I have read and really enjoyed all the Sean Duffy Series. They are excellent, so I thought I'd try Michael Forsyth. It's very different and while it takes place in Northern Ireland, it doesn't have the same sense of place that I got from the Duffy series. I probably should have read the first two in the series first for some background, although much of it is alluded to in the 3rd and last. Forsyth is brought back to NI by a sworn arch enemy to help find her daughter, who has been kidnapped. There are several surprises, and it's certainly a quick read. ( )

This was my favorite of the trilogy, and it was icing on the top that it takes place mostly in Belfast where I happen to be for a couple of weeks. =D (It was so much fun to hear landmarks referenced that I had actually just been seeing around). But beyond that it really tied the whole series together well, and had me engaged trying to solve the mysteries. Very good. ( )

Michael Forsythe auf einem blutigen Feldzug durch die Strassen von Belfast. Tempo und Spannung pur, einfach nur gut geschrieben. ( )

THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is Book 3 of Adrian McKinty’s Michael Forsythe series.
The title is great as Michael finds himself in the middle of a Bloomsday Parade in Dublin. Of course, he has joined the crowd and stolen a hat and jacket so as to blend in and escape from would-be killers just hours after landing.
I thought Michael had a good gig going for himself in Peru as security head in a very upscale resort hotel. But life is never peaceful for our Michael and he is blackmailed/coerced by his old lover and fiance of Darkey White (who he brutally murdered) to find her kidnapped daughter in Belfast.
Michael has never gotten over his illicit affair with his old boss’s fiance and this desire to see Bridget again leads to 24 hours (was it even that long?) of violence, torture, murder and depravity in his old stomping grounds of Northern Ireland.
The writing is pure poetry, but the violence is a bit hard to stomach. The book is suspenseful, dark and very fast-paced.
The ending has a wee bit of a surprise and I’m still wondering if our Michael can live a life without the constant of violence and suspicion.
The descriptions of Belfast gave this book an incredible sense of place.
My favorite of Michael’s musings (about the Protestants): “They had gotten it all wrong - the way to really preserve a culture was to celebrate and nurture the memory of a glorious defeat, not a famous victory. That’s why Gallipoli, Gettysburg, The Field of Blackbirds, the Alamo became the foundation myths for the Kiwis, the American South, Serbs and Texas. Every year the Shi’a celebrate a massacre and, of course, Christianity is founded upon an execution.” ( )

good Irish narrator and good story about a Irish mobster turned good guy with a happy ending ( )