Crime and Detection

How about a good crime novel? Here are three very different crime and detection books you might enjoy.

The Rúin by Devla McTiernan is a detective book set in Galway, Ireland which with its cast of policemen, doctors and other locals evokes a strong and delightful sense of place. The main character is Detective Cormac Reilly who has joined the Galway police after working in a high-level espionage and terrorist team in Dublin. His self-demotion is explained as a wish to live closer to his research scientist partner who has been involved in a violent incident in her past. The second main character is Aisling, as aspiring surgeon whose boyfriend Jack is found dead in the river. His sister Maude arrives from Australia and questions the finding that her brother committed suicide. Cormac Reilly’s investigation of a cold case into the murder of Jack and Maude’s mother brings him into contact with the contemporary case. It is a compelling story, the kind of book which keeps you reading well into the early hours.

You may know Melina Marchetta as author of Looking for Alibrandi, a wonderful coming of age book published in 1993. She has written a number of successful children’s books and also crime fiction for adults. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil come out in 2016. It is a police procedural book involving a British Chief Inspector recently stood down by the Met. His daughter is on a bus bombed in Calais and when he travels to France to find out what has happened to her, he can’t help investigating the case. I was impressed with the teenage characters in the book, with the authenticity of their actions and banter. The story progresses through chapters with different points of view, many of them children’s, something I found refreshing and interesting. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is a light and entertaining holiday read.

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton is a book about crime and criminals but is predominantly a coming of age story. Eli Bell is only eleven when the story begins. He and his brother August live with their mother and her drug dealer boyfriend, Lyle. Eli narrates the story of what he learns from criminals in his childhood (including what it takes to be a good man) and how he uses this knowledge to reunite his family and bring a drug kingpin to justice. It is dark subject matter but written in such an engaging style from the perspective of an intelligent young boy curious about the world. Knowing no alternative way of life, Eli describes his family and circumstances in an upbeat way. With such a likeable main character, a wonderfully detailed portrayal of Brisbane suburban life and plenty of action, the book is full of interest, tension and enjoyment. I have just finished listening to it as an audiobook. I feel tempted now to read it again in print. Audiobooks are great but there is something special about words on a page. Whichever way you do it, treat yourself to this memorable book.