Rating: 
Summary: Dark, funny and tragic
Review: More tragic poetry than mystery, it explores the pain of withdrawl, both from alcohol and society. Also, betrayal and murder. I loved this book and can't wait to start Tinkers....
Rating: 
Summary: A gritty view of Ireland
Review: Private investigators, that staple of American literature and criminal justice, do not exist in Ireland. The Irish will not tolerate informers. That leaves only fools--and drunks--to look into cases the Guard have closed or ignored. To the Irish, truth is not as important as silence. The Guards is at first glance a little tale with an anti-hero, but proves to be much more.
Rating:
Summary: Darkly Irish
Review: Readers hoping for a light mystery that is full of intricate plot devices that will challenge their own powers of deduction while being taken on a thrill-ride of adventure should be well advised this is not the book for you. THE GUARDS reads like a celebration of hardboiled fiction, the mood is dark, some might even use the term nourish and the style is spare as Bruen has stripped the prose down to the bare bones. The story focuses on Jack Taylor, an ex-Garda Siochana officer (Ireland's National Police Service) who was kicked out of the service after he punched a member of parliament in the mouth. He spends his time, when he's not sitting drunk in his local pub, working as a private detective. Or at least, he would be working as a private detective if Ireland recognised the profession. As Jack explains it, he just finds things for people, thanks to two qualities, patience and pig stubbornness, particularly the latter. One day, while sitting in Grogan's bar working on his latest drunk, Jack is approached by Ann Henderson who wants to hire him to investigate the suicide of her daughter, Sarah. Ann is convinced that her daughter wouldn't kill herself and wants Jack to find the truth. Jack, drunk at the time, agrees to take the case. Once Jack starts working the case, it becomes obvious that he has a specific sense of right and wrong as evidenced when he targets his enemies. But he offsets that with a distinctly underdeveloped sense of self-preservation, or perhaps it's just dulled by alcohol abuse, as evidenced by the forthright approach he uses to confront these same enemies. Written in the first person from Jack's point of view, it is narrated in terse, clipped sentences as though Taylor is telling us his story through tightly gritted teeth, absolutely exhausted by his ordeals. It is very reminiscent of Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder series or George Pelecanos' Nick Stefanos series. Both of these series feature characters that battle constantly with alcoholism as Jack does. Further clues to the hardboiled qualities that Bruen achieves can be found in the quotes used at the start of selected chapters, the authors of these quotes include Ed McBain, Walter Mosely, Elmore Leonard and Pelecanos. At different times you can see the influence of each of these authors making their presence felt. As a devotee of hardboiled fiction this book really appealed to me. It's dark and occasionally depressing but the character of Jack Taylor is an honest to goodness survivor greeting most setbacks with stoic good humour he becomes a strangely endearing character and I found myself cheering for him by the end. I think it is a worthy Edgar Award nominee. By the way, between blackouts, a trip to the mental asylum, attempts at sobriety, recovering from beatings and cataclysmic falls off the wagon, Jack does actually put some time into the case he was hired to investigate. Whether he solved the case is neither here nor there really, the important thing is how he survives.
Rating: 
Summary: sloppy and lame
Review: The blurbs on the back of Ken Bruen's novel "The Guards" are impressive: Boston Teran, James Crumley, and T. Jefferson Parker, who all weigh in with thumbs up. And these are wonderful writers who have written fine books that I really admire. So I'm mystified over their enthusiasm. In contrast, what I found in "The Guards" was a loosely told story about a drunk cop who pretty much stays that way. Oh, there's a story nibbling around the edges regarding some missing women and the bad men who did them in, but that's pretty much it, though you could probably toss in some mid-life crisis moments as an extra yawn subplot. Justice comes around, as you know it must, but only as a kind of remember-to-burp afterthought. The novel has virtually no inner tension. It's part joke and valentine to a genre. There's local Galway color -- with various characters who seem to be either members of the Pogues (in particular Cathy B. -- who I wanted to see more of), older Irish thugs (Sutton -- who may or may not be Irish), or stock figures such as quipping Irish priests and iron willed martyed mothers. The love interest (and not-to-be-believed grieving mom), Ann, is more a sketch of a character than a character. Ian Rankin delivers similar Local Stuff in a far more substantive way. With Rankin, you know you've read a story. In comparison to any Rankin novel, "The Guards" reads like something hastily written out on a bar napkin. Dialogue is supposed to a big deal with this novel, and it is pretty good. But comparisions to Elmore Leonard, who always remembers he needs a story to go with the dialogue, is simply name-dropping and nothing more. Where the book excels is in its various what-to-read and what-to-listen to suggestions. (Bruen does have good tastes in those areas.) But that's not enough to escape the ripped-off feeling one feels after reading this mess.
Rating:
Summary: A style as smooth as Irish whiskey
Review: The story is dark and the style is as elegant, smooth, spare and silky as best aged Irish whiskey. Narrator Jack Taylor has been fired from the Irish police, which is almost impossible. "You have to really put your mind to it. Unless you become a public disgrace, they'll tolerate almost anything." Drink was, and is, his downfall. He's trying to be a private eye, a non-existent profession in a land that distrusts "informers" of any stripe. One day, in his local, an attractive woman approaches, asking him to investigate the supposed suicide of her teenage daughter. The case proceeds in classic, character-driven PI fashion, only drunker, as Taylor begins to uncover a mess of corruption, blackmail, underage sex, revenge and callous cold-bloodedness. His investigatory style is desultory at best; addled from drink, with days lost to blackouts, he's not always sure what's real and who's who. He does dry out, which is a relief to almost all, including the reader, and he even gets a romance going with the mother, but it's all too precarious to last. The one solid presence in his life is books and the narrative is punctuated with quotes, from Francis Bacon to Walter Mosely to Elvis Costello to W.H. Auden; quotations for every mood, the more sardonic the better. The story is gritty and brutal and the telling is sharp, swift and blackly comic. Bruen ("The White Trilogy," "London Boulevard") is a must for all fans of Celtic noir.
Rating:
Summary: Best debut mystery of the year
Review: There's certainly no shortage of "drunk P.I." novels, yet somehow Bruen has created a completely compelling work. As a former member of an elite Irish police force, Jack Galway now whiles away his time nursing drinks in a pub. Despite his fall from grace, Jack is still known as a man with a skill for finding things. Enter the beautiful older woman (one of many cliches this book gets away with) with the missing daughter, and Jack's back in action. Inevitably, he has encounters with all sorts of seedy types, leading to a resolution that may not satisfy some readers. The story may not be original, but Bruen's writing more than makes up for it. A great read for fans of the P.I. novel, especially those who appreciate strong writing. Unfortunately, this book will likely be overlooked in favor of others, but for anyone interested it's definitely worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Best debut mystery of the year
Review: There's certainly no shortage of "drunk P.I." novels, yet somehow Bruen has created a completely compelling work. As a former member of an elite Irish police force, Jack Galway now whiles away his time nursing drinks in a pub. Despite his fall from grace, Jack is still known as a man with a skill for finding things. Enter the beautiful older woman (one of many cliches this book gets away with) with the missing daughter, and Jack's back in action. Inevitably, he has encounters with all sorts of seedy types, leading to a resolution that may not satisfy some readers. The story may not be original, but Bruen's writing more than makes up for it. A great read for fans of the P.I. novel, especially those who appreciate strong writing. Unfortunately, this book will likely be overlooked in favor of others, but for anyone interested it's definitely worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Not a novel
Review: This is a short story (and a poor one at that) spread out to book length. I have never seen so much blank space in a book that wasn't poetry.
Don't waste your time when there are so many excellent mystery books out there.
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT!!!
Review: This is a very slim volume which I was unable to put down and therefore read it in one day.Jack Taylor is a former member of the Guards-the Irish Police force-who was thrown out for belting a higher officer in the mouth.He is fighting a mostly losing battle with the bottle on a daily basis-sometimes winning but more often backsliding. He becomes what is known in Galway as a "finder"-private detectives being unknown, and is hired by a woman to solve the mystery of her teenage daughter's suicide.His quest leads him to a ring of molesters who seem to kill for thrills.We meet several of Jacks friends who are also living on the edge of society and although this should make it a dark,bleak book, somehow it avoids being depressing because of his masterly writing style.Ken Bruens habit of using just 3 words to summarise a point worried me at first until I realised that this was a perfect way to express,very succinctly,his whole point.Brilliantly done and can't wait to read more.
Rating: 
Summary: Look Before You Leap
Review: This novel came highly recommended both by the book jacket raves and by the woman at the cash register where I bought it. Unfortunately it did not live up to its glowing billing. Although Bruen has a strong authorial voice, and the Galway point of view was interesting, he could not overcome a pile of nagging problems. First, the story is not much in terms of intrigue, brain-work, or suspense. Bottom line, nothing much happens of any compelling interest and the climax is easily foreseeable. Second, the author seems to know he's got a lightweight story, which he camouflages by using elongated printing techniques (check out the sentences strung out down the page, one word at a time, apparently to add impact to the narrator's thoughts) and prose affectations (see the many quotes, jokes, anecdotes, and pseudo-profundities, some anonymous, some attributed to various sources, sprinkled throughout) that are interesting at times but become annoying over the course of the book. Third, I wasn't at all sold on the tough-guy posturing of the hero, Jack; just having Jack blow up and insult people in key scenes was a real cop-out and suggests that the author didn't develop the character well. And what of his obvious literate, sensitive side? The dumb-brute-who-deep-inside-is-an-art-and-literature lover stuff seemed a stretch. Which leads to the book's final problem(s): there were way too many overly familiar situations. . . Begin with the outcast cop as hero. He's an alkie battling the bottle and his personal demons. He's also a bit of a lunkhead but then, he's an amateur philosopher, too. His ex-partner is now the Guards' head honcho and his adversary. A hot babe comes to him with a case, and yup, he can't help but fall for her, too. Be forewarned, this book is a stylistic exercise in tough-guy prose. In fairness, it's not an entirely unsuccessful exercise, as the author clearly has talent. But it's still an exercise and left me disappointed.
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