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Product Description
Product Description
In the 1880s the DMP classified crime in two distinct classes. Political crimes were special , whereas theft, robbery and even murder, no matter how terrible, were ordinary . Dublin, June 1887: the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow steps up to investigate. Cynical and tired, Swallow is a man living on past successes in need of a win. In the background, the city is sweltering in a long summer heatwave, a potential gangland war is simmering as the chief lieutenants of a dying crime boss size each other up and the castle administration want the celebration of Queen Victoria s Golden jubilee to pass off without complication. Underneath it all, the growing threat of anti-British radicals is never far away. With the Land War at its height, the priority is to contain special crime. But these murders appear to be ordinary and thus of lesser priority. When the evidence suggests high-level involvement, and as the body count increases, Swallow must navigate the waters of foolish superiors, political directives and frayed tempers to investigate the crime, find the true murderer and deliver justice. A June Of Ordinary Murders captures the life and essence of Dublin in the 1880s and draws the reader on a thrilling journey of murder and intrigue.
About the Author
Conor Brady is the former editor of The Irish Times and most recently worked as one of the three Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commissioners. A June Of Ordinary Murders is his first work of fiction. He lives in Dublin.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This tale is set in Dublin during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1887. Victoria herself is not visiting Ireland but the Prince of Wales is due to pay a visit, which has the whole of the Metropolitan police force on its toes. A significant proportion of the population is aggrieved by British colonisation and political crimes are expected; by contrast, the murders investigated by Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow are not political so are called 'ordinary murders'.
A heatwave scorches the city, which is no cleaner than any major city of the day and hosts both wealth and poverty. A woman and a child are found dead in the Phoenix Park, which is the largest enclosed park in Europe. Joe Swallow, who is living in unapproved style above a public house, is handed the case. He finds that the woman was fearful so had disguised herself as a man, but when the trail leads to a wealthy Georgian mansion the owner stymies his investigation.
Meanwhile a woman who was alleged to be a major crime boss dies in bed and her seconds begin sparring to take over the territory. A complex city is portrayed during this story, at a complex time in its history; both pro and anti monarchy, both desiring law and order and resentful of policing.
Conor Brady has researched to great depth the forensic methods of the time, including autopsies, identifying a carriage make by the width of the wheel marks, and keeping detailed intelligence files in Dublin Castle. Brady is a former Editor of The Irish Times and was assisted by the curator of the Garda Museum. The streets, premises and life of the day are vividly recalled. If there is a fault in the telling, it is that some passages of explanation are a little long. Lovers of history as well as of crime investigation will enjoy this book.
One small error slipped by: a character sees "the extinct volcanic cone of the Sugarloaf" - this mountain is made of quartzite and was never a volcano.
A heatwave scorches the city, which is no cleaner than any major city of the day and hosts both wealth and poverty. A woman and a child are found dead in the Phoenix Park, which is the largest enclosed park in Europe. Joe Swallow, who is living in unapproved style above a public house, is handed the case. He finds that the woman was fearful so had disguised herself as a man, but when the trail leads to a wealthy Georgian mansion the owner stymies his investigation.
Meanwhile a woman who was alleged to be a major crime boss dies in bed and her seconds begin sparring to take over the territory. A complex city is portrayed during this story, at a complex time in its history; both pro and anti monarchy, both desiring law and order and resentful of policing.
Conor Brady has researched to great depth the forensic methods of the time, including autopsies, identifying a carriage make by the width of the wheel marks, and keeping detailed intelligence files in Dublin Castle. Brady is a former Editor of The Irish Times and was assisted by the curator of the Garda Museum. The streets, premises and life of the day are vividly recalled. If there is a fault in the telling, it is that some passages of explanation are a little long. Lovers of history as well as of crime investigation will enjoy this book.
One small error slipped by: a character sees "the extinct volcanic cone of the Sugarloaf" - this mountain is made of quartzite and was never a volcano.
Format:Paperback
An excellent book. It really draws you into 1880s Dublin and provides an exciting insight into policing in Ireland prior to the establishment of the Garda Síochána. There are a few twists and turns in the investigative work of Detective Sergeant Swallow that tease and taunt you and leave you wondering how you managed to miss some significant clues! This is a book that I'm going to pass around the family, especially to the elder members in Dublin that live near to some of the major crime scenes and will seriously enjoy the idioms used by the protagonist that instruct the reader in matters of Dublin humour and wit. The environment also serves as a poignant reminder of the relationships between classes in 19th century Ireland. I was inspired to do some research afterwards and discovered that whilst the book is a work of fiction, much of the substance is based on real people and real procedures that contributed significantly to the development of modern policing in Ireland.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
No ordinary tale
28 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback
Dublin is known as a literary city, a place where writing is both expected and respected. And while generations of writers have used the city as a backdrop, or indeed a leading character, few have delved into the old town in both the time and context to the degree that Conor Brady has accomplished in his debut novel, "A June of Ordinary Murders." Growing up in Dublin in the second half of the last century, anyone interested in the crime genre had ample to choose from in terms of television, movie and book content. But precious little of it was local in origin. Dubliners could dip freely into the annals of crime as related by British and American authors. I for one was a Sherlock Holmes nut and have remained so since childhood. So it's a treat to finally be presented with a Holmes-like tale set in the Dublin of 1887, a time when the Irish capital was the "second city of the empire," so of no mean importance to the rulers of those vast global holdings upon which the sun never set. Brady introduces us to Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and his friend, city medial examiner Harry Lafeyre. The tale that unfolds, and the mystery that Swallow and Lafeyre must solve, is worthy of Holmes and Watson and though Swallow might not be quite up to the genius of the greatest of detectives, he is no Lestrade either, far from it. Brady knows his history, and his policing. As former editor of the Irish Times he also knows how to assemble a compelling story. In a time when true crime fans yawn when the mere pressing of a computer key solves everything, we are transported back to an era when street sense, intuition and gut instinct were critical factors in solving crime and catching criminals, and what we now call "real time" proceeded at a slower pace, sometimes no faster than a constable could walk. Interestingly, Brady sets his story at a juncture when the foundations of modern criminal forensic science were just starting to show above the horizon. So we read in "A June of Ordinary Murders" about extraordinary new and seemingly far-fetched practices such as facial reconstruction and fingerprinting. Brady's story holds the reader to the very end. It is rich in characters, draws when it needs to on the historical record, and delivers a see it, hear it, smell it sense of an ancient city that would soon become center stage in the drawn out final chapter of that mightiest of empires. It can only be hoped that Brady is planning and plotting more adventures for Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow and his friend Harry Lafeyre.
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