Title: The Ruin (Cormac Reilly #1)

Author: Dervla McTiernan

Publisher: Penguin Books 2018

Genre: Crime Thriller

Pages: 380

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Cloak and Dagger

When Aisling Conroy's boyfriend Jack is found in the freezing black waters of the river Corrib, the police tell her it was suicide. A surgical resident, she throws herself into study and work, trying to forget--until Jack's sister Maude shows up. Maude suspects foul play, and she is determined to prove it.

Cormac Reilly is the detective assigned with the re-investigation of a seemingly accidental overdose twenty years ago--the overdose of Jack and Maude's drug and alcohol addled mother. Detective Reilly is under increasing pressure to charge Maude for murder when his colleague Danny uncovers a piece of evidence that will change everything...

This unsettling small-town noir draws us deep into the dark heart of Ireland, where corruption, desperation, and crime run rife. A gritty look at trust and betrayal where the written law isn't the only one, The Ruin asks who will protect you when the authorities can't--or won't.

Our Girly Book Club selection for January is the second in this series (The Scholar). I couldn’t possibly read the second without reading the first, so I grabbed this from the library last week. It took me a few days to get through this one, but I ended really enjoying this murder mystery. The conclusion shocked me a bit and there were definitely some horrific bits. Obviously the series will follow Cormac Reilly’s cases, and I’m interested to see what happens next.

Cormac Reilly

• #1 The Ruin

• #2 The Scholar

• #3 The Good Turn

Next up on the TBR pile: