by Dervla McTiernan
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2025
Review
by Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Galway, Ireland. A body is found in a bog. While Detective Cormac Reilly initially thinks it may be an historical find, evidence quickly points to a more recent death. The body belongs to Thaddeus Grey, a local school principal who disappeared two years earlier. He was murdered and his body subjected to ritual mutilation.
Who murdered Thaddeus Grey, and why? Investigations reveal that Grey was a strict disciplinarian who was not well liked but the one person who had a confrontation with him has a strong alibi.
In addition to this investigation, Cormac becomes involved in helping his former girlfriend Emma Sweeney, whose husband has disappeared in Paris. He is also under pressure to accept promotion, and his offsider Peter Fisher seems preoccupied.
And elsewhere in Ireland, Carl Rigney thinks he has worked out a perfect plan to win the lottery. The fact that he is employed by the lottery office and therefore ineligible is a minor concern.
Cormac and Peter are hard at work on the Grey case when another mutilated body is found on the other side of Ireland. And then a third body. Is there a serial killer at work? And can Cormac find the murderer before anyone else is killed?
There are several separate strands to this story. While I had no difficulty fitting a couple of the strands together, I was less certain about another. Of course, it all made sense by the end, and I remain in awe of Ms McTiernan’s ability to weave together such disparate threads. This is brilliantly plotted, fast-paced crime fiction with plenty of twists and a selection of red herrings to keep the reader engaged. And the ending? Both surprising and appropriate.
Yes, I have enjoyed all of Ms McTiernan’s novels so far, but I particularly enjoy the Cormac Reilly series. I hope that there will soon be another instalment.
Publisher’s blurb
Every grave has a story … The much-anticipated new novel in the Cormac Reilly series, from the no.1 bestselling author of The Ruin and What Happened to Nina.
For years the bog lands of Northern Europe have given up bodies of the long-deceased. Bodies that are thousands of years old, uncannily preserved. Bodies with strange injuries that suggest ritual torture and human sacrifice.
When a corpse is found in a bog in Galway, Cormac Reilly assumes the find is historical. But closer examination reveals a more recent story. The dead man is Thaddeus Grey, a local secondary school principal who disappeared two years prior.
There’s nothing in Grey’s past that would explain why he was murdered, or why his body was mutilated in a ritual manner. At first, progress on the case is frustratingly slow and Cormac struggles to keep his mind on the job. His ex-girlfriend, Emma Sweeney, is in trouble, and she’s reached out to him for help – Emma’s new husband has gone missing in Paris, and the French police are refusing to open an investigation into his disappearance.
Cormac is sure that he has found Grey’s killer, and is within hours of an arrest, when another mutilated body is discovered on the other side of the country. Two days later, a third body is found. Press attention is intense. Is there a serial killer at work in Ireland? Has Cormac been on the wrong trail? And if so, can he find the murderer before they strike again?