Rain Dogs

Detective Sean Duffy, Book 5

By: Adrian McKinty

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Edgar Award winner, Best Paperback Original, 2017.

Rain Dogs, a stunning installment in the Sean Duffy thriller series, following the Edgar Award-nominated Gun Street Girl, is "another standout in a superior series" (Booklist).

It's just the same things over and again for Sean Duffy: riot duty, heartbreak, cases he can solve but never get to court. But what detective gets two locked-room mysteries in one career?

When journalist Lily Bigelow is found dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle, it looks like a suicide. Yet there are a few things that bother Duffy just enough to keep the case file open, which is how he finds out that Bigelow was working on a devastating investigation of corruption and abuse at the highest levels of power in the UK and beyond. And so Duffy has two impossible problems on his desk: Who killed Lily Bigelow? And what were they trying to hide?

©2016 Adrian McKinty (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"McKinty expertly balances Duffy's tense and suspenseful investigation with the political tensions of the region." ( Publishers Review)

"McKinty manages a second locked-room success...another standout in a superior series, combining terrific plotting with evocative historical detail." ( Booklist)

"The tension between McKinty's competing love of tight, formal puzzles and loose, riffing dialogue is what makes the Duffy novels such a tremendous joy." ( The Guardian)

Another good Sean Duffy book

The entire series has been a good one and this one does not disappoint. It starts a little slow but the story is another interesting and ingenious mystery with witty dialogue along the way.

Narration from Doyle is terrific as usual. Recommended along with the series.

McKinty is Stellar as Usual

The Sean Duffy series starts off exciting and then continues to get better and better with each book. The stories are so clever and intriguing, but Sean Duffy is as well drawn as any series protagonist. You could read this book without starting at the beginning, but it is so enjoyable watching how the characters progress through the 4 books in the series. I am hoping more will be coming soon. I know I can't wait.

Special mention goes to Gerard Doyle as narrator. He beautiful Irish brogue and excellent acting make for a rare listening experience. He was the perfect choice as narrator of this series.

Quite good

This book was just as entertaining to me as the previous books in the series. That being said, with any series there are aspects of characters/plots/setting that can get stale. There is a bit of that, but I think McKinty has skillfully written another entertaining story that features an older, sometimes wiser, and more likable Sean Duffy.
I found this book to be just as entertaining and enjoyable as I expected and as always the narration was stellar.

You can't go wrong with Sean Duffy

If you've listened to all of the books in Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy series you'll want to listen to this one.

I've liked Sean Duffy and McKinty's writing for that matter from the first book I came across. You can't help but Like Sean, the only Catholic working in a Protestant police office in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles' of the 1980's. Irreverent with a devil may care attitude but also believing in justice and doing whatever he can to get it for the victims, the books are fast paced, well written, and keep your attention.

Excellent addition to the Duffy series

While the world around Duffy hasn't changed there is a gentle change to the character over the course of this book. The puzzle is quite good and the investigation went in a different direction than I thought it would. That's high praise from me. I love to be surprised. Don't listen to this one first, listening to the series in order adds a lovely dimension to this story.
And of course the narration is first rate. Do a quick check on the meaning of rain dogs, I was surprised to find T. Waits album was released the same year this story takes place. Nice bit of synchronistic fun. Love it.