Falling Glass

By: Adrian McKinty

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

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.

Even an Angel of Death needs a halo...

Adrian McKinty formally introduces a formerly secondary character as his new main man of action and conscious, Killian. Killian’s globetrotting adventures are as tense and intelligent as McKinty’s best chronicles of Michael Forsythe of the Dead Trilogy. Forsythe reappears in this latest masterpiece of fiction, but as a background player. “Falling Glass” is a welcome addition to McKinty’s canon. The writing is tighter than ever, the suspense gripping and thoughtful.
McKinty has done his homework as usual with his descriptions of times, places, and events bringing his reader vivid images of the exploits of each central character. His inexhaustible knowledge of history and geography are put to impeccable use for “Falling Glass”.
As a tireless fan of McKinty’s writing I could not wait to get the book here in America so I had no choice but to get the audiobook from Audible (though I still have my order placed for the book itself). Gerard Doyle’s familiar narration of McKinty’s storytelling is as intense and captivating as holding the book in your hands. At just over nine hours the story moves along at an incredible pace with not a dull moment to be found. At the conclusion of “Falling Glass” I was left wanting for more of Killian’s adventures, just as each of the books in the Dead Trilogy leaves the reader wanting more of Michael Forsythe. The final confrontation is as unexpected and masterful as is expected from Mr. McKinty. Killian is a brilliant successor to Forsythe’s literary fortunes and charms.

Hold on to your seat!!!

Adrian McKinty is a darn good storyteller. He’s the real thing and keeps getting better and better.

Don’t let this book fool you. Yes, it’s an action-packed thriller, but it’s much more than that. The story is brutal but beautifully, hauntingly, and lyrically written. Imagine a cross pollination of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Chuck Palahniuk. Or James Joyce and Quentin Tarantino. Add laugh out loud passages – the humor is priceless – and little bits and pieces information of all kinds, and you have all the ingredients for a story that’s absolutely impossible to put down.

“Hidden River” is still my favorite Adrian McKinty novel – your first is often your most memorable – but “Falling Glass” is close (the Dead trilogy is also close… OK, it’s hard to pick a favorite).

The hero of “Falling Glass” is a good but flawed Irish boy who just wants to recover losses from the bad economy and go back to studying architecture. Killian’s out of “the business” but decides to go back one last time to pull himself out of debt. Thus the ride begins, the roller coaster cranking on the upswing, quickly reaching the crest and before you know it, you’re hanging onto your seat and your hair is standing on end.

Explicitly Gory

What would have made Falling Glass better?

MUCH less graphic description of killing.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something by Diana Gabledon

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator was very good

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes the plot was very grabbing.....

Any additional comments?

I quit the book after the episode in Mexico where the torturing and beheading was going on. The plot was intriguing, but when there is that much graphic brutality in the beginning....you gotta believe you are going to get more of it as the story progresses. I may try to finish it, but this really turned me off.

Great crime fiction!!

Another very good book by Adrian McKinty, the Irish author of the Dead Trilogy (which featured Michael Forsythe as its main character).

Michael Forsythe is a minor character in Falling Glass.

Falling Glass, set primarily in Northern Ireland, has as its main character Killian, an Irish Traveller (also know as Pavee, a gypsy-like and nomadic group in Ireland). Killian is hired by the extremely wealthy, powerful and well-connected Richard Coulter to find Coulter's ex-wife Rachel and their children.

McKinty is a good and entertaining writer who appears inspired by Raymond Chandler. Several chapter titles in Falling Glass are Chandler books, e.g., The Big Sleep. The style of writing, the fierce code that drives the main character's actions and the genre are all very reminiscent of Chandler.

Falling Glass is fast-paced and very engaging. It is recommended to existing McKinty fans but also to anyone who enjoys crime fiction.

Read everything this guy writes.

Adrian McKinty is the best writer of novels that I have come across in my 66 years. He is better at describing the plight of victims than Dickens; better at dialogue than Robert Parker; as funny as David Rosenfeldt; as good at plotting as Nelson DeMille. Maybe he doesn't have the oddball characters of Carl Hiassen, but who does? And Hiassen is like a rich dessert. McKinty will make you work for some of it. His allusions range from classic literature and mythology to hum drum television. I think this is as good as it gets.

The ending is really, really good.

This is the first McKinty that I've read or listened to. Killian, the protagonist is sympathetic, well developed, complex. The atmosphere is romantic, realistic, and brutal, an interesting mix of normalcy and the underworld.

Other reviews reveal the plot. I'll just comment that though well done, the sequences of betrayal, murder and mayhem have been written elsewhere and equally as well. In other words, no surprises. EXCEPT, the ending. It's a great save in an otherwise good (not great) storyline.

By the way, it took half the book to become accustomed to the reader's rhythm, but then my family's from the south.

So charming protagonist, great atmosphere, average plot, imaginative ending make Falling Glass a good read for all who enjoy crime fiction.

Fantastic Story

This is not only a great story of its own accord, but Gerard Doyle is the most amazing narrator. His irish accent is perfect for this story set in Ireland but not only that, he is very clever with different voices. You never have to wonder who is talking! I hope Audible add more McKinty books to their list, but they must be read by Doyle.
A definite credit worthy purchase.

Another Excellent McKinty Novel

Kudos to McKinty for crafting another deeply interesting, informative novel populated with genuine characters who move through life just as emotionally flawed as the mere mortals who are reading about them. Gerard Doyle's narration is the perfect complement to a terrific story.

One of his most satisfying

I've always enjoyed Adrian McKinty's novels and this one is no exception. In this one, you are drawn into the world of Killian - a retired bodyguard/enforcer who has been forced out of retirement with the crash of the "Celtic Tiger". McKinty crafts a believable and engaging character in Killian and gives him a fast moving plot full of twists and turns.
Well read, too!

A DARK MYSTERY SUPERBLY NARRATED BY GERALD DOLYE

We're told that Gerard Doyle was understudying a role on Broadway when he received call from his agent saying that an Irish voice was needed to narrate an audio book. Doyle readily admits that he knew little about audio books, but thought, "No matter. I can do that. I'm an Irishman." Do it he did, so well that he won an AudioFile Earphones Award for his debut That was five years ago and since then he has garnered enough voice performance awards to cover several mantels.

Doyle is not only an Irishman but also a trained actor, which has given added veracity and dramatic effect to each of his narrations. This is especially true with his reading of an arresting dark tale by Adrian McKinty, FALLING GLASS.

Ever notice how frequently life seems to be playing a trick on us? Just when we think we have it all together, when we're happy, content, suddenly things seem to fall apart. That seems to be the case with Richard Coulter. He's a mega rich Irish business man whose budget airline is outdoing any competition; he's married to a gorgeous woman who is pregnant; has a growing casino interest in Macau, and a home to die for recently featured in Architectural Digest. What could Coulter possibly want? For starters, he wants to find his former wife and two children, and calls on Killian to accomplish this.

A 40-year-old enforcer, a debt collector, Killian is weary. He's a one-of-a-kind enforcer because he had learned to use his wits to get the desired results. While he could use force his preference was to convince by verbal persuasion - he did have a silver tongue. Unfortunately the recession affects him just as it has everyone else, so he accepts the job with Coulter. After all a half million isn't easy to come by and that was Coulter's offer.

It looked like an easy case - just find the woman and children. However, when Killian does locate them he discovers much more than he bargained for in the form of danger and a Russian hitman.

Once again McKinty has crafted a non-stop action thriller that will simply leave readers/listeners wanting more from this master of the darkly mysterious.

Retirement tinker style

Killian has decided to retire from enforcement, but then the bottom falls out of the housing market and his investment fund goes south. So, back to work, chasing an absconding ex-wife. But it gets more complicated. At times very funny.

Excellent I loved it chained it in a day

This is the second book I have read by this author I be looking for more.

Superb !!

Another great story from Mckinty..
I enjoyed the characters and loved the end.
Can't wait for his new novel 'The Chain' already pre-ordered.

very good

I thought this was a very good, enjoyable story and the narrator was excellent at the Irish accents.

Not for me

I found this story a bit boring and I didn't really engage with any of the characters. obviously lots of brilliant reviews but this one isn't for me.

Excellent story telling and good story

Excellent story telling, grips from start to finish . Well done , look forward to seeing more from this author

A silver tongued Parvee to the very end!

Surprised myself by listening to this as had previously dismissed the author & narrator; and, what an enjoyable surprise it was too as the story kept my attention & Gerald Doyle's lilting narration captivated me.
A stand alone book by Adrian McKinty, has a minor character from his unheard Michael Forsythe series take the floor. Killian's an Irish tinker, traveler, a Parvee by birth, an ex IRA enforcer, renowned for his non-violent persuasive skills, that silver tongue of his, is now retired, forty being old in his world.
Strapped for cash he takes up what seems a straight forward job, find the ex-wife & two daughters of an extremely wealthy, powerful & politically well-connected Irish businessman, the pay off, a suspiciously high half million pounds. It quickly transcends that there's more at stake than the runaways, as another player appears, a young skilled hitman tasked with killing the women, retrieving a laptop containing incriminating evidence.
Falling Glass is fast-paced and very engaging. Outside the action, of which there's lots, the landscape of Ireland is beautifully evoked making me want to visit; and Killian's heritage, his adherence to the Parvee Code of Conduit, is an insightful, sympathetic peak into the nomadic life, myths & traditions of Irish travelers.

Enjoyable tale

Slow starter but glad I stuck to it lots of interesting back story cultural context

A good one

Excellent, had me hooked straight away.
A good storyline and well narrated. Well worth a listen

unexpected gem

gripped from the start. Exemplary narration and an author I shall look for again