Review by Eener14 -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare

Eener14 · Post by **Eener14** » 03 Feb 2018, 12:58

[Following is a volunteer review of "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Author Brian O'Hare's second installment of The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries is called The 11:05 Murders. Although this is part of a series, this book can be read as a stand alone. The genre is crime/thriller/mystery, and you will be pleasantly surprised how it fulfills each category perfectly.

The novel is set in Northern Ireland. Woman Detective Sergeant (WDS) Denise Stewart has just been transferred to the Strandtown Police Station's Serious Crimes Unit headed by Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Sheehan. While WDS Stewart is settling into her new promoted position, a call comes into the unit about a man brutally murdered in his home. The Serious Crimes Team enters the gruesome crime scene and find few clues, except for a broken wristwatch with the time displayed at 11:05 pm, and the knowledge this murder was personal. The team has little to go on until a second man is murdered the following week, just as gruesome and personal, and the same time on a broken watch, 11:05 pm.

As WDS Stewart is conducting her investigation, she finds an old newspaper clipping and a photo of three college age men. As she looks for a connection, she comes across some vital information which could in fact be the link between the current murders and a brutal attack committed twelve years prior at Queen's University. Although WDS Stewart faced severe gender discrimination at her previous unit, DCI SHeehan and his men welcome her strong intellectual character and trust her instinctive skills which provide the clues needed as she becomes a key player within the investigation.

The story line itself has an excellent plot. It is really well written with minimal errors. I really enjoyed the in depth characters Mr O'Hare created. There are many different characters, each playing an important role and equally important to the team as a whole. The different personalities work well together, and no one character overpowers the rest, the leadership skills of DCI Sheehan were really well written.

Once I read the first few chapters, I had a pretty good idea who the killer was. Don't let this deter you. When a new suspect and scenario were introduced, I swear I had it all wrong. This kept the story interesting and fast paced. I found myself thinking about who done it even when I wasn't reading the book. When I hit the midway point, I couldn't put it down. It really became less predictable than the first couple of chapters seemed. The dramatic ending is well worth the wait.

It's hard to choose anything to dislike about this book. My only suggestion would have been to elaborate on the endings of some of the other plots. The red herrings introduced to the throw the reader were really good, but there were a few I wish I was able to get a little more closure on. It seemed some of the scenarios and characters just disappeared.

I rated this book a 4 out of 4. I really enjoyed The 11:05 Murders. It was a well written storyline, fast paced and a lot of twist and turns everyone looks for in a good murder mystery. I would recommend this book to anyone likes a really disturbing gruesome crime book. An added bonus was the behind the scenes look at what happens in a police debriefing meeting, it was great to see how things played out before, during and after the investigation. I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books in this series.

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The 11.05 Murders
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kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 11 Feb 2018, 13:54

Great review. I love how you say that even when you weren't reading the book you were trying to figure out who the villain was. That gives great credit to the author. Nice job.

Eener14 · Post by **Eener14** » 04 Apr 2018, 10:37

Thank you! That seems to be my 'go to' when rating books, if something occupies my thoughts when I'm not physically reading it...it's good! Very high compliment to an author!

Hussain tiwana · Post by **Hussain tiwana** » 24 May 2018, 16:07

A good book it is. Everyone should read it and those who have read it were just tying to fathom out the killer the credo goes to do the writer great job is done by the author.