3 out of 4 stars
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The 11:05 Murders by Brian O’Hare is a series book from “Inspector Sheehan Mysteries”, a fictional detective story that will completely blow your mind. Detective Sergeant Denise Stewart served as a star witness for an anomaly case in Lisburn Department against a higher rank officer. She was being mistreated by her colleagues due to her exposure of their supervisor’s illegal activities. She was then transferred from Lisburn Department to Belfast Department which is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan. At first, Detective Stewart was uncomfortable in her dealings with her new team due to the challenging experiences she encountered from her previous department but Detective Sheehan told her to keep it outside the squad room and believed that she would be a great asset to the team.
Late at night, James Fitzpatrick was found dead by his wife and their neighbor in their house. The police arrived and they saw that the body had been mutilated in a very unpleasant way. Detective Sheehan gathered his whole team and each member were given different tasks and assignments in collating personal information about the victim, possible motives of the killing, and person of interest. The team were also being supported by Crown Prosecutor Robert Turner who also handled the anomaly case in Lisburn Department. They started gathering information through examining some information in the victim’s laptop, interviewing his family, co-workers and neighbors in order to identify any information that would lead them to the suspect. They have found revelations which would lead in identifying the suspect and motives but unfortunately they didn’t have any concrete evidence other than a gold cuff link found in the crime scene. There are no traces, fingertips, or any DNA that can support their conclusion until an anonymous informant gave them a tip that lead the investigation back to an unreported crime in Queen’s University that happened 12 years ago. In her attempt to solve the case, Detective Stewart went to the University to look for possible leads and to ascertain if the unreported crime was related to the gruesome murder of James Fitzpatrick.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because I like the story and I can say that the author put a great effort to this book. It has a shocking introduction and a great sequence which made me wonder what would happen next. I recommend this book to people who love mysteries, suspense, and detective stories but some part of the story contain violence and abuse that are not suitable for young age or person with experiences of sexual or physical abuse as this may cause discomfort. The plot is simple but not too evident and the choice of words is easy to understand.
The reason why I did not give it the highest rate of 4 is because most of the women in the story are most likely weak, fragile, victim, and being abused. As a woman, I feel uncomfortable and unhappy while reading the scenes because I feel that there is no fairness when it comes to gender although some female characters where given justice. It would be better if the author emphasized the importance of equality regardless of gender. However, I like how the author made Detective Stewart character as strong and independent even though she also experienced harassment and abuse at some point of time in her life. I can also say that the author made an effort in researching about crime procedures and medical terminologies when the forensic pathologist explained how the victim died and the significant possible cause of death.
Overall, I really like the story and how it end up because it is something that I didn’t expect. You will really find it hard to guess who the culprit is because the author will only give you limited clues and distractions that will lead you away from the real culprit. I haven’t read the first volume of “Inspector Sheehan Mysteries “but I will definitely read it as soon as I’m done reviewing this book because most part of the book is being narrated by Detective Stewart and I’m craving for more of Detective Sheehan’s crime solving cases.
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The 11.05 Murders
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