The Magdalene Martyrs

Jack Taylor is walking the delicate line of sobriety. Following a particularly dangerous stint in hospital, he thinks about kicking his drinking habit once and for all, but it’s not long before he’s back to his old ways. Yet when Bill Cassell phones him to call in a favour, Jack is thrown into a case that makes his addictions the least of his worries.

Bill is what the locals call a hard man. The kind of guy you don’t cross — and you definitely don’t say no to. The job seems simple at first: track down a woman, who’s very old, if not dead. According to Bill, she helped his mother escape from the notorious Magdalene laundry — a true house of horrors where young, wayward girls were imprisoned — and he's eager to repay her.

The days quickly pass and Jack's none the wiser to the woman's whereabouts, so Bill starts piling on the pressure. Jack knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s found down a dark alley with a bullet in the head. He’s got one way to stay alive: find the woman.

But when an unnerving hunch begins to pan out, it becomes dangerously clear that the woman Jack’s looking for, and the reason Bill wants her, isn’t nearly as clear-cut as it seems.

Praise for Ken Bruen:

“A four-star delight.” — The Boston Globe

“Gloriously entertaining, Bruen’s twisted genius lies in blending noir elements with humor.” — The Miami Herald

“Dazzling. Bruen’s style is clipped, caustic, heartbreaking, and often hilarious.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Bruen is a brilliant, lyrical, deeply moving writer who can make you laugh and cry in the same paragraph. If you like Ian Rankin, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, and the like, Bruen is definitely a writer to reckon with.” — The Denver Post

“Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish.” — The Washington Post

“Bruen confirms his rightful place among the finest noir stylists of his generation.” — Publishers Weekly

“The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen.” — Chicago Tribune

“Bracing, eccentric, hard-boiled, unforgettable.” — New Orleans Times