The Detective Up Late

The Sean Duffy Series, Book 7

By: Adrian McKinty

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

“Adrian McKinty is a gifted storyteller I love to read, and Sean Duffy is a character you will never forget.”–Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Adrian McKinty comes the next thrilling mystery in the Edgar Award-winning Sean Duffy detective series

Slamming the door on the hellscape of 1980s Belfast, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy hopes that the 1990s are going to be better for him and the people of Northern Ireland. As a Catholic cop in the mainly Protestant RUC he still has a target on his back, and with a steady girlfriend and a child the stakes couldn’t be higher.

After handling a mercurial triple agent and surviving the riots and bombings and assassination attempts, all Duffy wants to do now is live. But in his final days in charge of Carrickfergus CID, a missing persons report captures his attention. A fifteen-year-old traveler girl has disappeared and no one seems to give a damn about it. Duffy begins to dig and uncovers a disturbing underground of men who seem to know her very well. The deeper he digs the more sinister it all gets. Is finding out the truth worth it if DI Duffy is going to get himself and his colleagues killed? Can he survive one last case before getting himself and his family out over the water?

©2023 Adrian McKinty (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

The braided art of author and narrator

I assume my wife and I are not alone in our behavior of preferring certain narrators over others. The extent to which that comes to play is revealed by how often that preference has guided our choice of authors and books. While we’ve listened to many readers and enjoyed their art and craft, none has yet come near to Gerard Doyle. His subtle nuance and phrase shapes drive a deep and broad style that triggers the suspension of disbelief from the first words spoken to the last. I say this from a contemporary classical music composer’s perspective, relying on the high expertise I’ve experienced from some of the world finest orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. I can attempt to compose strong pieces of music and create scores that accurately reveal and capture my intentions. Ultimately it will come down to performers realizing what I’ve composed and the comprehensive, definitive realization of that which once existed only in my imagination relying so much on brilliant, inspired performances. Gerard Doyle, narrator, is to Adrian McKinty, author, a champion of McKinty’s “word music in “The Detective Up Late’ “. He’s masterfully captured every detail of mood, tension, humor, threat, fear, and honesty…everything that the fine author Adrian McKinty has written. It’s a perfect braid of author and narrator. Thanks to creator and performer for another amazing journey.

Evocative and atmospheric, beautifully written and plotted.

McKinty is known for his fast moving thrillers like The Chain and The Island, but his Sean Duffy novels are so much better. The bitter Irish sea, drifting grey mists, peaty comforting whisky, the grudges and eruptions of violence in Northern Ireland’s troubles, the hard men who make war form the evocative setting for a tautly plotted mystery about a missing traveler girl whom neither cops nor journalists think is worth their effort because “she ran before.” There are many trademark McKinty plot twists and a gift at the end, in what he calls Duffy’s last case. It will be a pity if it is, because the complexity and psychology of the main protagonist makes Duffy an unforgettable character. I discovered McKinty when I was searching for narrations by Gerard Doyle, one of the best narrators around. He is absolutely pitch perfect, and brings all the characters to life, as well as the sometimes moody rural landscapes and urban hellscapes. Reading this made me want to go back to read the whole series from scratch. I hope there’s another Duffy book but if not, I hope McKinty creates another protagonist as complex and nuanced as Duffy.

Sean Duffy is back!!

Adrian McKinty is my favorite author and the Sean Duffy series is my favorite series. I came across this series quite by accident here on Audible because I liked the title of the first book. I took a chance and have joined Sean Duffy on this ride that has been really fantastic for me. McKinty writes beautifully setting the scenes with descriptive words that resonate, and Gerard Doyle's narration is, as always, perfect. If you have not read any of this series, start from the first and work your way through. You can read them as stand alone but the whole series is a masterpiece. All I can say is that I want more!! Give me more!! ...and thanks, Adrian. This one came to me at a time when I needed to hear from Sean Duffy (via Gerard Doyle) again.

Grit. Wit. Smarts. History. Culture. Intelligence. Writing. Narration.

Grit. Wit. Smarts. History. Culture. Intelligence. Writing. Narration. Dialogue. Relationships. Politics. Supposedly Sean Duffy’s final case as Homicide detective before he goes part-time.

Superb

Thank you for another satisfying tale. Looking forward to next one. Four more words required.

Gérard Doyle!

I LOVED IT! Please don't let this be the last of Sean Duffy! He's only 38!!!

Savored Every Word - Excellent Read!

The Sean Duffy books are absolutely terrific. Great plots, compelling characters, fully atmospheric settings- the best possible books a reader could hope for. Gerard Doyle is the quintessential reader for these McKinty masterpieces - each voice he creates embodying the character and breathing them into life. I hope Mr. McKinty isn’t tired of writing these - I will always be yearning for the next one!

Great, but not his best one.

Bit disappointed by the story line of this one, but, ....... as with all the McKinty books.... it's Gerard Doyle who truly brings it to life.

As always, another great Sean Duffy novel.

Loved it, love the series. If you haven’t read them, do it now. Totally worth it.

This is a great novel

I have only read one of the books by the author, but this is a remarkably good read. The narrator is unbelievably great, and the book is gripping and exciting..