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Falling Glass  By  cover art

Falling Glass

By: Adrian McKinty
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
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Editorial reviews

By now, Adrian McKinty’s reputation for solidly crafted Irish crime novels is well-established. Equally familiar is the context into which this latest narrative is dropped. McKinty spent his childhood in Belfast at the height of paramilitary conflict there, and Falling Glass centers around a minor character from his Michael Forsythe trilogy that is steeped in precisely those historical influences. Killian, a legendary IRA heavy, emerges from retirement for what appears to be an easy money job of rescuing some rich businessman’s kids from their drug-addled mother. Naturally, complications abound and Killian soon finds himself in fierce competition with an apparently invincible Russian hit man on a case that evolves into something much uglier than a straightforward kidnapping scheme.

Throughout this debacle, Killian’s Pavee senses of humor and realism never abandon him. He has the dry wit and keen improvisational reflexes of a man raised among the Irish gypsies, which gets him into and out of trouble in equal measure. McKinty has a discerning ear for Killian’s banter, colorfully supported by Gerard Doyle’s authentic brogue. Doyle has won numerous audio awards, but perhaps more importantly, has also been with McKinty every step of the way. As narrator for the entire Michael Forsythe trilogy, Doyle is not only aware of this new novel’s background, but has also already established a clear sense of voice for many of this novel’s chief characters.

Although Forsythe takes a back seat in this story, fans of the previous trilogy will be gratified by the return of Doyle’s vision for the voice work, and find a credible set of new developments among beloved characters. But this novel is also quite capable of standing alone, and listeners who are coming fresh to Adrian McKinty’s work will not have any trouble picking up the story’s thread, thanks in part to Gerard Doyle’s confident hold on the reins of the narration. McKinty and Doyle obviously have a good chemistry going, and the conclusion of Falling Glass satisfyingly leaves plenty of room for the development of a Killian trilogy. Megan Volpert

Publisher's summary

In this noir thriller by a New York Times best-selling and Edgar award-winning author, a retired IRA fixer takes a lucrative last job finding the ex-wife and daughters of a wealthy airline owner.

Richard Coulter is a man who has everything. His beautiful new wife is pregnant, his upstart airline is undercutting the competition and moving from strength to strength, his diversification into the casino business in Macau has been successful, and his fabulous Art Deco house on an Irish cliff top has just been featured in Architectural Digest.

But then, for some reason, his ex-wife Rachel doesn’t keep her side of the custody agreement and vanishes off the face of the earth with Richard’s two daughters. Richard hires Killian, a formidable ex-enforcer for the IRA, to track her down before Rachel, a recovering drug addict, harms herself or the girls.

As Killian follows Rachel’s trail, he begins to see that there is a lot more to this case than first meets the eye and that a 30-year-old secret is going to put all of them in terrible danger.

McKinty is at his continent-hopping, well-paced, evocative best in this thriller, moving between his native Ireland and distant cities within a skin-of-his-teeth timeframe.

©2011 Adrian McKinty (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Falling Glass

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Great story, fast read

This book was terrific on all counts. The story was fast paced but with enough detail to provide vivid mental pictures. The characters were all very original, as was the plot line. Very enjoyable. I only wish the book had been a bit longer.

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HARD MEN GOING SOFT

HERE IS A GREAT HARDBOILED THRILLER FROM ONE OF THIS CENTURIES GREAT NOIR WRITERS. ITS A STORY ABOUT HARD MEN GETTING OLD AND HAVING TO ADAPT TO CHANGING TIMES. THE PROTAGANIST IS AN EX I.R.A. ENFORCER, WHO AFTER TAKING A BATH IN THE COLLAPSING REAL ESTATE MARKET, FINDS HIMSELF HIRING HIS SKILLS OUT TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. IN THIS CASE ITS A AIRLINE MOGUL WHO IS LOOKING TO GET HIS CHILDREN BACK AFTER HIS EX-WIFE HAS KIDNAPPED THEM. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF TWISTS AND TURNS IN THIS THRILLER, AND SOME REAL TENSION IS BUILT AS A RUSSIAN HITMAN CLOSES IN AND MATCHES WITS WITH THE INTREPID HERO. BUT THE REAL JOY IS THE ACCURATE PORTRAIT AUTHOR McKINTY PAINTS OF A GENERATION OF HARD MEN WHO HAVE IN SOME RESPECT OUTGROWN THEIR USEFULNESS, WITH AN UNEASY PEACE BETWEEN THE REPUBLICAN ARMY AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT WELL IN PLACE, OLD WARRIORS HAVE TO FIND NEW WAYS TO MAKE A LIVING. AND THE LONGER THEY ARE AWAY FROM THE ACTION, THE SLOWER THEIR REFLEX ACTIONS HAVE BECOME. THE HERO HERE DOESN'T ALWAYS COME OUT ON TOP. HE MAKES MISTAKES, AND PAYS FOR THEM. THIS IS NOIR AFTER ALL. AND ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF THE GENRE ARE FIRMLY IN PLACE. EVERY CHARACTER HAS A VOICE AND THE AUTHOR LETS THEM SPEAK THEIR VARIOUS STORIES; AND WITH GERARD DOYLE DOING THE NARRATION IS IT ANY WONDER THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST LISTENS YOU'LL ENCOUNTER AT AUDIBLE. DOYLE ACCENT AND PERFORMANCE OF THE MATERIAL JUST LIFTS THE STORY INTO THE REALM OF ART. AND THAT OPEN ENDED CLIMAX IS A DOOZY.

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Awesome Listen !

Did not want it to end. Perfect story and read. Hope there's a sequel.

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Another great McKinty novel

What made the experience of listening to Falling Glass the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed this as much as the Dead series. Killian is a fantastically complex and well rounded protagonist. As good as Forsythe.

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Annoying

Frankly, I read (listen) for the sake of a darn good story. This isn't it. This is an author who can't decide what he wants to be. He's trying to combine hard-boiled bad guys with the convoluted navel-gazing of Salinger. By the time I reached the Bananafish reference, I just groaned. Stop slapping me in the face with your literary pretensions. Tell me a believable story.

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easy listening

The story is not especially different but I enjoyed more information on the Irish setting and the life of a tinker

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Good Mystery

I enjoy McKinty's writing this did get a little dark at times but a great read. A good mystery with some unexpected plots and outcomes.

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Another winner for McKinty

I stumbled upon the "Dead" trilogy by Adrian McKinty and now I can hardly wait until he writes another book. Falling Glass upholds the standard the author has set with his earlier novels. Killian is at least as sympathetic a character as Michael Forsythe, and more intellectual and humorous. There's also a softer side to him that never gets in the way of what needs to be done, but occasionally stays his hand in a life or death confrontation.
The action is pretty much non-stop but there's lots of introspection as well. This is one terrific read and after the unexpected final scene, I look forward to seeing if Killian's adventures continue. Also, as other reviewers have noted, Gerard Doyle's narration is impeccable.

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Another Great Venture in the Isle

I could listen to Gerard Doyle read a book on Macroeconomics and be entertained. McKinty can make you like the bad guy even though you know you really shouldn't. Another book I found myself listening to in the car even though I was at my destination.

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Different

This was my first McKinty book and maybe I should have read an earlier one first. It took a quarter of the story for me to get use to the slow style and understand the characters. I ended up enjoying the book but had to go back several times to follow the characters. I will try another.

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