Hang On St. Christopher: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel

McKinty impressively balances action and intimacy in his appealing eighth adventure for Northern Ireland’s Det. Insp. Sean Duffy (after The Detective Up Late). It’s July 1992, and Duffy is commuting from Scotland to Belfast six days per month, counting down the hours until he can retire from the Royal Ulster Constabulary. While Duffy’s boss is holidaying in Spain, a murder is reported in Belfast: well-liked portrait painter Quentin Townes was killed in what Duffy’s colleagues quickly label a violent carjacking. Duffy, on the other hand, has a hunch that the attack was targeted. Soon, he unearths a plot linking foreign forces to the IRA, a discovery that makes him a target for ruthless assassins and sends him to the U.S. to solve the puzzle. As always, Duffy is a sly, lovable narrator, peppering the narrative with witty asides and copious references to 1980s and ’90s British pop culture. Enriched by McKinty’s brisk plotting, illuminating glimpses at a difficult period of Irish history, and poignant reflections on aging, this is a cracking good time. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Mar.)