Purgatory: A Jack Taylor Novel

Review “Bruen maintains his trademark hip references and highly poetic style, but fans expecting the usual are in for some shock therapy, as he busts out one series-changing surprise after another.”      —Publishers Weekly [HC starred review] (Shelf Awareness)“Voiced by the always-impressive Gerard Doyle, Jack’s first-person musings are dark and curtly lyrical. With literary quotations prefacing each chapter, and the terse dialogue that typifies Jack’s interactions with friends and enemies alike, listeners must follow closely in order not to lose track of the narrative. Thankfully, Doyle’s narration makes any other option impossible. His mellifluous brogue conveys subtle humor and imparts a lighter note to Jack’s brooding cogitations.”      —Booklist (BookPage)“Bruen’s dazzling Irish storytelling voice has its roots in the descriptive wit of Robert Parker and the lowlife dialogue of George V. Higgins. In Purgatory, Ken Bruen brings his A game.”      —Shelf Awareness [HC starred review] (Mystery Scene)“Another fine installment in the series that defines Irish noir.”      —BookPage“No matter how black Bruen paints it, there is also an unabashed celebration of life here. To read these books is to fly.”      —Mystery Scene Product Description Jack Taylor thinks he has a chance at last to rest and heal from the myriad mental and physical traumas that beset him. However, after a skateboarder long suspected of dealing drugs to children is shot dead in mid-air during a public performance, Jack receives a crytic message with a picture of the skateboarder, a clipping about a rapist gone free through procedural error, and a chilling invitation: “Your turn.” The note is signed simply “C 33.”From the author considered “among the most original and innovative noir voices of the last two decades” (Los Angeles Times Book Review) comes a mystery as labyrinthine as any Jack has yet encountered―and perhaps even more deadly. Purgatory is Ken Bruen at his best: lyrical, brutal, and ceaselessly suspenseful. About the Author Ken Bruen was born in Galway, Ireland in 1951. The award-winning author of sixteen novels, he is the editor of Dublin Noir, and spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, Southeast Asia, and South America. He now lives in Galway City.