Review by Swara Sangeet -- The 11.05 Murders

This forum is for volunteer reviews by members of our review team. These reviews are done voluntarily by the reviewers and are published in this forum, separate from the official professional reviews. These reviews are kept separate primarily because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
Sindhu Srinath
Posts: 857
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 04:28
Currently Reading: Last Dance
Bookshelf Size: 272
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sindhu-srinath.html
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Reading Device: B06Y66GMC5

Review by Swara Sangeet -- The 11.05 Murders

Post by Sindhu Srinath »

[Following is a volunteer review of "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]
Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


A gripping tale from the start, the story of The 11:05 Murders opens with a brutal assault on a young girl. We do not know what becomes of her until much later. All that is known to the reader at this point is that a girl is forcefully victimized at a college party by three boys. Her friend has been locked in a cupboard and nobody is called for help.

The next scene introduces us to Denise Stewart, a detective who has been transferred to the town of Belfast just because she exposed illegal activities done by her superior in the previous town of her work, Lisburn. Because of this, as well as her being a rare female in an otherwise male-dominant workplace, she was constantly teased and troubled in Lisburn. Here, in Belfast, she finds Chief Jim Sheehan and her colleague, Detective Tom Allen, very pleasant and exactly the opposite of the people she worked with at Lisburn. All her colleagues constantly remind her that they’re a team and she soon feels at home.

James Fitzpatrick, a reputed banker is found murdered. The entire detective force begins their investigation. Through extensive post-mortem work and evidence, they discover that the killer must be rich and must have revenge as the motive. The peculiar aspect of this murder is that everyone knows the exact time of death, because the victim’s watch is stopped at 11:05 pm. But who is the murderer?

Is it Ronald ‘Bat’ Weir, a former criminal, whose wife, Sally, was having an affair with Mr. Fitzpatrick? Is it Michael Duffner, who was reduced to bankruptcy because of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s tricks? Or is it someone else? Mr. Fitzpatrick’s college friend, Peter Shaw is also murdered in the same way, on a Tuesday night at 11:05 pm. Are these murders connected? If they are, how are they?

The book was a true page-turner. The twists were given unexpectedly and I was really eager to find out who the mystery killer was. I came across only two spelling mistakes in the entire book and offensive language was at the bare minimum. The deducing skill of each person in the task force was portrayed brilliantly and their working as a team was very efficient. The killer is extremely smart and gives us shocks with each twist in the story.

The research done by the author is commendable. All in all, I would suggest The 11:05 Murders to all crime lovers. The state of which a victim is found is quite unique and grotesque. The reason for revenge was very peculiar and twisted. You sympathize with many characters: the detectives, the relatives of the deceased and many more. It’s both a thrilling and emotional tale as well. I would not recommend it to someone with a faint heart. The murders are quite gory.

I found that this was Volume 2 of the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries but it definitely stands alone. I haven’t read Volume 1 but I guess it too portrays Chief Jim Sheehan as the brilliant detective he is. He quotes from Sherlock Holmes and is a true follower of the great detective himself in his deductions. Denise also proves to be a great analyst and a very brave woman. I thank the author, Brian O’Hare, for such a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it! I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Hopefully the spelling mistakes can be edited and the offensive language eliminated completely.

******
The 11.05 Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords

Like Swara Sangeet's review? Post a comment saying so!
User avatar
juliusotinyo
Posts: 762
Joined: 15 Jun 2017, 10:19
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-juliusotinyo.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by juliusotinyo »

Hi,
Not my favorite genre this one. So I've been ignoring it, your nice review tempts me to reconsider. Thanks.
User avatar
Sindhu Srinath
Posts: 857
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 04:28
Currently Reading: Last Dance
Bookshelf Size: 272
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sindhu-srinath.html
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Reading Device: B06Y66GMC5

Post by Sindhu Srinath »

juliusotinyo wrote:Hi,
Not my favorite genre this one. So I've been ignoring it, your nice review tempts me to reconsider. Thanks.
Thank you. Except for the part describing the murders, it's quite thrilling. I hope you like it.
Rosemary Okoko
Posts: 623
Joined: 31 May 2017, 05:12
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 89
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rosemary-okoko.html
Latest Review: The Sins of a Master Race by Matthew Tysz

Post by Rosemary Okoko »

This sounds like a nice and adventurous detective book. Good to know it was a page turner and you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for this review.
User avatar
Sindhu Srinath
Posts: 857
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 04:28
Currently Reading: Last Dance
Bookshelf Size: 272
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sindhu-srinath.html
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Reading Device: B06Y66GMC5

Post by Sindhu Srinath »

Rosemary Okoko wrote:This sounds like a nice and adventurous detective book. Good to know it was a page turner and you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for this review.
That's true! I enjoy page turners the most. You're welcome. Thank you for your kind words.
User avatar
Rupali Mishra
In It Together VIP
Posts: 591
Joined: 12 Jun 2023, 05:05
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 40
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rupali-mishra.html
Latest Review: From Drift to SHIFT by Jody B. Miller

Post by Rupali Mishra »

This review was enjoyable. I am not a fan of this book, but I can see that it has some positive qualities that aficionados of this genre may find enjoyable.
User avatar
Sindhu Srinath
Posts: 857
Joined: 19 Sep 2016, 04:28
Currently Reading: Last Dance
Bookshelf Size: 272
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sindhu-srinath.html
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Reading Device: B06Y66GMC5

Post by Sindhu Srinath »

Rupali Mishra wrote: 04 Jul 2023, 09:53 This review was enjoyable. I am not a fan of this book, but I can see that it has some positive qualities that aficionados of this genre may find enjoyable.
Thanks for your reply!
Post Reply

Return to “Volunteer Reviews”