The Good Turn
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4.3, 341 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
'With her third novel Dervla McTiernan confirms she's a born storyteller' Val McDermid
The unputdownable no.1 bestseller from the author of The Ruin and The Scholar.
Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected events that will prove to be linked by one small town.
While Detective Cormac Reilly faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life, Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head. But even that is not as terrible as having to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone.
For some, like Anna and her young daughter Tilly, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn't far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.
PRAISE FOR DERVLA McTIERNAN:
'Intelligent and fast-paced ... We can't wait [for the next case]' - Wall Street Journal
'Top-notch crime writing' - Kate Forsyth
'Like The Ruin, The Scholar is a fast-paced, rewarding read' - Irish Examiner
'A truly fine police procedural that should see the author rocket from star to superstar' - Irish Independent
'Taut, tense and darkly addictive' - Candice Fox
'Confirms McTiernan's place in the top rank of crime writers' - Chris Hammer
'The Ruin was an outstanding debut but The Scholar proves beyond a doubt that Dervla McTiernan is a remarkable talent ... crime fiction of the highest standard' - Jane Casey
'A story that is as moving as it is fast-paced' - Val McDermid
'A writer to watch' - Publishers Weekly
'Dervla McTiernan's first novel far outclasses some of the genre's stalwarts, marking her as a crime writer to watch, and Cormac Reilly a cop to follow to hell and back. Fans of Ian Rankin and Tana French will feel right at home' - Bookseller + Publisher
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Irish-born, Australia-based crime novelist Dervla McTiernan has built a strong reputation for her gritty, engaging and deeply emotive police procedurals. Though The Good Turn shares the same grim, Irish setting as The Ruin and The Scholar (the first two books in her detective Cormac Reilly series, which we highly recommend reading), it can easily be read as a standalone novel. Layers of plot—the mysterious abduction of a young girl, large-scale police corruption, a son’s difficult relationship with his father—reveal themselves separately at first, but gradually intertwine in clever and surprising ways. As shocking and engrossing as they are, the twists and reveals are secondary to the deep emotional investment we felt as we got to know detective Peter Fisher and his father Des, and saw DI Reilly from different perspectives to those in McTiernan’s first two books. This truly fantastic crime novel will, without a doubt, keep you up at night.
Customer Reviews
The Good Turn
Enjoyed but not as good as previous books
One good turn
4.5 stars
Author
Irish solicitor. Moved to Perth, Australia following the recession in her native country, got as job at the Mental Health Commission, then turned her hand to crime fiction. The Ruin (2018) and The Scholar (2019) were extremely well received both by critics and ordinary readers. This is the much anticipated third instalment of a series about Detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly of the Galway gardai.
Plot
A sick boy confined to bed at home by respiratory illness witnesses a girl get abducted in the street while walking her dog. He provides the police with solid evidence including a video he took on his tablet. Sergeant Reilly’s team is down to bare bones with most officers seconded to a drug task force deployed to intercept a shipment expected on the nearby coast that evening. Reilly gives his boss a gobful, a recurring theme that threatens his career, but makes do. His chief offsider tracks down the vehicle and shoots the guy driving it dead after he tries to run said offsider over to get away. No witnesses of course, so he’s stood down pending inquiry. Meanwhile, the girl is found unharmed miles away. Another black mark against Reilly. Turns out there’s corruption afoot (not to mention a leg, a body, and ahead). Stuff happens. Our hero and his maligned offsider come through in the end, after some close shaves. The only downside is Cormac’s girl gives him the flick.
Characters
Cormac is a textbook honest-as-the-day is long but baggage-to-burn copper. Peter is mate, is cut from the same cloth. Both are well drawn. The bad guys, both cops and non-cops, mainly cops, are suitably villainous.
Narrative
Third person from the POVs of the two main protagonists, with a side order of frightened twenty- something gal hiding out with kid in tow.
Prose
Ms McTiernan’s prose was first rate at debut and is more polished with each outing. The coincidences are a bit contrived, but where would a detective novel be without coincidences. I recall reading the trope of sick kid in upstairs bedroom witnessing crime before, but I’m not sure where.
Bottom line
A good yarn well told
