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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Money, like love, is energy.", 10 Nov 2002
If this statement by Paddy Power were true, this novel would be one of Gill's most energetic, filled as it is with financial complications involving the Irish economy, political graft and corruption, and the get-rich-quick hopes of numerous investors in Paddy Powers's commercial bank. A much admired financier/philanthropist, Paddy has been working on a plan for a debt-for-equity swap involving the Irish national debt and a Japanese investor, and someone finds this so threatening that s/he tinkers with Paddy's heart medication and kills him. Political intrigue at the highest levels, intraparty politics and resentments, and the northern branch of the IRA all play a part in the action here and add to the intricate financial maneuvering. Unfortunately, however, they also lead to a somewhat "talky" novel, as Gill is forced to explain technicalities to his reader. Most of the personal interactions and intrigue here involve the politicians and their wives, lovers, and families, rather than McGarr and his detectives from the Garda Siochana, and I missed the focus on those characters which made Death of a Joyce Scholar and Death of an Irish Sinner (the novel after this one) so satisfying. Sneem, a "Tidy Town" in Kerry, which is the site of Paddy's murder, is very lively here, with quirky characters, culchies, and locals with long memories, but the banter and teasing which so characterize the series as a whole are less prominent here. The relationship between Ruthie Bresnahan and Hugh Ward, a highlight of the previous novel, Death of a a Joyce Scholar, is not a factor, with Ward acting undercover as a bartender and Ruthie, on her "home turf," using her connections in the community to help McGarr solve the murder. With numerous subplots and red herrings, along with complex financial and political dealings, Gill tackles big subjects with his usual gusto, and his conclusion explodes in fireworks, torture, mayhem, and an incredible body count. Tighter plotting and fewer side issues might have made this novel more powerful, but even when Gill is not at his best, he's still better than most! Mary Whipple
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