Book #13 The Killing of the Tinkers

The Killing Of The Tinkers by Ken Bruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I guess Jack Taylor is akin to marmite. You either love him or dislike him. Well, I love marmite, so there it is. Ken Bruen's clipped, staccato writing style pervades a brooding Irish landscape - windswept, rain-lashed Galway where Taylor has returned with a cocaine habit and little else after a year spent in London, apart from befriending Keegan, a DS in the Met, who is not averse to straying into criminal activity if the end justifies the means. Just as well for Jack when Keegan turns up unannounced in Galway. You would want Keegan on your side. Particularly when Jack is approached by Sleeper, a recognised king amongst tinkers. He wants Jack to find out who has been ruthlessly killing young travellers and dumping their bodies in the city centre....

This is raw, gutsy stuff. Jack hasn't changed his habits since being thrown out of the Irish Gardai. He drinks to excess almost daily and continues with his cocaine habit, albeit to a lesser degree. Laura helps to steer him away from a path of self destruction, for a while... And yet, beneath that hardened exterior beats a good heart. If he has a 'wedge' he will share it with the needy. Cross Jack at your peril.

This is the 2nd in the Jack Taylor series and I loved it as much as The Guards.

Sláinte !

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