• The Guards

  • By: Ken Bruen
  • Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
  • Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (315 ratings)

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The Guards  By  cover art

The Guards

By: Ken Bruen
Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
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Publisher's summary

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana, 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. He 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 non-existent.

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

©2001 Ken Bruen (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

What listeners say about The Guards

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This is literature, not just crime fiction

A friend told me I should check out this book.
I did.
I was afraid I'd get hooked.
I am.
Friends tell me I now talk like Jack Taylor as rendered by the marvelous Gerry O'Brien
I do.

This is a wonderfully written, humorous and touching story. The crime is nearly beside the point. I'm lining up the Ken Bruen books now and plan to devour them one after another.

Great stuff.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

BRUEN...THE BEST

...of all mystery writers, bruen is the best...writer, that is...the story is just along for the ride... a unique knack for dialogue, an unrivaled knowledge of music and literature... an ability to find a poignant phrase that speaks to the deepest parts of each of us...never a word in excess... orwell would be proud! the reader, gerry o'brien, a perfect complement to bruen's prose.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Great book for alcoholics

ThIs is basically about drinking. The author is pretty funny, and the main character is likable. But something was missing.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Almost flawless

Bruen captures the pathos and humour of a drunken Irish dick. Self destructive and so human, it is hard not to identify with the lead (I can't call him hero) of this book. Beckett meets Chandler and a stone bottle of cheap gin.

Offered wine after a dinner of a six pack of beer, Jack says, "Ah fuckit man," then confides that that is the abridged version of the Serenity Prayer.

You get the picture.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I almost passed on this book due to all the negative reviews about main character's drinking problem. Not sure what their issues are. This was a great story with interesting and well developed characters. Very Irish Loved it and plan on listening to the whole series

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Hated this book.

This book was not at all what is was portrayed to be about. This was more about the problems of alcoholism than a murder mystery.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ireland's answer to Harry Hole

I really love Taylor's flawed character. The dialogue held the classic sort of Irish humor I'd hoped for. My only complaint is that I wished it had gone on longer.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

A drunken hero . . . sounds lovely, huh?

I did not like the way that the author, Ken Bruen, continuely went on and on about Jack Taylor’s alcoholism. It took away from the plot of the story.

The character, Jack, self-pitied himself, couldn’t find love, and couldn’t stop drinking. It got a little annoying and lost the focus of the plot, finding out who murdered the girl.

I was definitely glad when the story was over. I don’t think that I will continue with the series “The Killing of the Tinkers.” I have a feeling the author will continue to have Jack’s alcoholism lead the story.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • d.
  • 08-25-13

How to be a drunk and still stand...

Awful... No real mystery, no plot, no solution, just drunken stupor. Could not understand the accent. The book just meandered.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

God bless he Irishisms

Read this book and laughed. This time I listened to it and didn’t laugh as much... the sadness of alcoholism bore hard on me. Loved he narration and the accents .
Have read the whole series and highly recommend. Thank you Ken Brien.

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1 person found this helpful