The story is told in short staccato single sentences and a lot of “what I was go to say” verses what I said
This gets tiresome very quickly.
The story was good and the author did a good job flipping back and forth from the way an Irishman would talk or an American would, but the again the story structure was not good, at least for me.
( )

'Once Were Cops' isn't a typical police novel. Heck it's not even a typical novel. Most paragraphs are exactly one sentence long and, clocking in at 293 pages of a lot of white space, it's either a novella or a really long short story. That being said, it'll grab your interest quickly and propel you forward as the action picks up. And there's a lot of action in those short paragraphs.

Michael O' Shea is a young Irish cop who wrangles himself, using some pretty tough negotiating skills, into an exchange program that places him on the NYPD for a year. He also has a secret that he'll carry over to the US with him. In his new role he's paired with a psycho cop who's on the take, which quickly leads to many confrontations that expose Shea, as he's known, as not quite the cute lad with the adorable Irish accent everyone assumes he is. He battles the mob, his superiors, other cops, Internal Affairs, and his demons and manages to win, at least until he doesn't.

This is my initial foray into Ken Bruen's catalog and I'd have to say I'm intrigued. This book was very short but chock full of action, violence, and tricky plotting. I know he has a couple series out there and I suppose I'll try to get into them. I can't say I'm a fan of the single-sentence paragraph but I'm a sucker for Ireland-informed writing so we'll see what happens. Once Were Cops is definitely a quick, intense read by a writer who knows his territory. ( )

Didn't like the writting style. ( )

Once were Cops. Ken Bruen. 2009. Two Ken Bruen novels within 6 months! What a treat! A psychopathic Irish “guard” manages to get sent to New York to work with the NYPD. He is paired with Kebar, who is almost as sick as he it. It is a violent as any Bruen novel with exciting twists and turns. A critic calls Bruen’s style, “clipped free verse.” I have never read a writer who could evoke such horror one minute and such sweetness the next. Bruen is an incredible writer if you can stand the violence. ( )

Where Do I Begin?

Ken Bruen writes in his own form of poetry.

The words pull no punches.

His characters make no apologies.

They will do as the damn well please and sometimes there are simply not enough good guys to go around.

You think.

It's hard to tell who is a good guy and who isn't.

ONCE WERE COPS isn't going to be a novel for everyone.

It's hard, bad, dark, violent, unapologetic, difficult and complex.

There are no winners and there are lots of losers.

Don't read it if you want a happy ending (or a neatly tied off resolution for that matter).

Do read it if you like a walk on the dark side.

Do read it if you're looking for something outside the box. ( )