Series
Publication
Hachette Audio UK (2018)
Original publication date
2018
Collections
Genres
Awards
Davitt Award (Winner — 2019)
Not the Booker Prize (Shortlist — 2018)
Barry Award (Winner — 2019)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Mystery — 2019)
Irish Book Award (Nominee — Crime Fiction — 2018)
Ned Kelly Award (Winner — 2019)
Australian Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — General Fiction — 2019)
The Indie Book Award (Longlist — 2019)
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards (Shortlist — Emerging Writer — 2018)
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: It's been twenty years since Cormac Reilly discovered the body of Hilaria Blake in her crumbling Georgian home. But he's never forgotten the two children she left behind ... 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..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
This mystery was okay, as mysteries go, and it did entertain me. However, I never was able to connect with the characters. It's not that I disliked them, even the ones I was supposed to dislike, it's just that I didn't care. Apparently, this is the first book of a series, none other published yet,
I did find it kind of...well, not actually funny, but...interestingly coincidental that, when speaking of a rapist, there was this sentence: “But she caught the eye of that man Kavanagh. And he put something in her drink, and her friends just left her there.” There were some Irish terms that I'm not familiar with, but not that I couldn't get the gist from context. A decent book for those who like mysteries, but a bit run-of-the-mill.
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and I won't go out of my way to read any future installments. The story was wrapped up reasonably well at the end, so it's not like I was left with a cliffhanger, to compel me to get the next book – I hate when that happens. I did find it kind of...well, not actually funny, but...interestingly coincidental that, when speaking of a rapist, there was this sentence: “But she caught the eye of that man Kavanagh. And he put something in her drink, and her friends just left her there.” There were some Irish terms that I'm not familiar with, but not that I couldn't get the gist from context. A decent book for those who like mysteries, but a bit run-of-the-mill.
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LibraryThing member booklovers2
Mystery Thriller, starts with a young policeman responding to a domestic call only to find 2 children with their mother dead from a heroin overdose. It was obvious that abuse was going on in the dilapidated home and the young boy had bruises and burns with his 15 year old sister protecting him.
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Cormic, the Garda agent did all he could taking the children to the hospital, making sure that child services were involved, only Maude,the sister disappeared at the hospital but the little boy was placed in foster care. 20 years later Cormic is back working in the same station working on old cases; The Blake boy commits suicide, only Maude reappears after 20 years and pressures the police to look into his death because she says he was murdered. Good Thriller, Quick Read! Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Cormac Reilly moves from Dublin to the Galway force, but does not feel very welcome. He is given cold cases to work, and one of them is the death due to a heroin overdose of a mother of two, which he worked as a very young police officer.
This was well-written and overall enjoyable. I am giving it
I will look out for the next instalment.
This was well-written and overall enjoyable. I am giving it
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four stars because everything was tied up clearly at the end, but along the way it was hard to keep going at times. There was a lot of focus on the politics affecting the Galway force and it was hard to keep everyone straight in my head. It was a puzzle to understand why Cormac was being sidelined and so badly treated when he was supposed to be a senior and respected officer, and I found it plain depressing to read. Cormac didn't have much of a personality apart from his relationship with Emma, and that was not really developed. Maude was a much stronger character, and it would have been a stronger narrative if she and Cormac had teamed up far earlier.I will look out for the next instalment.
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LibraryThing member Kathl33n
DNF at 156 pages. This book started out so promising. A police officer goes on a call to a dilapidated house in ruins and finds a dead body and two abandoned children, all while it's dark and gloomy and raining in Ireland. Come on!! It was a book written just for me :) Unfortunately, after that
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everything just slowed down and kept slowing down and I just found myself bored and I was having to push myself to keep reading. Today I finally realized I had no future with this book because I really wasn't interested in the murder outcome or the characters. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest opinion. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
In 1993, Cormac is a young Garda, called to the scene of a possible domestic. Inside a dilapadated house he finds two young children. Maude, fifteen and Jack only five, both paifully thin. In an upstairs bedroom he finds a dead woman, with the needle still stuck in her arm. Fast forward twenty
This is a well thought-out, tightly plotted police procedural. The first in a new series featuring Cormac. Although I didn't feel i got to know Cormac particularly well, I did like that he transferred because of his love interest Emma, putting her job first. A clever and appreciated turn around of gender politics. It was rather the dark atmosphere that captivated my attention. Also the characters of a now grown Maude, and Aisling, a young woman training to be a surgeon. She is also Jack's love interest, provided an additional focus.
There is also something going on in the Garda station, concerning someone Cormac has considered a friend. This additional thread, along with the investigation kept the plot moving quickly. A good start to a new series, that I believe if kept to the same standards as this one, will be very successful. Reminded me a little of the books by the successful, Denise Mina.
ARC by Edelweiss.
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years, Cormac now a seasomed Garda, recently transferred to Belfast, find himself embroiled in a suspected suicide, concerning once again Jack and Maude.This is a well thought-out, tightly plotted police procedural. The first in a new series featuring Cormac. Although I didn't feel i got to know Cormac particularly well, I did like that he transferred because of his love interest Emma, putting her job first. A clever and appreciated turn around of gender politics. It was rather the dark atmosphere that captivated my attention. Also the characters of a now grown Maude, and Aisling, a young woman training to be a surgeon. She is also Jack's love interest, provided an additional focus.
There is also something going on in the Garda station, concerning someone Cormac has considered a friend. This additional thread, along with the investigation kept the plot moving quickly. A good start to a new series, that I believe if kept to the same standards as this one, will be very successful. Reminded me a little of the books by the successful, Denise Mina.
ARC by Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member muddyboy
When a young man (Jack) apparently jumps off a bridge and commits suicide his girlfriend (Aisling) is heart broken as we would expect. But, his sister comes back home from Australia she insists that this is something Jack would not do. She suspects murder. As the plot unravels were hear stories of
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child abuse and police corruption. It takes the full extent of the book for the complex tale to come to light. This is a great novel for the mystery lover with a bevy of twists and turns. The novel was very well written I was drawn into this taut story. Show Less
LibraryThing member dooney
This is a well-written and tightly plotted book that I found completely engaging. I admit however, the some of what I found most appealing about the book would be aspects others might find annoying. I found Cormac and Aisling to be well-drawn. I found them both believable, even in their
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inconsistencies., although liking the characters is not something I find necessary in a novel. In fact their inconsistencies were part of what I liked best about the novel. The intellectual part of me wants a hard-hitting super-detective but humans aren't really like that. The people who do well and get ahead aren't always the smartest, aren't any different than you or I; they work hard and learn how to play the game. We all do that. We want our heroes to be superheroes. We also tend to think we are somehow inferior because we have to learn to play the game to succeed. McTiernan plays on that in this novel. Cormac is also in a difficult, liminal period of his career, and is not sure which steps are the right steps. He stumbles. He has a blind spot. He cannot see the true nature of an old friend. But again most of us are like that in the same way. I was rooting for him even as I was cursing his missteps. I will read the author's next novel when it is released. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gingermama
In 2013, the police claim that 25-year-old Jack Blake committed suicide by jumping into a river in Galway, Ireland. But the young man's sister and girlfriend dispute that assumption and begin finding evidence to the contrary. Why are the police so reluctant to accept that it could be murder? Could
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the suspicious death of his mother 20 years earlier be connected? "The Ruin" is an intricately plotted, well-written mystery with enough red herrings to keep you guessing while still providing a satisfying ending. Unique, believable characters and realistic dialogue hold the reader's interest throughout. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This is the first book from this writer but I'll bet it won't be the last. It caught my attention from the very beginning and I was reading avidly every chance I got. It doesn't hurt (as far as I am concerned) that it takes place in the west of Ireland, in and around Galway. I've been there twice
Detective Cormac Reilly is now in his forties but as a raw young garda he went out on his own to a secluded house. There he found two youngsters in a freezing cold and almost falling down house with their mother dead in the bedroom on the second floor. She had a tie around her upper arm and there was a syringe on the floor. Her daughter Maude had called the police from the village after finding her mother dead in the morning. The son, Jack, was only five years old and he was hurt. Cormac Reilly took both children to the hospital but Maude disappeared as soon as she knew Jack was safe. Jack was fostered and then adopted by a couple in Galway and never saw his sister again. Twenty years later Jack's body is found in the river, an apparent suicide as the police had received an anonymous tip about someone jumping off a bridge. Jack's girlfriend/partner, Aisling Conroy, blames herself for driving him to suicide because she had just told him she was pregnant. Aisling is a doctor and wants to be a surgeon and a pregnancy would make it impossible for her to reach her dream. They were going to discuss the options further but Jack never came back. Cormac has only recently moved to Galway from Dublin with his girlfriend and all he's been doing is reviewing cold cases. When Jack's sister appears in Galway in time for Jack's funeral after a twenty-year absence she raises doubts about the suicide finding. The police are reluctant to reopen the case but Cormac is asked to look at the old case of Jack and Maude's mother. Meanwhile Maude and Aisling pursue their own investigation. When another detective uncovers new evidence that points to Maude being the person who obtained the heroin that killed her mother Maude is arrested. Some police even suggest that Maude killed Jack as well. Cormac is doubtful of this but as an outsider in the detective squad he is having trouble getting others to believe him.
I really liked the strong women characters in this book even though the lead detective is male. I also thought the plot was quite convincing. At the back of this book was a first chapter from McTiernan's next mystery which is going to be released this year. I'll be looking for it.
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and hoping to return so the details about the town and countryside caught my attention.Detective Cormac Reilly is now in his forties but as a raw young garda he went out on his own to a secluded house. There he found two youngsters in a freezing cold and almost falling down house with their mother dead in the bedroom on the second floor. She had a tie around her upper arm and there was a syringe on the floor. Her daughter Maude had called the police from the village after finding her mother dead in the morning. The son, Jack, was only five years old and he was hurt. Cormac Reilly took both children to the hospital but Maude disappeared as soon as she knew Jack was safe. Jack was fostered and then adopted by a couple in Galway and never saw his sister again. Twenty years later Jack's body is found in the river, an apparent suicide as the police had received an anonymous tip about someone jumping off a bridge. Jack's girlfriend/partner, Aisling Conroy, blames herself for driving him to suicide because she had just told him she was pregnant. Aisling is a doctor and wants to be a surgeon and a pregnancy would make it impossible for her to reach her dream. They were going to discuss the options further but Jack never came back. Cormac has only recently moved to Galway from Dublin with his girlfriend and all he's been doing is reviewing cold cases. When Jack's sister appears in Galway in time for Jack's funeral after a twenty-year absence she raises doubts about the suicide finding. The police are reluctant to reopen the case but Cormac is asked to look at the old case of Jack and Maude's mother. Meanwhile Maude and Aisling pursue their own investigation. When another detective uncovers new evidence that points to Maude being the person who obtained the heroin that killed her mother Maude is arrested. Some police even suggest that Maude killed Jack as well. Cormac is doubtful of this but as an outsider in the detective squad he is having trouble getting others to believe him.
I really liked the strong women characters in this book even though the lead detective is male. I also thought the plot was quite convincing. At the back of this book was a first chapter from McTiernan's next mystery which is going to be released this year. I'll be looking for it.
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LibraryThing member thesmellofbooks
I'm so pleased I came across this novel. It is excellent crime fiction, but goes above and beyond the call of that genre, examining a moment in the social history of Ireland and the children who suffered as a result of its child protection failings. It works equally well as a character study, and
I read this first novel in anticipation of reading McTiernan's second book, which I heard her interviewed about on RTÉ. But it was very much a worthy read on its own.
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the writing is flawless. As a crime novel I especially enjoyed the separate paths of the viewpoint characters--I'll stop myself there.I read this first novel in anticipation of reading McTiernan's second book, which I heard her interviewed about on RTÉ. But it was very much a worthy read on its own.
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LibraryThing member kewing
I enjoyed the mysteries in The Ruin, the connection between an engrossing prologue set in 1993 and more plodding yet sufficiently engaging main mystery set in 2013 -- from a supposed drug overdose in a background of child abuse, to a suicide without motive that becomes a murder without context, all
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wrapped in in a dysfunctional police department, drug abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, gossip and innuendo. This is a multi-layered mystery, in which some of the deeper layers remain unresolved; that's okay, if they become further resolved in future titles in the series. I also look forward to more texture to the personalities of the main characters, Cormac and Aisling, along with some of the secondary characters. I also look forward to McTiernan addressing some clunky dialogue (the Irish slang doesn't bother me) and pacing. What works very well is the setting--the look and feel of the buildings, the pubs, the countryside, the weather (I've spend considerable time in the Galway area and I enjoyed being able to visualize the actions). A good and engaging first mystery; we'll see if it continues with The Scholar. Show Less
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Dervla McTiernan’s debut novel has become a bestseller in Australia and Ireland, and was named an Amazon book of the year in the USA. The Ruin is a police procedural, Introducing Cormac Reilly, a detective in the An Garda Síochána.
Having spent most of his career with Ireland’s elite Garda
Aisling is devastated when two Garda officers arrive at her door and inform her that her partner is dead, an anonymous caller reported that Jack jumped from O’Brien’s Bridge and his body has been discovered downstream. In shock and feeling guilty about a recent disagreement, Aisling doesn’t question the verdict of suicide, but his sister Maude refuses to accept the possibility, and is determined to prove it despite the gardai’s refusal to investigate.
The Ruin unfolds from the perspectives of a Cormac and Aisling as the past and present collide. McTiernan develops an intelligent, layered plot that delves into issues such as child abuse, addiction, abortion and corruption. The questions surrounding Jack’s death are intriguing and I enjoyed the twists and turns the case took.
Cormac is almost unique in crime fiction - a male detective who isn’t a single, alcoholic, depressive. McTiernan only seems to provide a general sense of who Reilly is though, as a detective he is hardworking, ethical, and impatient with office politics, as a man, he is generally amiable and thoughtful , and there are hints of an interesting backstory related to his partner, for whom he relocated to Galway.
I expect as the series progresses we will learn more about Reilly’s new colleagues, many of whom seem to be hiding secrets. The characters specifically relating to the plot are well rounded and believable. Aisling and Maude are sympathetic, and the neighbour, Mrs. Keane, gave me the creeps.
McTiernan strikes just the right balance between description and detail, creating vivid settings. The pace is great, with each chapter moving the story forward, culminating in an tense conclusion.
The Ruin is a gritty, compelling, atmospheric novel, deserving of the praise it has received. The Ruin’s sequel, The Scholar was released in February 2019, and the third novel in the series, No Good Turn is Due for publication in 2020.
Having spent most of his career with Ireland’s elite Garda
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units in Dublin, Cormac Reilly is finding his new appointment at a Garda Station in Galway disappointing, his new colleagues are unwelcoming, and his boss has assigned him nothing but cold cases since he has arrived. Cormac is puzzled when one of those cases involves the first call he ever attended as a rookie twenty years before, the overdose of a young mother, who left behind two neglected children, fifteen year old Maude and five year old Jake.Aisling is devastated when two Garda officers arrive at her door and inform her that her partner is dead, an anonymous caller reported that Jack jumped from O’Brien’s Bridge and his body has been discovered downstream. In shock and feeling guilty about a recent disagreement, Aisling doesn’t question the verdict of suicide, but his sister Maude refuses to accept the possibility, and is determined to prove it despite the gardai’s refusal to investigate.
The Ruin unfolds from the perspectives of a Cormac and Aisling as the past and present collide. McTiernan develops an intelligent, layered plot that delves into issues such as child abuse, addiction, abortion and corruption. The questions surrounding Jack’s death are intriguing and I enjoyed the twists and turns the case took.
Cormac is almost unique in crime fiction - a male detective who isn’t a single, alcoholic, depressive. McTiernan only seems to provide a general sense of who Reilly is though, as a detective he is hardworking, ethical, and impatient with office politics, as a man, he is generally amiable and thoughtful , and there are hints of an interesting backstory related to his partner, for whom he relocated to Galway.
I expect as the series progresses we will learn more about Reilly’s new colleagues, many of whom seem to be hiding secrets. The characters specifically relating to the plot are well rounded and believable. Aisling and Maude are sympathetic, and the neighbour, Mrs. Keane, gave me the creeps.
McTiernan strikes just the right balance between description and detail, creating vivid settings. The pace is great, with each chapter moving the story forward, culminating in an tense conclusion.
The Ruin is a gritty, compelling, atmospheric novel, deserving of the praise it has received. The Ruin’s sequel, The Scholar was released in February 2019, and the third novel in the series, No Good Turn is Due for publication in 2020.
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LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Dervla McTiernan’s debut novel has become a bestseller in Australia and Ireland, and was named an Amazon book of the year in the USA. The Ruin is a police procedural, Introducing Cormac Reilly, a detective in the An Garda Síochána.
Having spent most of his career with Ireland’s elite Garda
Aisling is devastated when two Garda officers arrive at her door and inform her that her partner is dead, an anonymous caller reported that Jack jumped from O’Brien’s Bridge and his body has been discovered downstream. In shock and feeling guilty about a recent disagreement, Aisling doesn’t question the verdict of suicide, but his sister Maude refuses to accept the possibility, and is determined to prove it despite the gardai’s refusal to investigate.
The Ruin unfolds from the perspectives of a Cormac and Aisling as the past and present collide. McTiernan develops an intelligent, layered plot that delves into issues such as child abuse, addiction, abortion and corruption. The questions surrounding Jack’s death are intriguing and I enjoyed the twists and turns the case took.
Cormac is almost unique in crime fiction - a male detective who isn’t a single, alcoholic, depressive. McTiernan only seems to provide a general sense of who Reilly is though, as a detective he is hardworking, ethical, and impatient with office politics, as a man, he is generally amiable and thoughtful , and there are hints of an interesting backstory related to his partner, for whom he relocated to Galway.
I expect as the series progresses we will learn more about Reilly’s new colleagues, many of whom seem to be hiding secrets. The characters specifically relating to the plot are well rounded and believable. Aisling and Maude are sympathetic, and the neighbour, Mrs. Keane, gave me the creeps.
McTiernan strikes just the right balance between description and detail, creating vivid settings. The pace is great, with each chapter moving the story forward, culminating in an tense conclusion.
The Ruin is a gritty, compelling, atmospheric novel, deserving of the praise it has received. The Ruin’s sequel, The Scholar was released in February 2019, and the third novel in the series, No Good Turn is Due for publication in 2020.
Having spent most of his career with Ireland’s elite Garda
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units in Dublin, Cormac Reilly is finding his new appointment at a Garda Station in Galway disappointing, his new colleagues are unwelcoming, and his boss has assigned him nothing but cold cases since he has arrived. Cormac is puzzled when one of those cases involves the first call he ever attended as a rookie twenty years before, the overdose of a young mother, who left behind two neglected children, fifteen year old Maude and five year old Jake.Aisling is devastated when two Garda officers arrive at her door and inform her that her partner is dead, an anonymous caller reported that Jack jumped from O’Brien’s Bridge and his body has been discovered downstream. In shock and feeling guilty about a recent disagreement, Aisling doesn’t question the verdict of suicide, but his sister Maude refuses to accept the possibility, and is determined to prove it despite the gardai’s refusal to investigate.
The Ruin unfolds from the perspectives of a Cormac and Aisling as the past and present collide. McTiernan develops an intelligent, layered plot that delves into issues such as child abuse, addiction, abortion and corruption. The questions surrounding Jack’s death are intriguing and I enjoyed the twists and turns the case took.
Cormac is almost unique in crime fiction - a male detective who isn’t a single, alcoholic, depressive. McTiernan only seems to provide a general sense of who Reilly is though, as a detective he is hardworking, ethical, and impatient with office politics, as a man, he is generally amiable and thoughtful , and there are hints of an interesting backstory related to his partner, for whom he relocated to Galway.
I expect as the series progresses we will learn more about Reilly’s new colleagues, many of whom seem to be hiding secrets. The characters specifically relating to the plot are well rounded and believable. Aisling and Maude are sympathetic, and the neighbour, Mrs. Keane, gave me the creeps.
McTiernan strikes just the right balance between description and detail, creating vivid settings. The pace is great, with each chapter moving the story forward, culminating in an tense conclusion.
The Ruin is a gritty, compelling, atmospheric novel, deserving of the praise it has received. The Ruin’s sequel, The Scholar was released in February 2019, and the third novel in the series, No Good Turn is Due for publication in 2020.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
I keep trying to read police procedurals, but unfortunately, they seem to bore me now. This one caught my eye for the title. I thought the prologue was very engaging, but the story seemed to veer off course after that, and the ruin that so caught my interest at the beginning was not as important a
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part of the story as I wanted it to be (neither the house nor the people in it). I think this would have been a much better book if it had focused on the Jack's sister, Maude, instead of his girlfriend. She was probably the most intriguing character of everyone in the book and was relegated to the background way too much. I also found the solution to the mystery to be rather unbelievable (and convenient), and it seemed to sidestep altogether an in-depth examination of human character and behavior that I think would have made for a stronger plot. All in all, this was okay but blah for me, and while I was reading it, I was never really excited to return to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member GrandmaCootie
What an amazing story, a compulsive mystery full of well-developed plot lines and fully formed characters that twist and turn and keep you guessing until they beautifully mesh together at the end. This is the first in the Cormac Reilly series. Cormac is the new man at the Galway police station,
Author Dervla McTiernan has made an excellent start to what I hope will be a long series of books featuring Cormac Reilly. He is an interesting man and more than capable detective, Galway is full of secrets and compelling characters with hidden pasts, and his relationship with Emma begs to be discussed in more depth in a future book.
I was fortunate to listen to an audiobook version of The Ruin. Narrator Aoife McMahon is incredible, the perfect reader for this dark, fast-paced police procedural. She gave the story such life that I didn’t want to stop listening. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for my honest review. Again, an amazing story with an amazing narrator. This is a series I will continue to listen to. The Scholar, the second in this series, narrated again by the wonderful Aoife McMahon, is up next.
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having recently moved from Dublin to be with his partner Emma who has a job in Galway. He was quite the successful detective in Dublin but hasn’t received the warmest of welcomes into the clique in Galway. He’s been given “make work” and unimportant assignments, but when he is assigned the cold case of an accidental overdose he discovered twenty years ago things start to get murky. He knows something is not right at the Galway police station but he doesn’t know what.Author Dervla McTiernan has made an excellent start to what I hope will be a long series of books featuring Cormac Reilly. He is an interesting man and more than capable detective, Galway is full of secrets and compelling characters with hidden pasts, and his relationship with Emma begs to be discussed in more depth in a future book.
I was fortunate to listen to an audiobook version of The Ruin. Narrator Aoife McMahon is incredible, the perfect reader for this dark, fast-paced police procedural. She gave the story such life that I didn’t want to stop listening. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for my honest review. Again, an amazing story with an amazing narrator. This is a series I will continue to listen to. The Scholar, the second in this series, narrated again by the wonderful Aoife McMahon, is up next.
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
I was in Galway in April so when I saw a mystery set there, I just had to read it. Ruin is a debut novel by Dervla McTiernan. Detective Cormac Reilly is new to Galway, having transferred from 20 years in Dublin on special forces because his girlfriend got a job opportunity there. At first he was
When an anonymous phone call stating that Jack Blake was seen jumping off a bridge and his body was subsequently found down river, the verdict is suicide. But Jack's girlfriend and his sister both thing otherwise. Coincidently, Jack and his sister Maude was one of Reilly's first cases. Twenty years ago, he was called to the Blake residence because Jack and Maude's mother was found dead in her bed, a heroin needle in her arm. A known alcoholic, it was originally thought she died of an accidental overdose. But now, people are not so sure.
There is also something sinister going on in the Galway police station, Reilly is sure of it but can't put his finger on what it is.
Ruin is a great first novel which I hope becomes a series. Reilly is a good character and hopefully one or two of the ancillary characters will appear, if there is a second book. I'd definitely read this.
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given cold cases, those will little hope of ever being solved. He thought it was his initiation or hazing into the local force but soon he feared it was more.When an anonymous phone call stating that Jack Blake was seen jumping off a bridge and his body was subsequently found down river, the verdict is suicide. But Jack's girlfriend and his sister both thing otherwise. Coincidently, Jack and his sister Maude was one of Reilly's first cases. Twenty years ago, he was called to the Blake residence because Jack and Maude's mother was found dead in her bed, a heroin needle in her arm. A known alcoholic, it was originally thought she died of an accidental overdose. But now, people are not so sure.
There is also something sinister going on in the Galway police station, Reilly is sure of it but can't put his finger on what it is.
Ruin is a great first novel which I hope becomes a series. Reilly is a good character and hopefully one or two of the ancillary characters will appear, if there is a second book. I'd definitely read this.
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LibraryThing member vickimarie2002
I'm not usually one for police thrillers, but I did enjoy this one. It's set in Ireland so it takes a little getting used to some of the words but not enough to detract from the story. I liked how it ended up and it wasn't that easy to figure out. Cormac is a good character and I would enjoy
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the First to Read program in exchange for my honest review.
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reading more from this series. I received a copy of this book courtesy of the First to Read program in exchange for my honest review.
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LibraryThing member smik
Cormac Reilly has recently moved back to Galway from a top notch crime unit in Dublin. But he is finding it hard to fit in. Others at the station turn their backs on him, or try to score points at his expense. He is assigned to routine enquiries into cold cases, well below his level of experience.
It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, it is written with such assurance of tone. The plotting is clean with quite a number of well developed strands, while the characterisation is excellent, and relationships between characters well explored. I liked the linking between cold cases and current ones, with a clear indication of the role modern technologies can play - not just DNA but apps like Google Timeline.
An author's note at the end tells readers there is a second novel to be released in 2019. I certainly look forward to seeing it.
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Then an apparent suicide turns out to be someone from his early days as a Garda. Coincidentally, it seems, he is assigned to the cold case twenty years before where he first met Jack Blake, the young man who has just died in the River Corrib.It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, it is written with such assurance of tone. The plotting is clean with quite a number of well developed strands, while the characterisation is excellent, and relationships between characters well explored. I liked the linking between cold cases and current ones, with a clear indication of the role modern technologies can play - not just DNA but apps like Google Timeline.
An author's note at the end tells readers there is a second novel to be released in 2019. I certainly look forward to seeing it.
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LibraryThing member susandennis
I'm not even sure how I found this but I am delighted I did. Detective Cormac Reilly, meets a case he worked 20 years ago of a young abused boy and his sister. The boy, now grown and happily married commits suicide or does he? Irish and so luxurious accent of the reader.
LibraryThing member alanteder
Shouldn't Blame the Medium
Review of the Blackstone Audio audiobook edition (2018) listened via Audible Plus (boo!)
I was going to score this a 2 but then thought that would be unfair on the book to rate it based on my bad experience with Audible Plus, so a 3 is my compromise.
Audible ended its free
Anyway, The Ruin was ok, although it seemed little investigation was going on and the efforts of the lead were hampered by either incompetent or criminal intent by fellow police and superiors. A depressing view from that angle and also in the plot which dealt with the results of child neglect and of a nurtured child pyschopathy. The big bad seemed fairly obvious early on but it took a very long time for Reilly to catch on.
The reason for the title and for the idyllic lakeside forested scene on the cover image were not at all apparent to me.
The narration performance by Aiofe McMahon was excellent in all voices.
Review of the Blackstone Audio audiobook edition (2018) listened via Audible Plus (boo!)
I was going to score this a 2 but then thought that would be unfair on the book to rate it based on my bad experience with Audible Plus, so a 3 is my compromise.
Audible ended its free
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Audible Originals program in September and now provides what is called the Audible Plus service for members. You can stream their offered books (Originals & others) on their app but you can't download them. So it is something like a rental service where you don't "own" the books. Anyway, this has proved frustrating for me as the app seems to freeze up on a regular basis for no apparent reason. I did manage to get through the book however. I've since attempted Cormac Reilly #2 The Scholar also via Audible Plus but haven't been able to get past the first ten minutes before it freezes. So that probably means I'll be doing less Audible in the future aside from my monthly credits which are downloadable audiobooks.Anyway, The Ruin was ok, although it seemed little investigation was going on and the efforts of the lead were hampered by either incompetent or criminal intent by fellow police and superiors. A depressing view from that angle and also in the plot which dealt with the results of child neglect and of a nurtured child pyschopathy. The big bad seemed fairly obvious early on but it took a very long time for Reilly to catch on.
The reason for the title and for the idyllic lakeside forested scene on the cover image were not at all apparent to me.
The narration performance by Aiofe McMahon was excellent in all voices.
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LibraryThing member JorgeousJotts
Well written, interesting, hard to put down. Reminded me of Adrian McKinty's Detective Sean Duffy series which is also excellent.
2nd read- I had forgotten more of this than I would have expected, but to be fair I've read literally hundreds of books since then. Things came back as I went along, but
2nd read- I had forgotten more of this than I would have expected, but to be fair I've read literally hundreds of books since then. Things came back as I went along, but
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there were still some surprises. It's well crafted and held my interest even during this second reading. A solid detective mystery. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carol420
The story has an intricate plot and many characters, so many, in fact, that I had to flip back several times to keep them all straight. It's a compelling mystery set in Ireland which intertwines two separate crimes committed across a 20- year time span. Detective Reilly's instincts tell him there
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is more to these two cases than an apparent suicide. Cormac's character has some history which followed him from Dublin to the small town of Galway. Galway has a history as well. There are rumors of corruption within the force making Cormac's job all the more difficult. Overall, a fairly good police procedural. Show Less
LibraryThing member KarenSiddall
With its engaging characters, intricate plot, and interesting not-so-often-used setting of Galway, The Ruin kept my attention and got my 5 stars!
At the height of a successful career with the Garda in Dublin, Detective Cormac Reilly relocates to Galway so his significant other, Emma, can pursue a
Young Dr. Aisling Conroy is devastated when her boyfriend, Jack, is found drowned in the local river after he left their home to think through their future relationship. An anonymous phone call to the police claimed the caller saw Jack jump off the bridge into the water below, and his death is deemed a suicide. But Aisling doesn’t buy it, and neither does Jack’s older sister, Maude, who shows up out of the blue to stir things up down at police headquarters. When circumstances around Jack’s death intersect with Detective Reilly’s cold case, Cormac becomes involved in trying to find answers to both mysteries.
The Ruin was a thrilling police procedural set within the complex workings of the Garda Síochána, the national police service of Ireland. Cormac is a thoughtful and patient man and gets major points from me for being so supportive of his girlfriend, Emma, uprooting from a successful career to start over while giving her the chance to follow her dream. I absolutely wanted him to best those smug colleagues of his.
Aisling Conroy was, perhaps, my favorite character in the story, though. She’s got such a stressful job and has lost her love at the worst possible point in their relationship. Yet, she shows strength and courage that kept her upright and pushing for the truth of what happened to Jack.
The tidbits and details of life in Galway were tantalizing and made me feel like I was walking the streets right along with Cormac. The city became familiar to me, a place I’d never experienced in real life.
The mystery, though, is the thing, and this one had me riveted to the page. The investigation made sense, and I loved how everything from the past and present came together. I liked that there were resolutions to some of the old cold cases as well as the current ones.
With its engaging characters, intricate plot, and interesting not-so-often-used setting of Galway, I recommend THE RUIN to mystery readers who enjoy a police detective-led investigation, strong female protagonists, and Ireland set stories.
At the height of a successful career with the Garda in Dublin, Detective Cormac Reilly relocates to Galway so his significant other, Emma, can pursue a
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once-in-a-lifetime research opportunity in her field. But his new colleagues and the Galway administrators are judgmental and suspicious of him, so he’s been assigned the task of reviewing cold cases, following up on evidence overlooked, questions left un-asked during the initial investigations. One of the cases is his own first death investigation that left two neglected children alone when their drug-addicted mother overdosed. There had been questions about the woman’s death at that time, but the subsequent investigation went nowhere, and it, too, had ended up in the cold case files.Young Dr. Aisling Conroy is devastated when her boyfriend, Jack, is found drowned in the local river after he left their home to think through their future relationship. An anonymous phone call to the police claimed the caller saw Jack jump off the bridge into the water below, and his death is deemed a suicide. But Aisling doesn’t buy it, and neither does Jack’s older sister, Maude, who shows up out of the blue to stir things up down at police headquarters. When circumstances around Jack’s death intersect with Detective Reilly’s cold case, Cormac becomes involved in trying to find answers to both mysteries.
The Ruin was a thrilling police procedural set within the complex workings of the Garda Síochána, the national police service of Ireland. Cormac is a thoughtful and patient man and gets major points from me for being so supportive of his girlfriend, Emma, uprooting from a successful career to start over while giving her the chance to follow her dream. I absolutely wanted him to best those smug colleagues of his.
Aisling Conroy was, perhaps, my favorite character in the story, though. She’s got such a stressful job and has lost her love at the worst possible point in their relationship. Yet, she shows strength and courage that kept her upright and pushing for the truth of what happened to Jack.
The tidbits and details of life in Galway were tantalizing and made me feel like I was walking the streets right along with Cormac. The city became familiar to me, a place I’d never experienced in real life.
The mystery, though, is the thing, and this one had me riveted to the page. The investigation made sense, and I loved how everything from the past and present came together. I liked that there were resolutions to some of the old cold cases as well as the current ones.
With its engaging characters, intricate plot, and interesting not-so-often-used setting of Galway, I recommend THE RUIN to mystery readers who enjoy a police detective-led investigation, strong female protagonists, and Ireland set stories.
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LibraryThing member carolfoisset
Good mystery. Had a difficult time keeping the characters straight, many names introduced with little background info. Will read the next one.
LibraryThing member ccayne
Good police procedural set in Galway. There is a lot going on and some parts never really come together. That said, it was a good read.
Language
Original language
English