Synopsis/blurb…..
"Delaney
ratchets up the suspense till the book seems poised to explode from the
tension."
What's the difference
between violent justice and brutal revenge?
A Dublin funeral, and
three friends come together on a solemn mission to strike back against the
city’s drug dealers. For Santy it’s a sacred duty to the community. For Leo,
it’s an opportunity to indulge violent tendencies and pay off some debts at the
same time. For Dean? Unemployed and still living at home, it isn’t as if he has
anything better to do than go along with his friend’s plan.
But not everyone is
playing straight, and there is more to uncover than just the name of the next
target on the list. Between vengeance, idealism and greed, each begins to
question the motives of the others. And when the Garda start nosing around it’s
clear that somebody’s been talking, but who?
They’re about to find
out that some secrets are buried for a reason.
"More than the
sum of each brilliant part, The Pact is a brutal, funny and cleverly weaved
together slice of hard-boiled crime. A time bomb of tension." -Paul
Brazill (author of The Guns of Brixton and Cold London Blues)
Number Thirteen Press
are building a list of 13 quality crime novellas by 13 different authors,
published consecutively on the 13th of each month. For more information go to
I’m a big fan of this particular publisher and intend over
the next year (yes it will take me that long) to read all thirteen of their
offerings. Turlough Delaney's The Pact was my sixth outing in this venture.
Having hailed from Dublin over 50 years ago myself, I’m
always happy to read a crime tale set in my old home town. Married with a tale
of drug dealers and low-life characters and a gang of vigilantes, I was sure I
was onto a winner.
I liked elements of the tale…….the plot itself and the
differing motivations of the characters involved. I enjoyed the increasing
levels of tension in the relationship between them as Santy seemed intent on
controlling the other two involved in the cause – Leo and Dean. I enjoyed the
involvement of the Gardai into our vigilante tale and the intimation that the
authorities were keen to curb our seekers of justice, less in the pursuit of
law and order, more in the protection of a politician with some dubious sexual
habits.
I liked the pubs and nightclubs, the funerals and the
involvement however peripheral of family. I liked the bookies and the
incidental violence, and the strange goings on at the knocking shop out of
town.
Where it fell down for me was the unevenness of the time
line. Usually I don’t mind dipping backwards and forwards in time during a narrative,
and when it’s done well it adds to my enjoyment of the book. Here, I found it
confusing. Perhaps some tiredness when I was reading didn’t help and maybe my
mental faculties weren’t razor sharp, but there was no signposting indicating
the chopping and jumping about of the story and for me it would have been
helpful if there was.
I was left with the impression that the pages in the
manuscript got knocked on the floor by accident and were picked back up in a
somewhat haphazard fashion. Maybe the
story would have read better chronologically, maybe it wouldn’t.
3 from 5
Turlough Delaney is an enigma wrapped up in a riddle. No author website or photo I can find.
Timelines can be tricky things, Col. I know what you mean about the confusion if the author doesn't keep the story clear. Still, it does sound like a solid story, and I do like the Dublin setting.
ReplyDeleteI think it just took me a while to reset my bearings every time it happened, so I kind of felt bumped out of the story each time.
DeleteI like the idea of the 13 crime novellas. Not sure about this one though.
ReplyDeleteI've read 7 in total now of the 13 and enjoyed most of them. This was one of my least favourites of the bunch, but still more to like than dislike.
DeleteIt was sounding moderately interesting, but your thoughts on the timeline business most offputting, I find dual timelines difficult at the best of times, and this does not sound like the best!
ReplyDeleteI quite like it when it's not confusing. Here I found it was.
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