Black Irish Audiobook By Stephan Talty cover art

Black Irish

A Novel

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Black Irish

By: Stephan Talty
Narrated by: David H. Lawrence XVII
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About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this explosive debut thriller by the author of Empire of Blue Water, a brilliant homicide detective returns home, where she confronts a city’s dark demons and her own past while pursuing a brutal serial killer on a vengeful rampage.

“The captivating start of a brilliant thriller series.”—Tess Gerritsen

Absalom “Abbie” Kearney grew up an outsider in her own hometown. Even being the adopted daughter of a revered cop couldn’t keep Abbie’s troubled past from making her a misfit in the working-class Irish American enclave of South Buffalo. And now, despite a Harvard degree and a police detective’s badge, she still struggles to earn the respect and trust of those she’s sworn to protect. But all that may change, once the killing starts.

When Jimmy Ryan’s mangled corpse is found in a local church basement, this sadistic sacrilege sends a bone-deep chill through the winter-whipped city. It also seems to send a message—one that Abbie believes only the fiercely secretive citizens of the neighborhood known as “the County” understand. But in a town ruled by an old-world code of silence and secrecy, her search for answers is stonewalled at every turn, even by fellow cops. Only when Abbie finds a lead at the Gaelic Club, where war stories, gossip, and confidences flow as freely as the drink, do tongues begin to wag—with desperate warnings and dire threats. And when the killer’s mysterious calling card appears on her own doorstep, the hunt takes a shocking twist into her own family’s past. As the grisly murders and grim revelations multiply, Abbie wages a chilling battle of wits with a maniac who sees into her soul, and she swears to expose the County’s hidden history—one bloody body at a time.

With Black Irish, Stephen Talty stakes a place beside Jo Nesbø, John Sandford, and Tana French on the cutting edge of psychological crime thrillers.

©2013 Stephan Talty (P)2013 Random House Audio
Crime Hard-Boiled Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Murder Fiction Detective Scary
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Critic reviews

“A memorable story of betrayal and vengeance.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Abbie Kearney is one of the most intriguing new suspense protagonists in memory, and Black Irish marks the captivating start of a brilliant thriller series.” (Tess Gerritsen, New York Times best-selling author of Last to Die)

Engaging Mystery • Clever Plot Twists • Perfect Narrator • Beautiful Writing • Authentic Setting • Excellent Performance
Highly rated for:
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Clever crime mystery. Well written. One of the best I’ve listened to this year. Don’t miss.

The Troubles are never over

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This "review" was written purely to satisfy Audible's offensive and ridiculous decision to require a review to rate books.

A book

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Certainly, to someone from Buffalo or someone with a love for cities. Talty captured the "feel" of the city but some of the plot, particularly the ending, felt a bit contrived. I hope that Talty will continue this as a series, I look forward to learning more about Buffalo and Abby.

Excellent First Mystery

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I enjoyed the story, particularly the Buffalo and IRA connection. A narration was good, except for the fact that the volume level was way too low.

Interesting Story with a Local, Buffalo Slant

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The first 2/3 of the book are really good, but the end, the close of the story, is a bit contrived and unnatural.

Good, not great

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The heroine was well written. The story was gripping and ended unexpectedly. The twists at the end weren't expected. I really enjoyed it!

The originality of the story

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Love it - could not stop listening no matter where I was. The narrator was perfect for the story which is rare. Please bring Absolem Carney back again. Such a supremely heroic detective.

Authentic and gripping

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Keep my interests and was not to long good twist and turns in the plot
Would read something of this author again

Good story well performed

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Very good, story line got better as it went on and great ending. Not sure why the title is Black Irish.

Very good ending

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I really love the narration! Good storyline. Kept me interested and wanting to know what will happen next.

The narration is great!

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