Happy book launch to Valerie Keogh. Death in Foxrock is available to purchase here
Book blurb
When Garda Sergeant Mike West and his partner, Garda Andrews, are called to a suspicious death they are shocked to find the small body of a child abandoned in a suitcase. Who is she? No child has been reported missing. Their search reaches outside Ireland involving other forces but without success and soon another dead body takes their attention. There is a surfeit of suspects this time but as the case evolves, the two detectives are stunned where it leads .
Meanwhile, someone is making trouble for Kelly Johnson, and she is forced, eventually, to ask West for help.
Can West sort personal problems and professional cases and restore peace to Foxrock?
My review
This is the next in the series featuring surprisingly normal Garda West, an Irish cop without any hang ups. In fact he’s normal. What an idea. To depict a policeman in literature that is someone that you might actually like, that you might relate to, that would be as happy with a coffee as a pint…
The cop TROPE is well known from TV shows to thrillers and to break this mould is indeed brave. Jonny Geller, that doyen of literary agents recently said on Twitter that
‘Plot is key, but not at the expense of character. We’ll go anywhere with a full character but question every move with a thin one.’
To write a character that is as well rounded as Garda West, but without the usual hooks of this genre needs both talent and guts. There is a plot but not just one. Subsidiary plots abound but with none of the loose ends that can cause a decent book to fail at the last hurdle. I loved the on-off nature of Garda West’s relationship with Kelly but also admired the way Ms Keogh kept a tight rein on the romance. When readers pick up a crime novel that’s what they want – crime. That’s why there’s a romantic suspence genre. I wait to see what’s next from this author…
Jenny O'Brien HQ 