User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The Good Turn (Cormac Reilly #3)
by Dervla McTiernan, narrated by Aoife McMahon
This is now my favorite book in the Detective Cormac Reilly series. I like how we get to be into the heads of the featured characters in this Irish police procedural. This time Cormac shares the limelight with a member of his team, Garda Peter Fisher. Cormac's superiors have it out for him and thanks to some nepotism on top of that, Cormac's team is down to a handful of people. The rest of his team have been commandeered by the drug squad so Cormac has very little to work with when it comes to solving general crime. Surely when a witness sees a little girl being kidnapped, Cormac's boss will release people to help with this time sensitive investigation. A little girl's life is at stake, but no, Cormac is told to deal with the situation with his handful of people.
With the team stretched thin and unable to contact Cormac for advice, Peter takes the initiative to confront a suspect on his own, resulting in tragedy, and Cormac's superiors being able to railroad him off the case and maybe off the job. Peter is shuffled off to do paperwork at the Roundstone two man police station run by his estranged father. Even Cormac and Peter are estranged from each other since their last conversation ended with angry words and what appears to be no hope of reconciliation. Things look pretty bad for both Cormac and Peter's career, but despite their differences, the two seem to be more alike than either would want to admit. Each on their own, being told not to do so, they follow the leads on several cases, determined to not let suspects get away with crimes that are being shelved. I am hoping there will be more in this series because I want to see what happens next.
Pub February 24, 2020
This was an Audible selection.
Rating: really liked it
What a wonderful series this is turning out to be. In The Good Turn, the third book in the Cormac Reilly series, Cormac is left to investigate the abduction of a young girl with a woefully inexperienced and understaffed team, while officialdom puts all their resources into a potential drug bust. When a tragedy happens Cormac and his team are sitting ducks, and left as scapegoats.
With his career on the line, yet again, Cormac finds himself fighting for himself and his team, while his enemies in the ranks are out for his blood.
An unputdownable read, I found The Good Turn to be full of surprising twists and turns. With memorable characters, and a well thought out plot, it is well worth adding to your reading list. Recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
This excellent series is improving with each book and in this third in the series Dervla McTiernan has really ramped up the suspense and the pressure on DS Cormac O'Reilly. The writing is terrific with a gripping plot that kept me enthralled.
Cormac is still struggling after his move to the Garda Station in Galway where he is resented by those outside his team. The Superintendent doesn't make his life easy, refusing him the extra man power he needs when a young girl is snatched of the street. Cormac also suspects that some of the detectives may be involved in corrupt activities. When their shortage of man power leads to Peter Fisher, an inexperienced Detective acting on his own a terrible mistake occurs that could end his career. Cormac is help responsible by the Super and put on suspension, while Peter is shunted off to work in his father's Garda station in Roundstone, the little village where he grew up.
Dervla McTiernan has created a strong character in Cormac. One who is fair and refuses to give up. He is playing a dangerous game hunting for corruption in the Garda and stands to lose his career if he fails. His personal life is not doing so well with his girlfriend working in Brussels and he will soon have to make some difficult decisions about their future together. Peter is also developing into a very likeable character. He refuses to sit back and be a village policeman in Roundstone and puts Cormac's training into practice to investigate some cases of his own. Also woven through the novel is the story of Annie and her daughter Tilly, recently arrived in Roundstone under mysterious circumstances, who will be important for both Cormac and Peter. This is an excellent police procedural series which I highly recommend. Can't wait for the next episode!
With many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Australia for an ARC to read.
Rating: really liked it
Dervla Mc Tiernan returns with book three of her Cormac O'Reilly series and she continues excel.
Things are as bad as they could be for poor DS Cormac O'Reilly . Nothing is going right for him in any area of his life right now. His girlfriend is living and working overseas, many of his colleagues appear to dislike him, and worst of all the management seem to want him long gone. I felt sorry for him for much of the book but also admired him for his conscience and his determination to do the right thing in the face of an obviously corrupt police force.
I enjoyed the way the author planned the book. Cormac and his protégée Peter Fisher are split up by events early on and the book is told from alternate points of view. It is obvious to the reader that each of them knows things the other needs to know and the tension builds right up to the end. The book is a police procedural which shows clearly the ways the police should and should not work. It is very well done.
This was an entertaining, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable read. I am already looking forward to what happens next.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Rating: really liked it
This is an amazing well written series that I don’t want to end, in this we find Cormac Reilly on the outer with hierarchy while trying to solve the disappearance of a little girl who got grabbed outsideFred Fletchers house he called it in he was 11 years old the same age as the girl who went missing, while understaffed the pressure cooker situation that Cormac is in trying to solve a drug bust, but the powers that be will stop him at every Corner.
To top it all off there is a murder to solve this book is packed with red herring, twists & turns at every corner all I can say is READ THIS SERIES! you won’t be disappointed it’s compelling quick paced & I love the characters. 5 awesome stars ⭐️
Rating: really liked it
5★
“Cormac took a breath, a sudden involuntary inhalation. He felt as if the solid ground beneath his feet had been removed, as if he was standing, swaying, at the top of a cliff and the wind was at his back. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said.”Of course not. Reilly has been working with a smaller and smaller team of garda (Irish police) in circumstances obviously designed to set him up to fail. He’s a nuisance, because he’s smart, thorough, asks questions, and follows through.
He’s also the sort of fellow that Peter Fisher admires. Peter is a young garda, son of an established senior officer, Des Fisher, in another town, who has his own, lax style of policing. At one point, he says to Peter
“‘But Reilly’s a black-and-white operator in a world that’s all grey. And that just doesn’t work.’”Des's style is to live and let live and accumulate favours that he can call in when he needs to. When Peter gets into trouble and has to work with his father, he gets the lecture.
“‘Maintaining a healthy community, that takes a bit of discretion. You have to leave room for people to be human. To make the odd mistake. You have to be able to tell the difference between someone destructive, or dangerous, and someone who’s generally a contributor, and who just wanted to let off a bit of steam.
. . .
‘But working in the grey, it can get messy. People make mistakes. Even the best of people. So we have to look out for each other. We’re caught between a rock and a hard place.’”Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Sounds like a country copper, whereas Cormac Reilly has come from Dublin and wants to cross every T and dot every i. But Peter has seen enough of Reilly’s methods to question his father’s rather dismissive air and his demands that Peter stop questioning people about something which Des considers an open-and-shut case.
[You know, of course, that Peter will disregard that, don’t you?]
“He would think of his father as he would any other difficult senior officer. Someone to be avoided, or managed.”There are a few stories going on, all of them interesting. Cormac’s girlfriend is working in Brussels, so they see each other only when he can fly over – not a healthy situation. Peter’s closest friend is the girl who grew up with him at boarding school since they were eight. They’ve been sharing a flat (no romance). We see just enough of them to help fill out the characters of Cormac and Peter.
And alongside this is Anna and her daughter Tilly, currently mute from some unnamed trauma. They begin as a separate thread and join the other threads as the story moves on.
There’s a kidnapping, police shooting, unusual deaths in a small town, protection, drugs and crooked police. There’s even a touch of Interpol – what more could you want?
Plus, it is COLD and it is SNOWY and it is ICY and impossible to get around. I was reading this in sub-tropical weather and felt the chill from here.
I think this might be my favourite so far. Clever, well-written, and with people I look forward to meeting again in the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.
Rating: really liked it
Dervla McTiernan does it again, writing a book vastly different from most police procedurals. Three moving parts - police corruption, a kidnapping investigation gone horribly wrong and a young girl’s silence. McTiernan pulls them together as easily as braiding hair. She just continues to impress me.
Cormac Reilly’s boss has it in for him and now thinks he’s finally found a way to get rid of him. He’s suspended after Peter, one of his team, shoots a suspect. Peter is sent to another precinct run by his father. His father, Des, was a fascinating character. He believes in favors done and returned, a blind eye when necessary and his own brand of justice occasionally meted out. I really couldn’t figure him out. Was he finally trying to help his son? Or did he have a different motivation? Regardless, it’s the sign of a well written mystery that has you second guessing a character every other page.
McTiernan also continues to develop Reilly. As Des tells Peter, Cormac is a black and white man in a grey world. He can never just look away or play along, even if it will mean the end of his career.
The book moves along at a brisk pace, helped by switching between the three plot points. The ending was fabulous.
I’ll be curious to see where McTiernan goes with the next book in the series. And there better be a next book!
While Alice McMahon did a fine job as the narrator, she must have taped this from home during the COVID seclusion. There was an odd, sort of echo chamber sound that cropped up at times.
Rating: really liked it
Have you read The Ruin and The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan? If you are a crime and police procedural fan then you really need to get your hands on them. The Good Turn is the 3rd book in the Cormac Reilly series and in my opinion the best one yet. Police corruption, a missing girl and the mystery of another girl who is traumatised, this book has everything you want in a crime and thriller read.
The Good Turn is a twisty and well executed story following 3 main storylines . Cormac is struggling with his superiors who are still making life hard for him. On top of that his personal life is just going from bad to worse. Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway after he is put in an impossible position and faced with prosecution he moves to Roundstone, a small town and is set to work with his father, a man that he has never seen eye to eye with. We also hear about Anna and her daughter Tilly who escape Dublin when Tilly stops talking.
The stories work well together and is is not until close to the end that we see the connections. Set in Ireland in winter, the cold and bleakness comes through. I could not put this book down, wanting to see how it was all going to play out. Peter and Cormac are so similar in personality and their need to seek the truth. They are both the type of people that will not give up and take the easy way out.
Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased
Rating: really liked it
DS Cormac Reilly needed men – his Superintendent wouldn’t oblige, saying they were all out on a drug bust. Cormac had never seen eye to eye with his super, but he’d thought he was a fair man; that when a young girl had been abducted, he’d throw everything at the search for her before it was too late. But no – Cormac was working with a skeleton crew and when Garda Peter Fisher hadn’t been able to contact Cormac, he’d gone on his own, after the suspect he was sure was the culprit. The results were dire…
Peter was sent to the small town of Roundstone where he would have to work with the father he hated, while Cormac was suspended with an investigation to follow. But Peter would find himself pitting against his father, mired in a two-month-old murder. And Cormac would find heartache in all parts of his life. What would be the outcome for Cormac, who wanted nothing more than to be part of "the Guards", the police service of the Republic of Ireland that he’d been with for more years than he could count? Would Peter be lost in the mire of corruption and death that shrouded the countryside? And who were Anna and Tilly?
The Good Turn is the 3rd in the Cormac Reilly series by Aussie author Dervla McTiernan and it was suspenseful, filled with tension and an excellent addition to the series. I loved every minute of it, drawn into the lives of the main characters and the cold, relentless winter in Ireland. An exceptional read,
The Good Turn is one I have no hesitation in recommending highly. Bring on #4 😊
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Book three of another series to which I've become addicted. Not that I needed another series, but this one is set in Galway and the scenario is one that is intriguing. Cormac is a man, a Garda, a leader who does things by the book. He is honest, almost to a fault, which puts him in the trigger line of those in the Garda who are not. His demand for adherence to rules, protocols, make some feel that he thinks he is better than them. This has gained him the trust of a few and the dislike of more.
His personal life is faltering and this case could be the end of his career. What can he do? Well, that's the dilemma he is facing and there is much at stake.
Rating: really liked it
EXCERPT: It was so cold now. He was vaguely aware that he'd started to shiver again. How long would it take the others to arrive? He should call in. He searched his pockets for his phone, didn't find it. An image of the phone propped up on the central console of the police car presented itself to him. He'd left it there. Oh Christ. Peter swallowed against a wave of nausea. He wasn't going to puke here, not at the scene, where the contents of his stomach could be later dissected in a forensics report. The helicopter made another pass but showed no signs of coming in to land. He needed to call in. He should get his phone. Peter turned and looked back into (the) car. When if he'd been wrong? What if he'd missed a weak pulse? Peter leaned into the car, placed his fingers at (his) neck, then his wrist. Nothing. Nothing but cold, inert flesh, and fingers that came away sticky with blood.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected things that will prove to be linked by one small town.
While Detective Cormac Reilly faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life, Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head. But even that is not as terrible as having to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone.
For some, like Anna and her young daughter Tilly, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn't far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.
MY THOUGHTS: I took a while to really get into The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan. It may possibly be because this is book three in a series of which I haven't read either of the two previous titles.
There are several separate threads-a mother whose young daughter hasn't spoken for three months; the violent abduction of another young girl; the suspension of Cormac Reilly and the banishment of officers who support him.
While the threads initially appear unconnected, they gradually come together to weave an intricate plot of police corruption that spills over into other cases that crop up in the course of the book.
My favourite thread was that concerning Garda Peter Fisher's grandmother and the family doctor.
There was an interesting blend of very believable characters, and a great variety of cases. The main character, Cormac Reilly, has a great talent for pissing people off, particularly his superiors. Garda Peter Fisher has a sharp mind and a kind heart. I hope that Anna and Tilly will feature in future story lines.
I have developed quite a taste for Cormac. This was an enjoyable read that has me determined to read the earlier two titles and any further titles that are published in the future.
😉🙂😊😀
#TheGoodTurn #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: Dervla McTiernan was born in County Cork, Ireland to a family of seven. She studied corporate law at the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Law Society of Ireland, and practiced as a lawyer for twelve years. Following the global financial crisis she moved with her family to Western Australia, where she now works for the Mental Health commission. In 2015 she submitted a story for the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto competition and was shortlisted. This inspired her to complete the novel that would become The Rúin. She lives in Perth with her husband and two children. (Courtesy of Harper Collins)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for providing a digital ARC of The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Rating: really liked it
Review also published on blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
Dervla McTiernan does it again with another installment in this brilliant series!A Police Procedural involving Detective Cormac Reilly, and Garda Peter Fisher that delivers.
Suspenseful, intriguing, and intense.When a young girl goes missing, Garda Peter Fisher investigates with the support of Detective Cormac Reilly. Unfortunately for Peter Fischer, in doing so, he ends up getting himself into a terrible bind. Getting out of it will take a lot more than he bargained for.
Cormac Reilly cares more about doing the right thing and finding justice, than the ramifications. If he has to buck the system to find the truth, well then, that’s just the way it is.
Once upon a time, Reilly and Fisher were a team. Now they’re on their own.
Three intertwining stories told with incredible care, masterful character development, and high intrigue, “The Good Turn” is a gripping, well-written mystery/suspense and is also a fabulous addition to the Cormac Reilly series.
If you haven’t considered reading the Detective Cormac Reilly series by Dervla McTiernan’s novels, I have to ask: What are you waiting for?! The entire series is smart, mysterious, and pulse-pounding and will keep you guessing till the very end.Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Insta.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 Stars
Rating: really liked it
Lies spread quicker than the truth.
Dervla McTiernan gifts us with another exceptional read in the Cormac Reilly Series. Not to worry. The Good Turn reads as a standalone with all the necessary details intact. Now back to those lies.....
The twisted part of a lie is that it sometimes drips from the very mouth of those we hold in high regard. The sting of it has the grip of a scorpion's venom. DS Cormac Reilly will be faced with sifting through a trail of its aftermath knowing full well that someone in the ranks is determined to end his long career with the slam of untruths. And how do you untangle yourself from the web of deceit?
It's October of 2015 in Galway when a call comes in reporting the abduction of a young girl. What makes this one most unusual is that an eleven year old is on the line. Fred Fletcher was home sick in bed with fever when he saw a young girl being shoved into an auto that drives away. With IPad in hand, young Fred records what he sees. Understaffed with not many options, Detective Peter Fisher has no other choice but to check out the situation. Fisher could never imagine the consequences of this action. It will lead to a formal reassignment to work under the jurisdiction of his father, Des, in charge of the Garda in Roundstone. That movement will require a locked-in seatbelt for a rough, rough ride.
And Reilly will have his hands full protecting his good name while the forces around him do highkicks slinging mud in his direction. What he suspects in the upper ranks may just seal his fate.
The Good Turn circles around the games that people play and the innocent that are swept up in the turmoil. McTiernan does a fine job of surrounding her storyline with deeply carved characters of all backgrounds who are either submerged or rise to the surface in the midst of it all. It's a worthy read that should get your attention from the onset. Hope that McTiernan is shuffling the cards for the next one. Can't wait.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Blackstone Publishing and to Dervla McTiernan for the opportunity.
Rating: really liked it
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**4.5 stars**
The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan. (2020).
(Cormac Reilly #3).
Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected things that will prove to be linked by one small town. Detective Cormac faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life. Garda Peter is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head, and now he has to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone. For some, like Anna and her young daughter Tilly, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn't far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.
I've mentioned before in other reviews that I don't like to commit myself to a series. But, this is one series I'm very happy to continue along with (noting that you can read these as standalones if you like)! This particular novel differed from the previous two as it had two protagonists, being Cormac and Peter. The first half felt mainly about Peter and while it was interesting and engaging, I did miss Cormac a bit so I was glad when the narrative started showing more of his perspective later on. The author is very clever with her plotlines and successfully combines a few different crime/mysteries without it getting confusing. You may have heard the term unputdownable, this novel fits that definition. If you enjoy crime and detective fiction, don't miss out on this book!
