Falling Glass

Love McKinty’s words, dialogue,always; but,this read introduced me to tinker life. I like learning new good stuff through McKinty’s voice. The tour thru County Antrim and Donegal most enjoyable interspersed with super pilot, as usual.

Shorter than a typical Duffy novel, it is also more descriptively violent. It took a bit to gird my loins so I could wade through some of the more gory passages. Still, it shows an evolution from the highly enjoyable Duffy series. The protagonist, Killian, is possibly more likable and less worthy than Duffy. I look forward to seeing how this series evolves.

Adrien McKinty, in the Breaking Glass, has once again written a crime novel of such rare quality, that he has to be the envy of crime writers every where. What he does, better than almost any writer writing today is first to create a sense of place that leaves no doubt in the readers mind exactly where he is, and he makes it look easy. So many crime novels describe the place but fall well short of actually putting the reader there. McKinty puts you there in a way that you are almost able to smell the stale beer on the floors of the many pubs his characters frequent. McKinty then, has a way of creating multifaceted characters with conflicting ethics and then developing them in a way that makes them as real as your neighbor. Few writers of any genre do this as well as McKinty.McKinty is also brilliant at creating suspense and in Breaking Glass he does it again but it's not the high octane suspense of his earlier works, The Dead Trilogy for example. No, here the suspense builds slowly and just beneath the surface. At first your not even aware that it is working. As the story develops and the reader becomes more invested in the characters the suspense is brought to the surface by this caring as much as the story. The more we care and the more we identify with the flawed humanity in each of the characters the more suspenseful it becomes because we are so invested in their fate. It's like a snake you can't see twisting itself around your stomach and slowly tightening. Our attachment to the characters plays as much of a role in creating suspense as does the plot.Make no mistake, there is a great deal of action and many people have to die before it is all over, but this doesn't seem to take center stage the way it does in his other novels. This leaves the reader with the space that's needed to become invested in what happens to the characters and it is this that heightens the suspense. I found that although this book is not as high octane as the others the suspense pulls you in slowly but also very deep and you are sitting on the edge of your seat and have no idea when you got there.Please don't think in any way that this is McKinty lite. This book is not for the faint of heart or those looking for a mystery solved in polite company at tea. This book is raw and bare knuckled, with graphic violence and up close looks at the evil side of man with dialogue that rings as true as a church bell on a crisp Sunday morning. This book is as rich and complex and as satisfying as all of his others; he just does it with a a bit of a different twist.McKinty is a treasure and as I finished Falling Glass I became a bit despondent knowing that it would be far too long before I could wrap my hands around the next one. Keep them coming Adrian.

I'm a year late reading Adrian McKinty's Falling Glass. It's not all my fault. No American publisher saw fit to offer a contract. I thought it was the usual business of different release dates and bided my time. Bided it so well the book fell off my radar completely until I started to see notices for The Cold, Cold Ground. At that point I realized Falling Glass wasn't going to be released here and I would have to arrange to have a copy smuggled across the sheugh if I wanted to read it.Well worth the trouble, that was.Falling Glass spreads its suspense across the world: New York, Boston, New Hampshire, Hong King, large swaths of Ireland, and a bit of England. The lead character, Killian, has seen the Irish recession put a crimp in his plan to go straight. He comes out of retirement for one job, then is enticed to stick around a bit when a commission of half a million euros is mentioned. Irish business megastar Richard Coulter's estranged wife has absconded with their two children. Coulter wants them back half a million's worth.Of course there's more to it. Killian is sent on his way without a couple of vital pieces of information. Bringing Rachel Coulter in has been hard enough no one else was able to do it, even given Richard's vast resources. It's supposed to be a simple child retrieval, yet the police are not involved. How Killian navigates the maze of deception with what little information he is given will keep you turning pages well into the night.McKinty writes the way James Ellroy might if Ellroy were properly wired up. No wasted words or time, characters described through their words and actions for the reader to decide about. His descriptions of Pavee life taught me about something I not only didn't know, but had never been aware of.Falling Glass is McKinty's most Irish work. The language, situations, and settings may be what deterred American publishers, never renowned as risk-takers. (In fairness, American readers are famous for tastes ranging from exactly what they've read before to almost exactly what they've read before.) Don't be so faint of heart; Falling Glass is worth sticking with. What may be the most foreign element--what is a Pavee, or tinker, and why is Killian looked down upon for being one?--is amply answered and provides the keystone of the story.Falling Glass builds on the universe created in the Michael Forsythe trilogy, yet is not part of the series. Forsythe makes a cameo, and his presence hangs over the book. This is still Killian's story, who knows better in his heart than in his head that you can go home again, though you may not be able to stay.

Well, for all those giving this 5 stars, just wait till you read the 'Troubles Trilogy' (of 4 so far!). You will be wishing they had 10 stars as they are the masterpiece of modern urban civil war.I get the feeling that McKinty is getting in touch with some of his tinker heritage in Ireland ; he even refers his own name...All very interesting but not increasing the thrilling parts of this book. Also, not being very intellingent, I found it hard to deal with heroes from some previous McKinty books being baddies in this one..Made my head hurt.Also (2) our hero is a tinker who did not learn to read till adulthood, after a childhood learning to pick locks. Hence we get no recommendations of books or music which are usually a big plus for reading McKinty!

I just found this hidden on my Kindle from over a year ago - no idea how I missed reading it but it was well worth waiting for! This is fast-paced yet gentle at the same time, and it introduced me to a new world - that of the Pavees or Irish tinkers - which is something I alway appreciate in a book. The hero Killian appealed to me, he has high moral standards despite his bloody past. The storyline is shocking but very believable and the mainly Irish settings are interesting and attractive. This is an intelligent book with a good touch of humour, very difficult to put down. I will certainly return to this author.

This was my first McKinty book and I am so glad and thankful for one of the reviewers who mentioned this writer amongst all my other favourite writers i.e Michael Connelly, John Grisham (in his former days!), Lee Child to mention but a few. I don't know why I never heard about him before but I will definately be looking out for him.I felt a bit squimish in one of the scenes in Mexico but it didn't put me off. This was really a good find and I would recommend it to anyone who likes an action packed, fast paced read.

Have read. most of Adrian McKintys books and love them. Just finished reading Falling Glass and could not put it down. Got to the end and thought oh! Was left hanging. Hope hope there will be another book soon.

I've read all Adrian McKinty's stories and without exception I have really enjoyed them. Their pace is fast, the characters well realised and the quality of the writing is top notch...recommended.