'Everything in this novel hits all the right notes, from its brilliant evocation of time and place to razor-sharp dialogue to detailed police procedures.'- 'Booklist (starred review)' A righteous man who unwillingly takes his pursuit of justice into the realm of moral ambiguity.'- 'Arizona Republic (Tucson, AZ)' 'Duffy the keen observer, the perfect protagonist.

'A razor-sharp thriller.told with style, courage, and dark-as-night wit.'- 'Stuart Neville, author of The House of Ashes' 'A masterpiece of Troubles crime fiction.'- 'Irish Times (Dublin)' 'A journey into a terrifying and almost dreamlike labyrinth of violence and betrayal.'- 'Shots Crime & Thriller Ezine' 'A dark-humored shamus in the Philip Marlowe tradition.'- 'Wall Street Journal' 'A crime novel, fast-paced, intricate, and genre to the core.'- 'The Guardian (London)' ' deft mix of noirish melancholy with express-train pacing and blockbuster-ready action.'- 'Publishers Weekly ' Add to this the fact that, as a Catholic policeman, it doesn't matter which side he's on, because nobody trusts him, and Sergeant Duffy really is in a no-win situation. It's no easy job-especially when it turns out that one of the victims was involved in the IRA but was last seen discussing business with someone from the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force. Detective Sergeant Duffy is the man tasked with trying to get to the bottom of it all. Hunger strikes, riots, power cuts, a homophobic serial killer with a penchant for opera, and a young woman's suicide that may yet turn out to be murder: on the surface, the events are unconnected, but then things-and people-aren't always what they seem. 'McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years.' -Tana French (back cover)įast-paced, evocative, and brutal, The Cold Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles-and of a cop treading a thin, thin line-from The New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Adrian McKinty. Fast-paced, evocative, and brutal, The Cold Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles and a cop caught in the cross fire. Then he discovers that one of the victims was involved in the IRA but was last seen discussing business with someone from the Protestant UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force). For one thing, homosexuality is illegal in Northern Ireland in 1981. As a Catholic policeman, Duffy is suspected by both sides, and there are other layers of complications. Amid the chaos, Sean Duffy, a young, witty, Catholic detective in the almost entirely Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary, is trying to track down a serial killer who is targeting gay men. The Thatcher government has flooded the area with soldiers, but nightly there are riots, bombings, and sectarian attacks.

Belfast on the verge of outright civil war.

The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty