The Dead Yard

By: Adrian McKinty

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In this exciting sequel to the acclaimed Dead I Well May Be, the mercenary Michael Forsythe is forced to infiltrate an Irish terrorist cell, confronting murder, mayhem, and the prospect of his own execution.

Michael is on holiday in Spain when a soccer riot between the Paddies and the Brits escalates out of control and he winds up in a Spanish prison. Enter Samantha, a beautiful British Intelligence agent. She makes Michael an offer he can't refuse: instead of extradition to Mexico to serve time for a prison break, he can infiltrate an IRA sleeper cell in the United States. Thrust into the nightmare world of men known for their distinctive brands of torture and revenge, Michael crosses and double-crosses key players, narrowly escapes his own lies, loses his only ally, and falls for the daughter of his enemy.

Don't miss these other noir thrillers in the Michael Forsythe series: Dead I Well May Be (Unabridged) and The Bloomsday Dead (Unabridged).

©2006 Adrian McKinty (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Thriller/Suspense

• Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Male, 2007

"McKinty's literate, expertly crafted third crime novel...confirms his place as one of his generation's leading talents." (Publishers Weekly)

Excellent book. One of my favorite authors!!

What made the experience of listening to The Dead Yard the most enjoyable?

Very engrossing, more or less realistic (but who cares) poetic and thrilling story with very horrible and good credible characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Michael Forsythe of course. He's my hero!!!

Which character – as performed by Gerard Doyle – was your favorite?

He's such a great performer with such good defferent accents that all the characters were interesting but of course Michael is my favorite!

Any additional comments?

Keep writing Adrian!! I will be your fan forever!

they just get better

great story and suspense. would make a really good movie or series. narrator is my favorite too.

Quintessential McKinty

Outstanding performance, as always. Stomach-turning violence, as always. And improbable philosophical Irish musings, as always. The kind of book that is hard to listen to and yet hard to stop listening to.

Gritty & So well delivered

Gerard Doyle is excellent!
Another great development to the Michael Forsyth character. Adrian McKinty spins his best stories with Irish protagonists. Enjoy!!

Bodies & Bullets

A good infiltration story. It’s hard & brutal interspersed with tenderness & compassionate. The author definitely has a way with words. Good, entertaining listening pleasure.

the main character

I liked that the main character was flawed physically and still was able to get his job done

Where has this guy been?

A friend of mine recommended this series of books to me, and I loved every minute of them. Michael Forsythe is an interesting, captivating character. The narration is a perfect mate to these stories as it is very well done with Irish brogue and various other accents done to perfection.

I don't know why Adrian McKinty hasn't made best seller lists all over the place. I was blown away by his writing style - a thriller writer who puts his more popular contemporaries to shame (James Patterson eat your heart out!).

Start with this book and dive into the world of Michael Forsythe. Let him take you to places and thrilling situations to make you forget everything else. I know you'll quickly be getting the other two books when you're done with this one. Only a wee ijit would miss out on such fantastic storytelling.

Great narrator, gripping but violent story.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Dead Yard to be better than the print version?

I LOVE Gerard Doyle's narration. However, having read the Sean Duffy series before this (Michael Forsythe) I'm finding that there are a LOT of similarities (MI-6, attractive female operatives, etc.). That said, I was enthralled, and am getting ready to listen to the next one right now!

Any additional comments?

Graphic violence. And sex scenes best listened to with headphones and not in the kitchen with everyone walking through (my experience...)

The Poetics of Terror

I have just finished my third Adrian McKinty Audible novel, "The Dead Yard." Both novelist and narrator are off-scale, so the combination is darkly dazzling because their speciality is the poetry of the terrible. The listener is drawn into dismaying absorbtion in the emotional and psychic drama of blood vengeance. It isn't until the last lyrical words have been uttered that one realizes how profoundly moral is this tale about the very current subject of terror as political tactic.

The protagonist Michael Forsythe is tricked by British intelligence into infiltrating a radical splinter IRA group attempting with action in America to undermine the 1990s peace process in Northern Ireland. Each member of the group represents a type of terrorist in terms of character motivation. Jerry, the leader, spouts poetic maxims in Latin, as he seeks to confer the glory of epic-style action on the tawdry actions of his little band. "Touched" is the psychopath whose twisted soul meshes so naturally and therefore so effectively with the twisting machinations of terror. Sonia the intellectual is deluded by bookish, romantic idealisms akin to those of the old Left. The two young people Jackie and Kit are animated with the corrupting romanticism of their elders and Irish forebearers: Jackie the male motivated much by the need for male solidarity; Kit the female, not even Irish by birth but by adoption, trapped by ethical complexities of identity and values too great for her quite good, but too young mind. On the other side are Michael and his handler Samantha. She like Kit is in over her head because she is not quite the consummate cold professional that she prides herself in being. And Michael, the hapless agent of British intelligence, turns into the commited avenger--an almost mythical figure bringing the justice he and the listener crave. But, oh, the cost to him!

"The Dead Yard" is a deep listen.

Book and narrator come together perfectly

I'm not going to talk about the plot, which was covered in the summaries already. Instead, I'll tell you that the narrator of the book, Michael Forsyth is witty, charming, and mordant, and that Gerard Doyle captures him perfectly in this recording.

Highly recommended.