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The Guards
 
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The Guards (Paperback)

by Ken Bruen (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Brandon (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: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 667,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

The Irish Times
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.

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

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Darkly Irish, 23 Feb 2004
By Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
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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5 of 6 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
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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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant thriller full of black humour, 15 Nov 2001
By A Customer
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Huge dissapointment
I have read most of Ken Bruen`s earlier novels including the Brant-series which I really appeciated. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2004

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