Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin Mystery 2)
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'An intriguing, inventive, crime story.' --Eurocrime
'McGilloway's second Devlin mystery gathers pace and tension.' --Financial Times
'McGilloway believably threads together [various cases] to reveal a complex conspiracy. Driven by real human motivations, doubts and desires, Gallows Lane is a very rewarding read.' --The Irish Mail on Sunday
'A stunning second novel...in what promises to be an excellent series. Taut and fast paced...McGilloway expertly conveys the atmosphere of the small, country town ...[and] has written another compelling book here with no clichés or easy answers.' --Verbal magazine
'McGilloway has followed up his acclaimed crime fiction debut with another masterly thriller.'
--Irish News
'McGilloway's second Devlin mystery gathers pace and tension.' --Financial Times
'McGilloway believably threads together [various cases] to reveal a complex conspiracy. Driven by real human motivations, doubts and desires, Gallows Lane is a very rewarding read.' --The Irish Mail on Sunday
'A stunning second novel...in what promises to be an excellent series. Taut and fast paced...McGilloway expertly conveys the atmosphere of the small, country town ...[and] has written another compelling book here with no clichés or easy answers.' --Verbal magazine
'McGilloway has followed up his acclaimed crime fiction debut with another masterly thriller.'
--Irish News
The Times
'McGilloway's Borderlands was one of last year's most impressive debuts. Does Gallows Lane pass the feared "second novel" test? Easily.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Are you the kind of person who likes to be ahead of the trends? Who spotted JK Rowling before anyone else - or wish you had? If so, I have a tip for you: Brian McGilloway. His crime novels, featuring the life and cases of Inspector Benedict Devlin, are not yet household names: but they very soon will be.
I read the first of the Devlin novels, Borderlands, a year or so ago, and its sequel, Gallows Lane, at the weekend. McGilloway's third and most recent offering, Bleed A River Deep, hurries from Amazon as I write.
Series detective novels are difficult to pull off. They need to be satisfying in their own right, but at the same time to show character development in the protagonist. (Unless you opt for the Agatha Christie approach and deploy unchanging Poirot or Marple time after time). Your protagonist must be essentially sympathetic but with credible flaws sufficient to make him interesting. And please, don't make those flaws centre around alcohol abuse--it's been done before, you know. Chandler and Rankin can get away with it; the rest of you have to come up with something else. (Just about the only flaw in The Wire, TV's most novelistic cop show, is McNulty's hard-drinking act).
Brian McGilloway has realised all this. Devlin is not an embittered loner; he is a family man and his attempts to reconcile the demands of domestic life with the rigours of policing is one of the interesting and original features of the series. Devlin is clearly one of the good guys, but he's not above doing the wrong thing for what he thinks are the right reasons (in Gallows Lane he plants evidence on a suspect he cannot otherwise convict: you know it's not going to turn out well).
McGilloway is already attracting comparisons to Ian Rankin and it's easy to see why. Both are socially-aware crime writers whose work is firmly anchored to a specific time and place.: both are also extremely accomplished. The series detective can go one of two ways: Rebus, growing credibly but sometimes unexpectedly, or Scarpetta, ever less believable with a welcome long outstayed. Given McGilloway's understanding of character, I have no doubt he'll be in the former camp.
I'm looking forward to keeping Inspector Devlin company in his cases for years to come.
I read the first of the Devlin novels, Borderlands, a year or so ago, and its sequel, Gallows Lane, at the weekend. McGilloway's third and most recent offering, Bleed A River Deep, hurries from Amazon as I write.
Series detective novels are difficult to pull off. They need to be satisfying in their own right, but at the same time to show character development in the protagonist. (Unless you opt for the Agatha Christie approach and deploy unchanging Poirot or Marple time after time). Your protagonist must be essentially sympathetic but with credible flaws sufficient to make him interesting. And please, don't make those flaws centre around alcohol abuse--it's been done before, you know. Chandler and Rankin can get away with it; the rest of you have to come up with something else. (Just about the only flaw in The Wire, TV's most novelistic cop show, is McNulty's hard-drinking act).
Brian McGilloway has realised all this. Devlin is not an embittered loner; he is a family man and his attempts to reconcile the demands of domestic life with the rigours of policing is one of the interesting and original features of the series. Devlin is clearly one of the good guys, but he's not above doing the wrong thing for what he thinks are the right reasons (in Gallows Lane he plants evidence on a suspect he cannot otherwise convict: you know it's not going to turn out well).
McGilloway is already attracting comparisons to Ian Rankin and it's easy to see why. Both are socially-aware crime writers whose work is firmly anchored to a specific time and place.: both are also extremely accomplished. The series detective can go one of two ways: Rebus, growing credibly but sometimes unexpectedly, or Scarpetta, ever less believable with a welcome long outstayed. Given McGilloway's understanding of character, I have no doubt he'll be in the former camp.
I'm looking forward to keeping Inspector Devlin company in his cases for years to come.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First Sentence: James Kerr returned to Lifford on a blustery morning in May, shuffling under the heavy clouds that scudded across the sky towards the North.
DI Benedict Devlin has a lot to deal with. He as been asked to keep an eye on recent parole James Kerr and encourage him to leave the area.. Kerr claims here's not there to commit crimes but first to talk to someone. But people Kerr knew start to die and Kerr, himself, if found murdered. Two girls have been drugged and beaten; and one died. Devlin want to find the killer before he strikes again.
How nice to read a police procedural where there is more than one case that needs to be solved. How nice, too, when the protagonist is a married man with children and without great angst or addictions, other than the stresses of the job. That doesn't mean he is perfect. In fact, McGilloway has made Devlin a classically flawed human.
The story is set in the Borderland of Ireland, where a concern is felons escaping either way over the border to the North or South. Again, it's a nice chance to have the story not set in a large city. The political aspects add to the veracity and interest to the story.
The plot is well done with lots of threads and relationships. The story was never predictable and I certainly never guessed the primary killer.
There were a couple little problems. McGilloway loves portents, which did make me crazy. I occasionally felt lost in the story and had some problems keeping the characters straight. .
One rather amusing thing was that my copy was clearly a first state, first printing. Each chapter heading is a date. Unfortunately someone missed that the first state copy went from Sunday May 28, Monday May 31, Tuesday Jun1, Wednesday June 2, Thursday June 1...and didn't get on track until page 66 and Friday June 4th. It was definitely disconcerting.
Even so, McGilloway has a wonderful style and I look forward to his third book.
DI Benedict Devlin has a lot to deal with. He as been asked to keep an eye on recent parole James Kerr and encourage him to leave the area.. Kerr claims here's not there to commit crimes but first to talk to someone. But people Kerr knew start to die and Kerr, himself, if found murdered. Two girls have been drugged and beaten; and one died. Devlin want to find the killer before he strikes again.
How nice to read a police procedural where there is more than one case that needs to be solved. How nice, too, when the protagonist is a married man with children and without great angst or addictions, other than the stresses of the job. That doesn't mean he is perfect. In fact, McGilloway has made Devlin a classically flawed human.
The story is set in the Borderland of Ireland, where a concern is felons escaping either way over the border to the North or South. Again, it's a nice chance to have the story not set in a large city. The political aspects add to the veracity and interest to the story.
The plot is well done with lots of threads and relationships. The story was never predictable and I certainly never guessed the primary killer.
There were a couple little problems. McGilloway loves portents, which did make me crazy. I occasionally felt lost in the story and had some problems keeping the characters straight. .
One rather amusing thing was that my copy was clearly a first state, first printing. Each chapter heading is a date. Unfortunately someone missed that the first state copy went from Sunday May 28, Monday May 31, Tuesday Jun1, Wednesday June 2, Thursday June 1...and didn't get on track until page 66 and Friday June 4th. It was definitely disconcerting.
Even so, McGilloway has a wonderful style and I look forward to his third book.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In the second of the DI Benedict Devlin series, the body of a young girl is found in a new housing development. On top of this, Devlin's boss, Costello, announces he will be retiring and encourages Ben to put himself forward. His colleague, Patterson, is up for consideration for the same promotion. When Patterson suddenly finds arms and drugs he is given good press which Devlin cynically questions.
Then there is a burglary and the novel starts with a local man released from prison returning to Lifford.
McGilloway weaves all these strands effortlessly into a story which I just couldn't put down.
Devlin as the central character is great. In the main he is a good man but he is prone to temptation and a little bit of dishonesty for the greater good.
For me, Graham Hurley is the master of British police procedurals. It's easy to think that with this only being a second in a series, this will be a top Irish police procedural series as this has it all, well-crafted plot, great characterisation, realistic dialogue, a different setting, superb prose - what more can I add!
Then there is a burglary and the novel starts with a local man released from prison returning to Lifford.
McGilloway weaves all these strands effortlessly into a story which I just couldn't put down.
Devlin as the central character is great. In the main he is a good man but he is prone to temptation and a little bit of dishonesty for the greater good.
For me, Graham Hurley is the master of British police procedurals. It's easy to think that with this only being a second in a series, this will be a top Irish police procedural series as this has it all, well-crafted plot, great characterisation, realistic dialogue, a different setting, superb prose - what more can I add!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Inspector Devlin investigates again
Brian McGilloway has produced another good read in Gallows Lane. I thoroughly enjoyed Borderlands (Inspector Devlin Mystery 1) which first featured Benedict Devlin who lives in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. Bannister
Inspector Devlin sequel is a good read
Can Brian McGilloway's second novel, GALLOWS LANE, possibly live up to the first, BORDERLANDS, which among other kudos was Euro Crime reviewers' favourite read of 2007? Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Gallows Lane
A good follow-up to Borderlands. The many threads to the story are sometimes a bit confusing but the suspense is well maintained and on balance a thoroughly good read.
Published 21 months ago by R. Scarr
Devlin is a new kind of cop
You have to love a policeman who has panic attacks but still struggles to solve a murder. McGilloway has a talent with characters who aren't quite what you'd meet in the usual... Read more
Published on 1 April 2010 by Jane Wolfe Ta Press
Gallows humour, too
I haven't read the first McGilloway novel but certainly I didn't feel that I was missing some of the character connections in this second outing for Garda Inspector Devlin. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2010 by Michael Watson
Gallows Lane
This novel is the second in a new series featuring Benedict ["Ben"] Devlin, an Inspector in the Guards, or An Garda, in Lifford, Donegal, Ireland. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2010 by Ted Feit
New Rebus!
This is based in Borderlands of Ireland and it is a excellent new author and series. Borderlands being his first book. Read more
Published on 16 April 2008 by J. R. Daniell
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