Ken Bruen

The Guards

Ken Bruen

• 2004 Shamus-Novel winner
• 2004 Barry-Novel nominee
• 2004 Edgar–Novel nominee
• 2004 Macavity-Novel nominee
• Score: 28.54

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda SÌoch·na—the Guards, Ireland’s police force—and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. In his sober moments Jack aspires to become Ireland’s best private investigator, not to mention its first—Irish history, full of betrayal and espionage, discourages any profession so closely related to informing. But in truth Jack is teetering on the brink of his life’s sharpest edges, his memories of the past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future nonexistent.

Nonexistent, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a strange request and a rumor about Jack’s talent for finding things. Odds are he won’t be able to climb off his barstool long enough to get involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by getting hired, Jack has little idea of what he’s getting into.

Stark, violent, sharp, and funny, The Guards is an exceptional novel, one that leaves you stunned and breathless,…

The Dramatist: A Jack Taylor Novel

Ken Bruen

• 2007 Shamus-Novel winner
• 2005 Barry-British nominee
• Score: 16.57

Seems impossible, but Jack Taylor is sober. One reason hes been able to keep clean: his dealers in jail, which leaves Jack without a source. That dealer calls him to Dublin and asks a favorthe mans sister is dead and the guards have called it death by misadventure. But he says that cant be true and begs Jack to have a look, check around, see what he can find. Jack agrees, though he cant possibly know the shocking, deadly consequences that granting this simple request will bring. Jack will understand soon, in the dark, lethal fourth entry in Ken Bruens award-winning Jack Taylor series.

Priest: A Novel

Ken Bruen

• 2007 Barry-British winner
• 2008 Edgar–Novel nominee
• Score: 16.57

Ireland, awash with cash and greed, no longer turns to the Church for solace or comfort. But the decapitation of Father Joyce in a Galway confessional horrifies even the most jaded citizen. Jack Taylor, devastated by a recent personal loss, has always believed himself to be beyond salvation. But a new job offers a fresh start, and an unexpected partnership makes him hope that his one desperate visionof familymight yet be fulfilled.

The Killing of the Tinkers: A Novel

Ken Bruen

• 2005 Macavity-Novel winner
• 2005 Anthony-Novel nominee
• Score: 16.55

When Jack Taylor blew town at the end of The Guards his alcoholism was a distant memory and sober dreams of a new life in London were shining in his eyes. In the opening pages of The Killing of the Tinkers, Jack’s back in Galway a year later with a new leather jacket on his back, a pack of smokes in his pocket, a few grams of coke in his waistband, and a pint of Guinness on his mind. So much for new beginnings.

Before long he’s sunk into his old patterns, lifting his head from the bar only every few days, appraising his surroundings for mere minutes and then descending deep into the alcoholic, drug-induced fugue he prefers to the real world. But a big gypsy walks into the bar one day during a moment of Jack’s clarity and changes all that with a simple request. Jack knows the look in this man’s eyes, a look of hopelessness mixed with resolve topped off with a quietly simmering rage; he’s seen it in the mirror. Recognizing a kindred soul, Jack agrees to help him, knowing but not admitting that getting involved is going to lead to more bad than good. But in Jack Taylor’s…

Slide

Ken Bruen, Jason Starr

• 2008 Anthony-Paperback nominee
• Score: 6.58

Warning! This may be the most shocking book you have ever read!

Max Fisher used to run a computer company; Angela Petrakos was his assistant and mistress. But that was last year. Now Max is reinventing himself as a hip-hop crack dealer and Angela’s back in Ireland, hooking up with a would-be record-setter…in the field of serial killing. Will their paths cross again? What do you think?

From the evil geniuses who brought you Bust comes a roller-coaster ride of suspense, mayhem and vicious fun that’ll make you reluctant ever to open your mail again.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Bust

Ken Bruen, Jason Starr

• 2007 Barry-Paperback nominee
• Score: 6.57

Five important lessons you can learn by reading Bust:
1. When you hire someone to kill your wife, don’t hire a psychopath.
2. Drano is not the best tool for getting rid of a dead body.
3. Those locks on hotel room doors? Not very secure.
4. A curly blond wig isn’t much of a disguise.
5. Secrets can kill.