different genre but it didn’t have the pacing or turn page factor I have come to expect. That’s ok! I did enjoy it overall once I adjusted to the different style and pacing. Not the best detective story but solid.

I didn’t realize this was apart of the series going in but i think it follows easily without issue. I did struggle in the beginning because it had a slow build but it did pick up. It’s a very atmospheric read and It was dark and gritty. Overall i liked it

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨!

I had no idea this book was part of a series, I just saw Adrian Mckinty and knew I had to read it. Fortunately I didn’t have any trouble following this story and now I need to read more about Detective Duffy. If you like police procedurals and suspenseful stories you need to read this book.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this tour invite.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗨𝗽 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 by Adrian McKinty released August 8, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

a gripping story that made me curious to read more of the series. the detective up late is not just a fascinating murder mystery, but also provides really detailed insights into the characters’ lives, which kept me even more engaged in the plot. detective duffy is a great character that adds a lot of personality and humour to the narrative and i immediately warmed to him as a character despite not being familiar with any of the previous books in the series. despite not specifically being a novel about the troubles, the book captures life in early 1990s northern ireland in fascinating and often harrowing ways.

EXCERPT: The alarm bells were ringing now. Ringing for both of us.
We knew how these things went most of the time. A teenage girl goes missing. One day, two days, no trace of her anywhere and then on that third day she shows up. She's at a friend's house, she's at a boyfriend's, she's with her estranged father. This was a surprisingly common narrative. Maybe got three or four of those a month. A million reasons for it: domestic abuse, kid growing out the nest, a row with her mum, a row with a sibling, a row with her dad, guilt over some minor infraction of the social norms, a boy at the back of it . . . Like I say, three or four of those a month.
But a prostitute going missing? A teen prostitute?
That was another kettle of fish.
That was never good.
That was front page of The News of the World stuff.
Alarm bloody bells.

ABOUT 'THE DETECTIVE UP LATE': It’s the dawn of the new decade, and Detective Inspector Sean Duffy is more than happy to slam the door on the grisly ’80s, clinging to the hope that the ’90s might prove more peaceful for the people of Belfast. Duffy looks forward to embarking on his own personal new chapter, spending more time with his longtime partner, Beth, and daughter, Emma, as he switches to being a part-timer at the Carrickfergus RUC.

Before Duffy can shift gears though, a missing person report captures his attention. A fifteen-year-old girl from a seedy local caravan park has vanished without a trace. Duffy’s sense that this is more than a case of a teenage runaway is soon confirmed as he uncovers a network of lurid middle-aged men closely connected with the girl. Fearing that every second lost could mean the case remaining unsolved, Duffy urgently tries to uncover what happened to the girl—while simultaneously having to manage a mercurial triple agent. This final case for Detective Duffy looms more dangerous and twisted than anyone had first expected.

MY THOUGHTS: Sean Duffy, I have missed you. It seems like forever since #6, 'Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly' was published. Indeed, it was 2017. Mr McKinty, I know you have been busy writing other books, but I really need a regular fix of Sean Duffy, otherwise I tend to get a wee bit tetchy. Not that I don't love your other books - I do - but I love Sean Duffy more. I read I checked under the Beemer for bombs, but she was clean. or some variation, and all is right in my world again.

So, it's 1990. Believe it pal. Forget the rain. Forget the weather cos the future's coming. The future was a silver light. The smell in the air was change. Before year's end, Thatcher will be gone, the Soviet Union will be on its last legs, Germany will be one country, not two. Iraq's about to invade our consciousnesses and a rich kid called Osama Bin Laden is going to start a jihad to rid Saudi Arabia of the infidel.

And it's Sean Duffy's last case as a full time D.I.

And he's moving to Shortbread Land. (Duffy's term, not mine.)

Change is certainly afoot, but first he has one last case to solve, and a jittery spy to placate.

McKinty, as always, writes with a black humor that has me snorting out loud at the most inopportune times. He writes with passion, with confidence, and imbues his characters with acres of personality and their own particular offbeat charm. His dialogue is superbly rich, his settings full of accuracy and atmosphere. I simply Hoover up his words, desperate for my fix, but not wanting to get to the end of the book anytime soon.

I simply can't imagine Sean Duffy not being a detective. Which he won't be in his new part time role. Not that I think that will stop him because detecting is in his blood. It's what he does. It's like breathing to him. So, while I am waiting for #8, I will simply start this wonderful series again, from the beginning.

My favorite line: Getting a morality lesson from you two is like getting sensitivity training from Himmler.

I have just listened to the audiobook of The Detective Up Late narrated by Gerard Doyle. Superb! I can still hear the narrator's mellifluous voice. If anything, an even better experience than the book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheDetectiveUpLate #NetGalley

I: #adrianmckinty @blackstonepublishing

X: @adrianmckinty @Blackstonepubl1

#crime #detectivefiction #friendship #irishfiction #mystery #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Adrian McKinty is an Irish novelist. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Victoria Council Estate, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He read law at the University of Warwick and politics and philosophy at the University of Oxford. He moved to the United States in the early 1990s, living first in Harlem, New York and from 2001 on, in Denver, Colorado, where he taught high school English and began writing fiction. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley for providing both a digital and audio ARC of The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty for review. The audiobook is superbly narrated by Gerard Doyle. I would listen to him reading a telephone book (if there were still such a thing.)
All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Engaging, atmospheric and expertly narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

THE DETECTIVE UP LATE by Adrian McGinty
Narrated by Gerard Doyle
Blackstone Publishing - Audiobook … 9 hours, 16 min
Publication: August 2023




There is no better way to jump on the Sean Duffy Train than immerse yourself in the audio version narrated by the magnificent Gerald Doyle. His ability to supply various Scottish and Irish accents and nuances for the multiple characters bring this historical noir to a gritty and dark life in the theater of your mind. Even if you’ve missed the first six installments in this highly acclaimed and award winning series this will allow you to immediately become enamored with the unique, grumpy, sarcastic and highly principled, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy. This is billed as “his last case” ….Bollocks!!! …don’t believe it! Some say he’s nothing special as a detective … no Sherlock Holmes … but what he is… is persistent in an OCD fashion. Like the proverbial dog with a bone. The scene opens on New Year’s Eve … celebrating the end of the 80s with his partner, Beth … hoping that the New Year and start of the 90’s will bring an end to the hostilities in Northern Ireland. Beth has convinced Sean for the sake of security and safety for them and their 3 year-old daughter Emma, they should move from Northern Ireland to her home in the southern part of Scotland … home of retirees and some call, “one of God’s Waiting Rooms.’
Sean Duffy is the ultimate outsider… being a Catholic cop, surrounded by the mostly Protestant members of the Carrickfergus RUC ( Royal Ulster Constabulary) and its constituents. He has survived the 80’s with its turmoil of riots, bombings and assassination attempts led by either the IRA or its brethren paramilitary groups. He can qualify for his pension if he works part time, such as 7 to 8 days a month for the next three years, and turn over his leadership of the detectives at RUC. As he’s about to relinquish his position, when a MPC (Missing Person Case) comes across his desk. A fifteen year-old traveller girl (a “tinker”), named Kat McAtamney went missing. The chief inspector says its a waste of police time and to file the necessary paperwork and forget about it. “Tinker girls go missing all the time.” Naturally Duffy digs right in and steps on a multitude of toes as he doggedly precedes with his investigation. His crew is composed of DI McCrabban, and his soon to be replacement, DI Lawson. Sean is disgusted how little his other colleagues care if this case is worked… the local press finds the case un newsworthy. He turns up a cast of dodgy blokes who may have been involved with her disappearance or murder. His investigation inevitably comes up against sinister and powerful forces wanting to shut it down. It should be noted that every time he approaches his Beemer, he inspects the undercarriage looking for a tilt bomb.
McGinty is a marvelous storyteller and weaves together a complex narrative with multiple unexpected twists and turn and escalating suspense. He effortlessly injects a heavy dose of dark humor, filled with wit and pitch perfect sarcasm, that envelops the incomparable and unforgettable Detective Inspector Sean Duffy. Hopefully, this “last case” will be reminiscent of Frank Sinatra’s “Farewell Tour” … in which he announced his retirement in 1971, only to be followed by another thousand concerts.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing an advanced version Audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Excuse me .. while I go download the first six novels of this marvelous series.