Priest by Ken Bruen

From the Publisher

Ireland, awash with cash and greed, no longer turns to the church for solace or comfort. But the decapitation of Father Joyce in a Galway confessional horrifies even the most jaded citizen.

Jack Taylor, devastated by the recent trauma of personal loss, has always believed himself to be beyond salvation. But a new job offers a fresh start, and an unexpected partnership provides hope that his one desperate vision--of family--might yet be fulfilled.

An eerie mix of exorcism, a predatory stalker, and unlikely attraction conspires to lure him into a murderous web of dark conspiracies. The specter of a child haunts every waking moment.

Explosive, unsettling, and totally original, Ken Bruen's writing captures the brooding landscape of Irish society at a time of social and economic upheaval. Here is evidence of an unmistakable literary talent.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

You can’t expect much in the way of conventional sleuthing from this tormented hero, but there’s music in his lament for the corruption of innocence and the loss of faith — in the government and the clergy — in “the new Ireland,” even as he does battle with the demons that have claimed his own soul.

The Washington Post - Maureen Corrigan

Bruen exploits the dark potential of the mystery form to its fullest, using his tale to pose disturbing existential questions only to come up with answers as hollow as Hammett's Maltese Falcon.

Publishers Weekly

Recovered from incapacitating guilt over the death of a child on his watch, Jack Taylor is released from the loony bin at the start of Shamus-winner Bruen's searing fifth book about the alcoholic Galwegian ex-cop (after 2006's The Dramatist). Jack's friend Nio "Ridge" Iomaire picks him up from the hospital and mentions the gory headlines: a pedophilic priest, Father Joyce, was beheaded. At the request of another frightened priest, Jack launches an unofficial investigation with the assistance of an eager, younger partner, Cody. All the while fighting his constant ache for a drink, the maverick PI also helps Ridge ward off a stalker. Jack is a keen and literary narrator, and Bruen's latest Irish noir makes for a kind of savage poetry, at once exhausting and exhilarating. Bruen has been a finalist for Edgar, Anthony and Barry awards. (Mar.)

Ken Bolton - Library Journal

The fifth installment in the Jack Taylor series (after The Dramatist) is typical Bruen—brooding and depressing—yet irresistible. Taylor is a P.I. in Galway, Ireland, who has seen enough trouble in his life for a dozen men. After checking himself out of a mental institution, he agrees to look into the gruesome murder of a local priest. Taylor seems to catch a break when an old acquaintance bequeaths him a home and some money. But Taylor's demons—alcohol, cigarettes, loneliness, regret, and shame, among others—are always there and in constant need of attention. His investigation into the priest's murder reveals grim insights into life in modern-day Ireland not found in any tourist brochures, as well as the dark secrets the priest took to his grave. With any Bruen novel, you get the feeling that the author has poured his soul into the pages. Recommended for most mystery collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ11/1/06.]

Product Details

• ISBN: 0312378270
  
• ISBN-13: 9780312378271
• Format: Paperback, 304pp
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Pub. Date: January 2008
• Edition Description: Reprint
• Sales Rank: 27,350
• Series: Jack Taylor Ser.