The Ruin by Derval McTiernan is a thriller set in Ireland and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Below you’ll find the book’s description followed by my review. This is my fourth thriller to read this year and I have to admit I’m enjoying the genre. It’s nice to switch things up every now and then, although I know I will be diving back into some paranormal and fantasy very soon.
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
THE SECRETS OF THE PAST WILL EXPOSE THE CRIMES OF THE PRESENT . . .
On his first week on the job, Garda Cormac Reilly responds to a call at a decrepit country house to find two silent, neglected children waiting for him – fifteen-year-old Maude and five-year-old Jack. Their mother lies dead upstairs.
Twenty years later, Cormac has left his high-flying career as a detective in Dublin and returned to Galway. As he struggles to navigate the politics of a new police station, Maude and Jack return to haunt him.
What ties a recent suicide to the woman’s death so long ago? And who among his new colleagues can Cormac really trust?
My Review of The Ruin
The Ruin is a thriller set in Galway and the first book in the Cormac Reilly Detective series. I received a free copy from the publishers on Netgalley. The story begins 20 years in the past and we have Detective Reilly being called to a disturbance. He’s only fresh out of Templemore. This starts the story and he takes two children from the house, both clearly abused. The book then jumps to the present and Cormac is now a detective. Jack, the little boy rescued from the house 20 years earlier is now grown and living with his girlfriend Aisling. Cormac has moved to Galway and when Jack’s body is found and suicide ruled, the story really begins.
There were a lot of characters in this book and I found it difficult to keep up with who was how. We also get points of view from a number of characters including Cormac, Aisling, and Maude (Jacks sister who has just arrived back to Ireland after being away for 20 years). Maude doesn’t believe Jack committed suicide and begins an investigation herself. Things twist and Maude is charged with her mother’s mother back in 1993.
This story had plenty of tension and the who-done-it factor that kept me reading. I have to say I wasn’t over fond of Aisling’s character and found her very unemotional.
From about 40% this story really took off and I found myself devouring it and completing the rest of the book in a day. I was hooked and wanted to see what had really happened.
Cormac’s character was believable and likeable as was Maude. I think there’s a lot more to come especially from Mill Street Guarda station and can’t wait to see what book 2 brings. Overall I’d say this is an excellent thriller with plenty of tension and twists that will keep readers asking questions right the way to the end.
The Ruin is available in ebook and paperback and you can get a copy from Amazon or your nearest bookshop.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
