I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Detective Inspector Sean Duffy of the Carrickfergus RUC takes on the case of identifying the torso of a man found in a common suitcase, head and limbs missing, in I Hear the Sirens in the Street, the second book in the "Troubles Trilogy" by Adrian McKinty.

I'm sure it's going to take you into some interesting areas, but do me a favor, don't let it get too complicated, will you, Sean?"

Indeed. The victim's last meal turns out to be the key to identifying the body — Bill O'Rourke, an American and retired IRS agent from Boston — and also provides the cause of death: poisoning by abrin, a highly toxic poison derived from the seeds of the rosary pea plant. And it seems he was in Northern Ireland to conduct some ancestral research. Not much for Duffy to go on, and not much to keep the attention of his superiors, especially when they need every resource to simply keep the peace as the Troubles wear on in the country. But a name tag, found wedged into the suitcase, gives Duffy cause to think that he can learn more about the mysterious O'Rourke, and he takes it upon himself to follow up.

I Hear the Sirens in the Street is a clever integration of a fictional story within a factual environment, specifically the opening of a manufacturing facility for the DeLorean DMC-12 outside of Belfast in 1981. The Troubles provide a backdrop to the story, but do not enter materially into the overall plot. Duffy's investigation does get complicated, but there is scarcely a scene, an action, or a detail that isn't important or comes into play at one point or another. It is a meticulously crafted murder mystery, one that quickly captures the reader's attention and then races ahead. The conclusion to this superior novel is deftly handled, bringing to a satisfactory close the events of the present book while keeping Duffy's options open for the third and final entry in the series.

Acknowledgment: Seventh Street Books provided an ARC of I Hear the Sirens in the Street for this review.

The Cold Cold Ground
Seventh Street Books (Trade Paperback), November 2012
ISBN-13: 9781616147167; ISBN-10: 1616147164

In the Morning I'll Be Gone
Seventh Street Books (Trade Paperback), March 2014
ISBN-13: 9781616148775; ISBN-10: 1616148772

Location(s) referenced in I Hear the Sirens in the Street: Belfast, Northern Ireland

I Hear the Sirens in the Street

A Sean Duffy Mystery by Adrian McKinty