The Doom Murders by Brian O’Hare and Murder at the Roadside Cafe by Brian O’Hare

The Doom Murders by Brian O'Hare

I bought the second of these books because I bought the first. I guess that tells you how much I liked the first. Brian O’Hare writes about Northern Ireland, which is a closed-in society, in the United Kingdom but not of it and in the island of Ireland but, once again, not of it. It’s a society that would fascinate any student of human behaviour, and O’Hare explores its darker side, which is not only criminal but also religious. There is, perhaps, no place in a review like this for the reviewer’s personal views, but I’m giving mine anyway: if you want to be certain that an Irishman is going to tell you the truth, you’d better ask a Prod – but you may not like what you hear.
That is the world Chief Inspector Sheehan has to operate in and, in O’Hare’s hands, he makes a very good job of it. It’s unlikely that anyone reading one of these books (other, possibly, than a murderous psychopath) will think, ‘Hmm. Belfast. That sounds like a fun place to live.’ Well, you don’t have to move there to enjoy the books, which I recommend to you very strongly, because they are immensely enjoyable, however dark the settings, motivations and actions. The plotting is solid, the characterisation is first class, and the sense of place is conveyed with aplomb.
Full marks to Chief Inspector Sheehan. And also to my great-grandparents, who realised that Ireland was not the place for them.

For more about Brian O’Hare, click here.

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3 Comments on “The Doom Murders by Brian O’Hare and Murder at the Roadside Cafe by Brian O’Hare”

  1. Brian O'Hare
    June 24, 2017 at 11:27 pm #

    Hi John.

    Great blog, brilliantly written … and, yes, I would still have said this even if you had not mentioned me with such generous praise. I appreciate your remarks hugely and am delighted you enjoyed my books. Thanks for your kind words.

    Brian

    • jlmandrill
      June 26, 2017 at 6:03 am #

      Thank you, Brian. One does one’s best.

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  1. Brian O’Hare and Gillian Hamer. New to me | jlynchblogdotcom - June 23, 2017

    […] are new to me. I’d never read anything by either of them, and in the last fortnight I’ve read The Doom Murders and Murder at the Roadside Café, the first two books in the Inspector Sheehan series by Brian O’Hare, and Crimson Shore, the […]

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