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The Guards [Paperback]

Ken Bruen (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 20 Mar 2001
Refreshing, incisive writing in a superb novel from an established author of crime fiction. Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop in Galway. Mourning the death of his father, he is slowly drinking to oblivion. He has an ability to “find things” and is asked to investigate a teenage suicide. This leads him into a dangerous confrontation with a powerful businessman. A darker conspiracy slowly unfolds. Aided by a punk girl, he fumbles towards a lethal solution. The narrative is fueled by black humour, stark violence and moments of radiance.

The Guards remain as a chorus in the background, never altogether past, infringing on Jack Taylor at the least expected moment. The intimate, bustling city of Galway, crashing into prosperity, illuminates the story at every turn.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 303 pages
  • Publisher: Brandon / Mount Eagle Publications Ltd (20 Mar 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0863222811
  • ISBN-13: 978-0863222818
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,188,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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› Visit Amazon's Ken Bruen Page
Ken Bruen
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Product Description

Review

A masterful black novel, full of unforgettable characters and a never dissipating cloud of menace -- Bizarre

A soul-mate of Jim Thompson’s, or maybe of James M. Cain’s, he has a cast of characters which rates high on the deadbeat scale. -- The Irish Times

An elegiac novel of despair and redemption. Bleak, amoral and disturbing, The Guards breaks new ground in the Irish thriller genre. -- Irish Independent

Both a tautly written contemporary noir with vividly drawn characters and a cracking story... Bruen has created a true original. -- Sunday Tribune

Edgy, pitch-black humour. -- Guardian

Ireland's version of Scotland's Ian Rankin... Outstanding. Bruen has a rich and mordant writing style, full of offbeat humor. -- Publishers Weekly, New York

From the Inside Flap

"Ireland's version of Scotland's Ian Rankin... Outstanding. Bruen has a rich and mordant writing style, full of offbeat humor. Perhaps the standard bearer for a new subgenre called ‘Hibernian Noir’." Publishers Weekly

Selected as one of "Six of the Best – independently published authors
tipped to succeed" Publishing News

"[He] concocts, with literary alchemy, prose that is both fresh and familiar." Crime Factory

"Irish writer Ken Bruen is the finest purveyor of intelligent Brit-noir." The Big Issue

"Why the hell haven’t I heard of Ken Bruen before? He’s a terrific writer and The Guards is one of the most mesmerizing works of crime fiction I’ve ever read... This guy is the real thing." James W. Hall, author of Blackwater Sound

"A soul-mate of Jim Thompson’s, or maybe of James M. Cain’s, he has a cast of characters which rates high on the deadbeat scale." The Irish Times

"The Guards blew me away. It’s dark, funny and moving - just for starters. With a sharp eye and a lyrical voice, Ken Bruen takes us on a powerful odyssey through the mean streets of Galway, straight into the Irish heart. Bruen’s tale is a potent draft of desire and hopelessness, conviction and surrender, inadvertent heroism and unexpected grace. This is mystery writing f a high order." T, Jefferson Parker, author of Silent Joe

"The Guards is raw, hard, bitter and amazing. Its got that ancient feel to it, as of a primal story beign retold with fine, careless Irish swagger. Its as if Bruen made up his mind to tell us this story whether we wanted to hear it or not. Oh we do. for sure." Jon A. Jackson, author of Badger Games

"The Guards is an astounding novel, a poetic account of a desperation as deep as the North sea, retribution and resurrection. It’s so good I can’t think of it as a crime novel. Its a fine book with some crime." James Crumley, author of The Final Country

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Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Darkly Irish 23 Feb 2004
By Untouchable
Format:Paperback
Readers hoping for a light mystery that is full of intricate plot devices that will challenge their own powers of deduction while being taken on a thrill-ride of adventure should be well advised this is not the book for you. THE GUARDS reads like a celebration of hardboiled fiction, the mood is dark, some might even use the term nourish and the style is spare as Bruen has stripped the prose down to the bare bones.
The story focuses on Jack Taylor, an ex-Garda Siochana officer (Ireland's National Police Service) who was kicked out of the service after he punched a member of parliament in the mouth. He spends his time, when he's not sitting drunk in his local pub, working as a private detective. Or at least, he would be working as a private detective if Ireland recognised the profession. As Jack explains it, he just finds things for people, thanks to two qualities, patience and pig stubbornness, particularly the latter.

One day, while sitting in Grogan's bar working on his latest drunk, Jack is approached by Ann Henderson who wants to hire him to investigate the suicide of her daughter, Sarah. Ann is convinced that her daughter wouldn't kill herself and wants Jack to find the truth. Jack, drunk at the time, agrees to take the case. Once Jack starts working the case, it becomes obvious that he has a specific sense of right and wrong as evidenced when he targets his enemies. But he offsets that with a distinctly underdeveloped sense of self-preservation, or perhaps it's just dulled by alcohol abuse, as evidenced by the forthright approach he uses to confront these same enemies.

Written in the first person from Jack's point of view, it is narrated in terse, clipped sentences as though Taylor is telling us his story through tightly gritted teeth, absolutely exhausted by his ordeals. It is very reminiscent of Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder series or George Pelecanos' Nick Stefanos series. Both of these series feature characters that battle constantly with alcoholism as Jack does. Further clues to the hardboiled qualities that Bruen achieves can be found in the quotes used at the start of selected chapters, the authors of these quotes include Ed McBain, Walter Mosely, Elmore Leonard and Pelecanos. At different times you can see the influence of each of these authors making their presence felt.

As a devotee of hardboiled fiction this book really appealed to me. It's dark and occasionally depressing but the character of Jack Taylor is an honest to goodness survivor greeting most setbacks with stoic good humour he becomes a strangely endearing character and I found myself cheering for him by the end. I think it is a worthy Edgar Award nominee.

By the way, between blackouts, a trip to the mental asylum, attempts at sobriety, recovering from beatings and cataclysmic falls off the wagon, Jack does actually put some time into the case he was hired to investigate. Whether he solved the case is neither here nor there really, the important thing is how he survives.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Irish Tourist Board will love this 2 May 2002
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read a lot of crime novels and I honestly have to say, this guy is as good as anyone. He reminds me of Lawrence Block - the Matt Scudder novels. I have been to Galway many times and I recognize some of the places, but not the dark underbelly which is now taking place in Ireland. Its turning
into a much more violent society- more like America. Give this author a try, you wont be disappointed.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant thriller full of black humour 15 Nov 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop in Galway. Although he's an alcoholic whose life is a shambles, he has an ability to find things, so he becomes a kind of private detective. The writing is witty, pacey, funny and dark. Ken Bruen's tenth book, it's a fantastic read, and Galway has never been better described or evoked.
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