The theft of the Book of Kells -- an exquisite ninth-century amalgam of Christian doctrine and Celtic legend -- from the Trinity College library is, in itself, a most shocking crime. But it is the brutal slaying of a night watchman that throws Peter McGarr of the Dublin Murder Squad into the mix. Forced to share investigative duties equally with a publicity-hungry co-Chief Superintendent, McGarr is soon entangled in a twisted web of murder, thievery, back-biting politics, and dark pagan rituals. And surely more blood will flow as secrets, deceptions, and well-guarded lies come to light -- forcing an intrepid detective to doubt the loyalties of even his closest compatriots -- in a chilling case that threatens to bring about nothing less than the destruction of contemporary Irish society.
From Publishers Weekly
The eighth and sadly the last in Gill's Peter McGarr series (the author died last summer) is a complicated and gloomy foray into Ireland's relentlessly tragic political and social landscape. Unidentified criminals, striking at the heart of Irish culture and tradition, kill a security guard and abscond from Trinity College with the revered Book of Kells, for which they demand a huge ransom. McGarr, "chief superintendent of the Serious Crimes Unit of the Garda Siochana," takes on the case. Corrupt higher-ups in the Garda dismiss McGarr when he treads on sensitive ground, but guilty feelings stemming from the unsolved murders of his wife and father-in-law drive him onward. At times hard to follow, this deeply depressing story builds to a gripping, carnage-filled climax. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
The theft of the Book of Kells -- an exquisite ninth-century amalgam of Christian doctrine and Celtic legend -- from the Trinity College library is, in itself, a most shocking crime. But it is the brutal slaying of a night watchman that throws Peter McGarr of the Dublin Murder Squad into the mix. Forced to share investigative duties equally with a publicity-hungry co-Chief Superintendent, McGarr is soon entangled in a twisted web of murder, thievery, back-biting politics, and dark pagan rituals. And surely more blood will flow as secrets, deceptions, and well-guarded lies come to light -- forcing an intrepid detective to doubt the loyalties of even his closest compatriots -- in a chilling case that threatens to bring about nothing less than the destruction of contemporary Irish society.
From Publishers Weekly
The eighth and sadly the last in Gill's Peter McGarr series (the author died last summer) is a complicated and gloomy foray into Ireland's relentlessly tragic political and social landscape. Unidentified criminals, striking at the heart of Irish culture and tradition, kill a security guard and abscond from Trinity College with the revered Book of Kells, for which they demand a huge ransom. McGarr, "chief superintendent of the Serious Crimes Unit of the Garda Siochana," takes on the case. Corrupt higher-ups in the Garda dismiss McGarr when he treads on sensitive ground, but guilty feelings stemming from the unsolved murders of his wife and father-in-law drive him onward. At times hard to follow, this deeply depressing story builds to a gripping, carnage-filled climax.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This is the sixteenth, and last, police procedural starring Peter McGarr, chief superintendent of the Serious Crimes Unit of the Garda Siochana, the Irish Police. McGarr's creator, Mark McGarrity, who chose the pen name Gill (leaving part of his surname in the name of his protagonist), died this past summer. In some series, the main character remains static, a mere calculating machine in the solution of mysteries. The Edgar-nominated McGarr series was special in many ways, but primarily in how McGarr grew and changed as a character and in the way Gill contrasted McGarr's personal life with his professional one. In the last of the series, a widowed and shattered McGarr finds surcease from his grief in his work and is faced with a case that demands all his cunning. Ireland's most valuable cultural icon, the Book of Kells, has been stolen from the Old Library of Trinity College. A terrorist group, the New Druids, holds the book for ransom, threatening to burn a page a day until their demand for 50 million Euro dollars is met. This is a spectacularly suspenseful book, skillfully leading the reader through the political crisis the kidnap of Kells ignites. It is also a wonderful exploration of Irish culture and, especially, the history and artistry of the Book of Kells itself. Gill's last case is a masterpiece. Connie Fletcher
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