I like the writing a lot. I just wasn't as big of a fan of the mystery. Someone told me they get better as the series goes on. So I will stick it out a little longer. ( )

(In my edition, this book is called "Death of an Irish Consul.) I got this entire series fairly cheaply, so I've been slowly reading my way through it when I don't have anything else around. The detective, Peter McGarr, is a somewhat interesting character. Gill has made the interesting choice to have him as a point of view protagonist, but without giving us access to his through processes. We get what he sees, hears, says and does, and occasionally what he feels, but not what he thinks. That gives the action a little distance and makes the books something like a TV show. It's hard to describe, but very interesting.

I mentioned in my review of volume 1 that I was bouncing off the text because I just don't know enough about Ireland in the 70s to figure out a lot of stuff. I can tell there are things between the lines, but can't tell what they might be. That's true in this volume as well, but it has a lot of post-WWII Italian stuff that I think is supposed to make more sense than it does. In any case, it's still a good series to keep in the car for when I have unexpected time on my hands. ( )