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The snow ceased as the assistant state pathologist arrived, black medical bag in hand. I stood by the river as she worked, and watched the sun exploding low over the horizon. In the tradition of Ian Rankin and Ken Bruen comes a new voice in Irish crime fiction. Winter 2002. The corpse of local teenager Angela Cashell is found on the Tyrone-Donegal border, between the North and South of Ireland, in an area known as the Borderlands. Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin heads the investigation. The only clues are a gold ring placed on the girl’s finger and an old photograph, left where she died. While Devlin searches for the girl’s killer, her father has his own ideas about who is responsible—and his own ideas about how to make them pay. Meanwhile, Devlin becomes reacquainted with an old flame eager to rekindle their affair. Then another teenager is murdered, and Devlin unearths a link between the recent killings and the disappearance of a prostitute twenty-five years earlier—a case in which he fears one of his own colleagues is implicated. As a thickening snow storm blurs the border between North and South, Devlin finds the distinction between right and wrong, vengeance and justice, and even police officer and criminal becoming equally unclear.
A dazzling and highly lyrical debut crime novel, Borderlands marks the beginning of a compelling new series featuring Inspector Benedict Devlin.
“Borderlands has me, dare I say, green with envy. It’s rare I’m jealous of a debut novel but I’m ferociously so of this stunning work. Devlin, the main character of this new series, is going to join the ranks of Rebus, Resnick, Davenport, and Scudder as one of the reference points of character series. Not only is the writing a sheer blast of dark lyricism but the plot is utterly compulsive. Dammit, I muttered, it can’t be this good, it is . . . and better. This is not only a wondrous addition to the growing canon of Irish mystery writing, it’s a terrific bonus to mystery writing as a whole.” ---Ken Bruen, author of Once Were Cops“Brian McGilloway’s command of plot and assurance of language make it dif?cult to believe that Borderlands is his debut.” ---The Times (UK)“A mystery of labyrinthine complexity.” ---Sunday Telegraph (UK)“McGilloway evocatively describes the landscape of the border area . . . and captures small-town rural Ireland. Ben Devlin is an appealing character . . . and the supporting cast are well drawn.” ---Times Literary Supplement (UK)"Brian McGilloway is a name to keep in mind. He has written a taut, well-paced story with strong characters and an ingenious plot that seizes the reader’s attention from page one and holds it to the last sentence.” ---Irish Independent“McGilloway conveys a believable portrait of a real, troubled, and coping-as-best-they-can population in the new Ireland, with all its contradictions and complexities.” ---International Noir Fiction“This is an impressive debut, the writing is tight, the plot is complex but well paced, the characters are well drawn...and the resolution was surprising.” ---ReviewingTheEvidence.com“A gripping thriller.”
---The Irish News
Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1974 and teaches at St. Columb’s College, Derry. Previously he has written plays and short stories. Borderlands is his first novel, and was shortlisted for the 2007 New Blood Dagger award. He lives near the Borderlands, with his wife and their two sons.
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