Racecourse is Backdrop for Intriguing New Mystery Novel
 |
|
THE PRICE OF BLOOD
By Declan Hughes
Harper Collins
ISBN
978-0-06-082551-5
|
Reviewed by Sharon Greer
"Whatever you say, say nothing" - that's really the bottom line in Declan Hughes' deeply disturbing novel, The Price of Blood.
Private Investigator Ed Loy is hired by Father Vincent Tyrrell to locate a missing man with no lead other than a name. Knowing this is not enough information to begin an investigation, Loy has no choice but to accept - his depleted bank account doesn't allow him the luxury of refusal. Father Vincent is the brother of FX Tyrrell, an eminent racehorse trainer with a deadly past.
Shortly after accepting his assignment, Loy discovers two bodies at a concealed refuse dump. A telephone number found on one of the bodies is linked to FX and the challenge for the beleaguered detective is to uncover just what the association is.
The four-day Leopardstown Racecourse Christmas Festival, one of Ireland's most anticipated sporting events, is the backdrop for the nasty conclusion of the book.
As Ed Loy looks for answers in a precarious, unhealthy network of trading, dealing, gambling and breeding, the reader is in for a rocky roller coaster ride. The conclusion of this exceptional crime thriller is both shocking and haunting.
In a recent interview the writer stated, "the novel used to take as its subject 'the way we live now' but for the most part, only the crime novel seems interested in how we live any more." This is the third entry in the Ed Loy series.
Declan Hughes lives in Dublin and co-founded Rough Magic Theatre in 1984.
|
