Gallows Lane: An ex con and drug violence collide in the borderlands of Ireland...

by Brian McGilloway

Overview

'Dazzling' The Guardian on Borderlands

'A clever web of intrigue that deepens and darkens as it twists' Peter James on Gallows Lane

'Some of the very best crime fiction being written today' Lee Child on Bad Blood

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When a young woman is found beaten to death on a building site in what appears to be a sexually-motivated killing, Devlin is distracted from his assignment of keeping tabs on Kerr. Enquiries into the murder soon point to a local bodybuilder and steroid addict. But days later, the born-again ex-con Kerr is found nailed to a tree?crucified.

Increasingly torn between his young family and his job, Devlin is determined to apprehend those responsible for the murders before they strike again, even as the carnage begins to jeopardize those he cares about most.

Taking its title from the name of the road down which condemned Donegal criminals were once led,Gallows Lane is a sharp, modern thriller; a stunning second installment in what John Connolly says is set to become one of the great series in modern crime fiction.

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In his critically acclaimed debut, Borderlands, Brian McGilloway opened a window onto modern Ireland through the eyes of Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin, drawing comparisons to John Connolly and Ian Rankin for his tight, fast-paced plotting.

Praise for Gallows Lane

'Outstanding' Publisher's Weekly

Praise for Borderlands

'Brian McGilloway's command of plot and assurance of language make it difficult to believe that Borderlands is his debut.' The Times

'A mystery of labyrinthine complexity' Sunday Telegraph

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472133335
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	06/25/2020
Series:	Inspector Devlin Series , #2
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	310,333
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Brian McGilloway is the author of eleven crime novels including the Ben Devlin mysteries and the Lucy Black series, the first of which, Little Girl Lost, became a New York Times and UK No.1 bestseller. In addition to being shortlisted for a CWA Dagger and the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, he is a past recipient of the Ulster University McCrea Literary Award and won the BBC Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors. He currently teaches in Strabane, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Editorial Reviews

Old guilt and new sins create a tangled puzzle in McGilloway's outstanding second Inspector Devlin mystery (after 2008's Borderlands). When Garda Insp. Benedict Devlin discovers the crucified body of James Kerr, an ex-con who claimed he'd returned home to forgive the gang members who betrayed him after a robbery, Devlin sets out to solve that slaying as well as the original robbery, which have links to drug thefts, brutal attempted rapes and additional murders. Devlin, who also has to cope with backstabbing fellow policemen and can't help getting personally involved in his cases, suffers from attacks of panic and conscience that push him to work harder, even when his wife and boss suggest he ease off. This quietly compelling procedural contains much buried passion, especially in the never acknowledged mutual attraction between Devlin and his female partner. Readers will be gripped as they watch this driven Irish detective seek his place in the moral landscape. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A series of murders in the borderlands between Ireland and Northern Ireland has Inspector Benedict Devlin collaborating with his Northern counterpart. The case turns ugly when Special Branch shows an interest in the investigation. Devlin, who is applying for promotion, finds that his rival for the new job fights dirty, and problems at home almost overwhelm his usual even temperament. VERDICT In this follow-up to his acclaimed debut, Borderlands, McGilloway illustrates the pressures on police officers of rank and the current uneasy truce between Irish factions. Refreshing in its outlook, this procedural showcases a rising star in full command of his craft. Strongly recommended, especially for readers of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus mysteries. [Library marketing.]

Library Journal

Disquiet along the Irish border. Shortly before he retires, Supt. Costello DI instructs Benedict Devlin to meet James Kerr as he leaves Maghaberry Prison and warn him away from resettling in Lifford. Kerr, who's been in trouble with the Gardai most of his life, insists that he's changed; he only wants to talk to Peter Webb and forgive him. But Webb is killed soon after Kerr is spotted near his house, a matter extremely distressing to Webb's wife, who at the time was entertaining her lover Decko O'Kane, ex-con, drug dealer and used-car salesman. Was Webb one of the gang who let Kerr take the fall for the Castlederg robbery? That question is tabled when someone crucifies Kerr and leaves him to die in an orchard. Another member of the robbery gang? When Decko is killed, Devlin must juggle these three deaths with the theft of a breast-cancer drug from a local pharmacy; the attack on two young female clubbers; the appearance of a Brit from Special Branch interested in a cache of guns that bespoke Webb's status as an informer during the Troubles; and an attempt on Devlin's life that lands his partner in the hospital. It takes one bit of videotape to nail one miscreant and another to hobble the mastermind behind him, while the Gardai must discharge one of its own for misbehavior. Devlin (Borderlands, 2008), best of fathers and least politic of coppers, is a helluva hero elbowing his way through a gritty plot.

Kirkus Reviews