Description "Bruen has written a genuine Irish noir thriller to rival the best . . . [he] transforms Galway into a city of hidden menace and dark secrets . . . Bruen's self-conscious literary playfulness deepens rather than diminishes the emotional and psychological complexities of his characters . . . Both a tautly written contemporary noir with vividly drawn characters and a cracking story, The Guards is an acute and compassionate study of rage and loneliness . . . Bruen has created a true original." The Sunday Tribune
“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.” The Irish Times
Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop in Galway, capital city of the west of Ireland. Mourning the death of his father, he is slowly drinking to oblivion. He has an ability to “find things” and is asked to investigate a teenage suicide. This leads him into a dangerous confrontation with a powerful businessman. A darker conspiracy slowly unfolds. Aided by a punk girl, he fumbles towards a lethal solution. The narrative is fueled by black humour, stark violence and moments of radiance.
The Guards — the Irish police — remain as a chorus in the background, never altogether past, infringing on Jack Taylor at the least expected moment. The intimate, bustling city of Galway, crashing into prosperity, illuminates the story at every turn.
Author Ken Bruen was a finalist for the Edgar, Barry, and Macavity Awards, and the Private Eye Writers of America presented him with the Shamus Award for the Best Novel of 2003 for The Guards, the book that introduced Jack Taylor. Ken received the best series award in February 2007 for the Jack Taylor novels from The Crime Writers Association of America. The Dramatist was nominated in March 2007 for a Gumshoe Award for the BEST EUROPEAN CRIME NOVEL of 2006.
Ken Bruen was born in Galway in 1951, where he now lives. After turning down a place at RADA and completing a MA in English he spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and South America.
The Guards, Ken's first Jack Taylor novel was published to glowing reviews in 2001 and has become a international bestseller. It was followed by The Killing of the Tinkers, The Magdalen Martyrs and The Dramatist.
