4 out of 4 stars
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The 11:05 Murders, published in 2017 and written by Brian O'Hare, is the second volume of the Inspector Sheehan series. It carries on from the first book, The Doom Murders, but can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone mystery thriller.
The 11:05 Murders is a suspenseful who-done-it involving members of the Irish police force, the coroner's office, and the prosecutors involved in solving the crimes and stopping a potential serial killer. It is well-written and generally fast-paced, with many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.
The story is set in Ireland in 2014. Chief Inspector Sheehan is running the Serious Crimes Unit, and has just welcomed the newest member of his team, Detective Sergeant Denise Stewart. She is a bright, talented young police officer who was forced to leave her previous post after investigating and testifying against corrupt members of her former squad. Remaining members of this squad are hostile and threatening to her, and she begins to feel she is being followed.
On her first day at the new posting, Stewart is thrown into a murder investigation which may be the work of a serial killer. Though her shell is hard and she's too prickly with her new team members, she finds her new boss and the atmosphere in her new surroundings congenial and respectful. At first tentative and overwhelmed, she quickly regains her passion and courage, and dives into an exhausting, potentially deadly game of cat and mouse.
After a second victim is found in nearly identical circumstances to the first, the team discovers a photograph which suggests there will be at least one more vicious murder and mutilation in the very near future. A cufflink left at the scene, and an article about a young college woman who died twelve years earlier, are the only clues the team has to go on. The race is on to determine just how the victims are tied together, and who will be next.
The 11:05 Murders is told in third person, with different chapters focusing mainly on Sheehan and Stewart. This works well overall to bring the reader close to the action and the characters. The action feels immediate and tense, the main characters fallible but certainly likeable.
The only criticism I would have about this structure, is that characters keep information to themselves when it makes little sense that they would. For instance, in one dramatic scene, Chief Inspector Sheehan is racing to the location where he believes the suspect is hiding, but continually avoids the other police officer's questioning of who this person is or where they are headed. Mostly, though, the reader is quite happy to let this talented author take us along for the ride.
To solve the present day murders, the detectives must go back many years, to investigate people in different locations. Much paperwork, research, and travelling is involved. The details regarding police procedures and the day to day work of a Serious Crime Unit ring true. The author clearly knows this world, and has empathy, even affection for those in it.
The reader gets a clear sense of the tedious work that must happen before the blasts of inspiration and adrenaline-fuelled chases involved in attempting to catch a killer. The story occasionally bogs down a bit with this level of detail, as well as the focus on the detectives' personal lives. Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the extra layers of the story as well as the time spent with the officers "off duty".
O'Hare delves nicely into his character's lives, so that they become real people with lives outside police work. The relatively young, newly married leader of the group who is battling painful sciatica: the new woman detective, reeling from a broken heart and a grueling previous post who appears to have somehow attracted a stalker: Stewart's handsome, loyal colleague, a talented somewhat bitter man who might be falling in love with her: an overachieving Crown Prosecutor who wants to be helpful, but is probably overstepping: and the rest of the team, all with their own goals and idiosyncrasies.
Are the murders related? Is the mob involved? Is the article about the young woman relevant, or just another wrong turn? There are clever clues and red herrings throughout this novel, and it is a pleasure to watch the story unfold. It is a long book, but a quick read; for the most part the plotting is tight and fast-paced, and the reader is keen to see if Sheehan, Stewart and the rest of the team will solve this mystery in time to prevent even more murders (possibly even their own).
My copy of this book was downloaded in mobi to a reading app, and there were a few strange glitches (such as square shapes in the place of letter, or a word seemingly spliced and repeated). The book was clearly well-edited and proofread, though. I found no grammatical or spelling errors apart from the already mentioned glitches. I believe the few flaws I found were almost certainly download errors, and I would not deduct a star for them.
Anyone drawn to police procedurals, mysteries, or psychological thrillers would likely enjoy this novel. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, and look forward to more adventures with this clever and engaging team.
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The 11.05 Murders
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