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Serpent’s Tail, 2008
Reviewed by Helen Lloyd
In hiding from his old enemies, Michael Forsythe is working as head of
security in a big hotel in Lima, Peru. Returning to his room one night he
is ambushed by two gunmen who, instead of killing him, hand him a phone.
The voice on the other end is that of his old girlfriend, Bridget
Callaghan. Twelve years ago Michael killed her mob boss fiancé, and ever
since Bridget has been trying to settle the score.
However, now she needs his help. Her eleven year old daughter has gone
missing in Belfast, and she needs his local knowledge and contacts in the
Belfast criminal world to find her. She begs him to help her, promising
that, if he gets Siobhan back, the slate will be wiped clean.
Unsure whether he should trust Bridget, Michael nevertheless returns to
Ireland, and, from the moment he lands it seems he is a marked man. With
Bridget swearing she isn't behind the attacks, he is left trying to work
out what other old enemies he left behind him in Ireland all those years
ago.
THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is the third in the Michael Forsythe trilogy, and again
the theme of revenge is strong. Michael is torn between trusting Bridget
and protecting himself, but it is clear he still has feelings for her. It
is as much for this reason as the chance to rid himself of his nemesis (or
one of them anyway) that he goes to Belfast to help her.
Michael is not someone who moves unobtrusively through his world. Whether
he is looking for it or not, trouble seems to find him and he leaves a
trail of mayhem wherever he goes. He is not a nice person, hurting and
killing people without compunction, and is not a character you can warm to
easily, yet I somehow found myself liking him anyway. Michael is seemingly
indestructible as he overcomes villain after villain in often incredible
circumstances. He not only survives being severely beaten up more than
once, but bounces back with enough strength to best the next assailant.
THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD is a brutal and violent book, but with a liberal dose
of black humour. The level of over-the-top violence is more than I’m
normally comfortable with, but I found myself sucked into the story, and
McKinty's writing kept me reading until the thrilling conclusion. This
book necessarily refers to events and characters from the first book in
the series, so you should definitely read DEAD I WELL MAY BE before
tackling this one.
Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Northern Ireland, and lived in the
USA for a number of years before moving to Melbourne.
Oct 2008 review originally posted on Murder and Mayhem
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