Title: The Scholar (Cormac Reilly #2)
Expected publication: 18 February 2019
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
When DS Cormac Reilly’s girlfriend Emma stumbles across the
victim of a hit and run early one morning, he is first on the scene of a murder
that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying
an ID, that of Carline Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland’s
most successful pharmaceutical company. Darcy Therapeutics has a finger in
every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political
parties to philanthropy – it has funded Emma’s own
ground-breaking research. The investigation into Carline’s death promises to be high profile and high pressure.
As Cormac investigates, evidence mounts that the death is linked to a Darcy laboratory and, increasingly, to Emma herself. Cormac is sure she couldn’t be involved, but how well does he really know her? After all, this isn’t the first time Emma’s been accused of murder...
ground-breaking research. The investigation into Carline’s death promises to be high profile and high pressure.
As Cormac investigates, evidence mounts that the death is linked to a Darcy laboratory and, increasingly, to Emma herself. Cormac is sure she couldn’t be involved, but how well does he really know her? After all, this isn’t the first time Emma’s been accused of murder...
My musings:
I really loved Dervla McTiernan’s first book, The Ruin, and
was a very happy chappy when I received a copy of The Scholar, number two in
the Cormac Reilly series. I am pleased to say that I liked it equally as much, and
it was great to see all the characters back again and to get to know them a bit
better.
In The Scholar, DI Cormac Reilly is finally taken off cold
cases and given a caseload of current crimes to solve. However, when one of the
cases involves someone close to him, it may test his loyalties. That is really
all you need to know about the story– some books are best plunged into with
held breath and eyes closed, letting the author take you on a journey.
As soon as the story started, McTiernan transported me
seamlessly into Cormac’s world, and I was totally engrossed. He really is one
of the best fictional detectives to come along in the last two years! I said it
in my review of The Ruin, and I will say it again, the refreshing thing about
Cormac is that he is so “normal”. He is neither an alcoholic, nor a tortured
cynical soul that lives on take-aways and donuts, neither is he a sad divorcee
nor involved in some bizarre workplace romances. Cormac just appears to be an
average nice guy, and a damn good investigator to boot. However, all is not
totally whole in Cormac’s world. There are some workplace issues that have seen
him banished to work cold cases after his transfer to Galway, and even though
he is finally granted permission to take on a caseload of fresh cases, his boss
seems determined to see him fail. Cormac does not appear bitter or resentful
about this, surprisingly, although he will be sorely tested when one of the
crimes he is sent to investigate involves his girlfriend Emma. This brings me
to his personal life, which may have appeared quite idyllic in The Ruin, but
which also has some darker events preceding his move to Galway. I loved getting
to know Cormac better as a character, and really look forward to watching him
grow in depth and background as the series progresses – which I hope will be a
loooong one!
McTiernan writes well, and drew me in with the ease of a
skilled author, effortlessly evoking the sights, the sounds and atmosphere of
the world her characters inhabit. I found both cases Cormac is trying to solve
in The Scholar utterly intriguing, and as in The Ruin, some of the themes
pulled on my heartstrings.
Summary:
With The Scholar, the author has written another
intelligent, multi-layered mystery that was pure joy to read and get lost in.
Some things may not come as a surprise to a seasoned mystery-lover, but the
side stories added a depth that is not often found in other police procedurals.
I must also mention that I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the side
characters, like Carrie O’Halloran and Peter Fisher, and will look forward to
seeing them back in the next book. McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly series has quickly
risen to reside amongst my favourites, and I can’t wait to read the next book
in the series!
Thank
you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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