
The Scholar
The Cormac Reilly Series, Book 2
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $13.97
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Aoife McMahon
-
By:
-
Dervla McTiernan
About this listen
A compulsive new crime thriller set in the fiercely competitive, cutthroat world of research and academia, where the brightest minds will stop at nothing to succeed.
When Dr. Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit-and-run outside Galway University early one morning, she calls her boyfriend, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID that will put this crime at the center of a scandal—her card identifies her as 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 even funded Emma's own groundbreaking research.
As the murder investigation twists in unexpected ways and Cormac's running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question himself and the beliefs that he has long held as truths. Who really is Emma? And who is Carline Darcy?
A gripping and atmospheric follow-up to The Ruin, an "expertly plotted, complex web of secrets that refuse to stay hidden" (Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King's Daughter), The Scholar is perfect for fans of Tana French and Flynn Berry.
©2019 Dervla McTiernan (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Editor's Pick
Going back to Galway
"My discovery of The Cormac Reilly Series last year is an example of a happy accident. I hadn’t heard of Dervla McTiernan yet (few had since The Ruin was her debut novel), and while I do like a good police procedural now and again, it’s not my go-to genre. It was the Galway, Ireland setting that first caught my attention (one of my favorite places in the world). I downloaded The Ruin with few expectations and after just a few chapters in I was hooked—hooked on a new author and what’s becoming a breakthrough series. Luckily, that Galway setting has been carried into book two, The Scholar, and the perfectly cast narrator Aoife McMahon is also back for a repeat performance! Everything about this series is smart, yet more entertaining than challenging, making for a super satisfying listening experience. I’m thrilled to know there is more coming from Dervla McTiernan in the not-to-far-off future." —Tricia F., Audible Editor
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Sisters
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel to the international best seller The Ruin, set 10 years prior, bright-eyed Carrie Ryan is at the very start of her career. When she has a hunch about an ongoing murder investigation, she knows it could be her only chance to prove herself and truly break into the “boys' club” of Dublin’s police force.
-
-
Look forward to hearing more from this author
- By C. E. Pitchford on 09-09-19
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Fireground
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Ben Chapple, Harriet Gordon-Anderson
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Flynn was only a teenager when her parents were killed in a terrible accident. Too young to lose her parents, too young to take on responsibility for her younger sister Kaiya, too young to protect Kaiya from the harshness of their new lives in the following years. Desperate to help her sister, Flynn reaches out to Willa Tomlinson, a grief counsellor renowned for helping her patients cope with profound loss. Under Willa’s influence and care, Kaiya finally seems to turn a corner, joining the climate action collective that Willa leads.
-
-
Just what I needed
- By Grape_Ape on 12-11-23
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Wrong One
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers, Michael Crouch
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this new novella from the number one internationally best-selling author of The Sisters and The Murder Rule, Dervla McTiernan, a mother and son fighting to prove her innocence are reunited with an estranged friend—a detective who may hold the key to her freedom—as they’re forced to put their differences aside to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime.
-
-
Wow!
- By Mary Loo on 04-01-22
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Murder Rule
- A Novel
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Kate Orsini, Sophie Amoss, Michael Crouch
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.
-
-
Disappointed
- By Lynn on 05-17-22
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
What Happened to Nina?
- A Novel
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh, Stacey Glemboski, Lisa Flanagan, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.
-
-
Careful someone put spoilers in reviews!
- By Kelly on 05-07-24
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
A Fire in the Night
- By: Christopher Swann
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nick Anthony has retreated to the North Carolina mountains to mourn the untimely death of his wife. Once a popular professor, Nick just wants to be left alone with his grief. But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law die in a house fire, a stunned Nick learns he has a niece, Annalise, who is missing. At the scene of the crime, the men who set the fire have realized Annalise, and the information they are looking for, got away. Feverish and exhausted, she stumbles onto her uncle's porch.
-
-
Grab a copy!
- By McMillan on 09-17-21
-
The Sisters
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel to the international best seller The Ruin, set 10 years prior, bright-eyed Carrie Ryan is at the very start of her career. When she has a hunch about an ongoing murder investigation, she knows it could be her only chance to prove herself and truly break into the “boys' club” of Dublin’s police force.
-
-
Look forward to hearing more from this author
- By C. E. Pitchford on 09-09-19
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Fireground
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Ben Chapple, Harriet Gordon-Anderson
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Flynn was only a teenager when her parents were killed in a terrible accident. Too young to lose her parents, too young to take on responsibility for her younger sister Kaiya, too young to protect Kaiya from the harshness of their new lives in the following years. Desperate to help her sister, Flynn reaches out to Willa Tomlinson, a grief counsellor renowned for helping her patients cope with profound loss. Under Willa’s influence and care, Kaiya finally seems to turn a corner, joining the climate action collective that Willa leads.
-
-
Just what I needed
- By Grape_Ape on 12-11-23
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Wrong One
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers, Michael Crouch
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this new novella from the number one internationally best-selling author of The Sisters and The Murder Rule, Dervla McTiernan, a mother and son fighting to prove her innocence are reunited with an estranged friend—a detective who may hold the key to her freedom—as they’re forced to put their differences aside to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime.
-
-
Wow!
- By Mary Loo on 04-01-22
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
The Murder Rule
- A Novel
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Kate Orsini, Sophie Amoss, Michael Crouch
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.
-
-
Disappointed
- By Lynn on 05-17-22
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
What Happened to Nina?
- A Novel
- By: Dervla McTiernan
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh, Stacey Glemboski, Lisa Flanagan, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.
-
-
Careful someone put spoilers in reviews!
- By Kelly on 05-07-24
By: Dervla McTiernan
-
A Fire in the Night
- By: Christopher Swann
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nick Anthony has retreated to the North Carolina mountains to mourn the untimely death of his wife. Once a popular professor, Nick just wants to be left alone with his grief. But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law die in a house fire, a stunned Nick learns he has a niece, Annalise, who is missing. At the scene of the crime, the men who set the fire have realized Annalise, and the information they are looking for, got away. Feverish and exhausted, she stumbles onto her uncle's porch.
-
-
Grab a copy!
- By McMillan on 09-17-21
-
The Whispers
- A Novel
- By: Heidi Perks
- Narrated by: Karen Cass, Nneka Okoye, Helen Keeley
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna loves Girls’ Night with her friends. With the kids safely in bed, it’s a chance for the women to let loose, enjoy some wine, and just laugh. But after one lively evening, Anna doesn’t arrive for school drop-off the next morning—or the next, or the next. Everyone, especially her husband and young son, is frantic with worry, but none more so than Grace, her childhood best friend. Grace is certain that someone is hiding the truth about Anna’s unexplained disappearance.
-
-
Very, Very Good
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 03-15-22
By: Heidi Perks
-
Last Girl Gone
- The Laura Chambers Mysteries, Book 1
- By: J. G. Hetherton
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Investigative journalist Laura Chambers is back in her tiny hometown of Hillsborough, North Carolina, the one place she swore never to return. Fired from The Boston Globe, her career in shambles, she reluctantly takes a job with the local paper. The work is simple, unimportant, and worst of all, boring - at least until a missing girl turns up dead, the body impeccably clean, dressed to be the picture of innocence. Years earlier, 10-year-old Patty Finch left home and never made it back. But for the people of Hillsborough, Patty was just the beginning.
-
-
Story is good but
- By jayne120 on 08-27-20
By: J. G. Hetherton
-
Just One Look
- By: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe, Luke Daniels
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An ordinary snapshot causes a mother’s world to unravel in an instant. After picking up her two young children from school, Grace Lawson looks through a newly developed set of photographs. She finds an odd one in the pack: A mysterious picture from perhaps twenty years ago, showing four strangers she can’t identify. But there is one face she recognizes—that of her husband, from before she knew him. When her husband sees the photo that night, he leaves their home and drives off without explanation.
-
-
Just Shoot Me
- By Dennis on 02-15-14
By: Harlan Coben
-
A Long Time Dead
- A D.I. Duncan McAdam Mystery (The Misty Isle, Book 1)
- By: J M Dalgliesh
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
D.I. Duncan McAdam is dispatched home to the Misty Isle. A body has been found buried in a remote location on the Waternish peninsula. Well-preserved in the peat, Isla Matheson—missing for the better part of two decades—is revealed to a shocked island community. A teenage runaway is dead...and no one is talking.
-
-
totally enjoyed this
- By Owl8988 on 11-21-23
By: J M Dalgliesh
-
The Last Session
- A Novel
- By: Julia Bartz
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Allyson Ryan
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Writing Retreat, a white-knuckled locked-room thriller about a social worker who, after coming face-to-face with her dark past, must infiltrate a mysterious wellness center in the deserts of New Mexico.
-
-
So fun!
- By ACV on 04-09-25
By: Julia Bartz
-
How to Solve Your Own Murder
- A Novel
- By: Kristen Perrin
- Narrated by: Alexandra Dowling, Jaye Jacobs
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1965, Frances Adams is at an English country fair where a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. It is a prediction that sparks her life’s work—trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet. Nearly sixty years later, Annie Adams is summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is found murdered, just like she always said she would be.
-
-
An interesting twist
- By Russell on 04-02-24
By: Kristen Perrin
-
All the Murmuring Bones
- By: A.G. Slatter
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Orphaned as a young child, Mirin O'Malley has been brought up by her grandparents on their isolated, rambling estate Hob's Hallow. Long ago her family prospered due to a deal struck with the mer, the terrifying creatures who live in the depths of the sea: safety for their merchant ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes have suffered as a result. When Mirin's grandfather dies, her grandmother puts in train a plan to restore their glory - but at the price of Mirin's freedom.
-
-
Drags on and on.
- By Amanda Turner on 04-10-21
By: A.G. Slatter
-
Beware the Past
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Matt Ballard was starting out his career, three boys were murdered in the same area, the remote and bleak Gibbet Fen. When the main suspect was killed in a hit-and-run, the killings stopped. But Matt was not satisfied that the real murderer had been caught. Over 25 years later, Matt gets a photo in an unmarked envelope. It's of the Gibbet Fen crime scene. And the picture was taken before the murder took place. More photos arrive, relating to the historic murders, as well as intimate pictures of Matt's very secret private life.
-
-
Author Joy Ellis knows how to build suspense!
- By Wayne on 06-04-18
By: Joy Ellis
-
In the Woods
- A Novel
- By: Tana French
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret.
-
-
Detection with a Difference
- By Lesley on 07-18-07
By: Tana French
-
The Island
- By: Adrian McKinty
- Narrated by: Mela Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom. When they discover remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry. But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong.
-
-
Love McKinty, but ....
- By Emily S. on 05-22-22
By: Adrian McKinty
-
The Staircase in the Woods
- By: Chuck Wendig
- Narrated by: Jay Myers, Amber Benson, Xe Sands
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods.
-
-
I was finally actually afraid
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-25
By: Chuck Wendig
-
Black Heart
- Detective Dan Riley, Book 1
- By: Anna-Lou Weatherley
- Narrated by: James Lailey
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Nigel Baxter, a middle-aged married banker with an unremarkable past, is found dead in the bath of a plush hotel suite, his wrists slit, it looks as if he's taken his own life. At first. But when Detective Inspector Daniel Riley is assigned to the case, he soon realises all isn't as it first appears to be. When a postmortem shows Baxter was poisoned, Riley suspects foul play. And then there's the odd addition of a teddy bear left at the crime scene....
-
-
Difficult to Love
- By Lynn on 06-06-20
What listeners say about The Scholar
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jack B. Rochester
- 05-25-19
A Good Story, A Great Listen
Wishing to step just a bit outside my normal Audible book-listening – which, to some extent, mirrors my interest in reading what I call “airplane novels” or “brain candy” mysteries and thrillers by well-known authors, I downloaded The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan, an Irish lawyer and author. I suppose I was drawn to this Audible book because I’d just worked with Ana Clements, an exceptional voice actor-artist who undertook a County Cork Irish accent for a character in my new novel, Anarchy. Listening to Aoife McMahon, also a native of Clare, Ireland, narrate The Scholar, I was convinced Ana had done a stellar job with my Caitlin Dugan.
And so back to The Scholar, which I learned was the second novel in a series the author is writing about Cormac Reilly, a police detective, that began with The Ruin. I was an exceptionally good listen.
Cormac is one of the most human mystery-thriller novel characters I’ve encountered, either in print or audio. He isn’t macho, and has moments of self-doubt, recrimination, shoulda-dones. He also shows a sweet loving tenderness toward his girlfriend, Emma Sweeney, but in the course of the story has cause to doubt her. This creates a lot of dramatic tension in a plot which is already deep into a multi-pronged set of what seem to be unrelated events and mysteries. One hopes that Cormac will knit them together as he attempts to solve the primary event, the murder of a young woman.
There were times when I thought there were too many plots, and as most readers/listeners would do, I tried to put myself in Cormac’s head to solve and resolve them. He figures them out, to be sure, but with perhaps a bit too much ease. I could not; there really weren’t many evidentiary hooks, but there was certainly enough mystery to keep me wondering – as any good novel ought to do – what happens next?
The answer, in The Scholar, is a lot.
As mentioned earlier, Ms. McMahon does a five-star job of narrating. In a genre so overrun with male authors and macho characters, it was a delight to read a work by a woman with well-drawn, three-dimensional characters of both genders.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
29 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ajax
- 10-10-19
Loving Dervla Mctiernan
Dervla is my new favorite writer! Her books are amazing! Sisters too. great books!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kimberly
- 01-27-21
Excellent!
This is a new author for me - and what a wonderful surprise to discover her!! The writing is great, characters developed beautifully and the story one that I found myself listening to it late last night and today until it just ended!! I carried my phone around with me - not able to stop listening!
I loved it, and Dervla McTiernan is a new FAVORITE!! I’m going now to buy the rest of her books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert E. Orlando
- 08-01-20
Pleasant new find
I've only recently become familiar with this author. I'm finding˝ her books well written and quite enjoyable
Good and strong characters, good stories, plot & dialog.Thoroughly enjoyable mystery series. I'll read more and would certainly recommend her to others.
I have to add that I have not only discovered a new author, but I have also discovered a new (for me) narrator in Aoife McMahon.
She is outstanding without getting in the way of the author. Her portrayal of various voices was amazing. Regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, personality.. , I was left with no doubt to was speaking at any time during the book.It was like listening to a cast of narrators rather than one very skillful artist. She's as good or better than any narrator I've listened to in the past - even than the ones I like and continue to admire very much. Thumbs op for the whole package!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen Mitchell Smith
- 01-09-20
Loved This Book!
Strong character development and plenty of plot twists made this a great listen. The narration by Aiofe McMahon was wonderful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessica Rose Neurock
- 04-07-21
Great story
Lots of plot twists and depth of characters. The narrator was great, I for one live a good accent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Empress Karen
- 12-24-20
Narrator can just read the phone book=TERRIFIC
Plus catalog. What a great free mystery. Narrator put you right in Galway and if you’ve had the pleasure like I had of going out there, then this will bring you right back into Ireland.
Very clever story from the author and I hope there’s more to this series. If you like watching PBS Vera then this series is for you. Publisher summary is spot on so no need to add to it. I do use the 1.2 speed. Give it a try
Where my comments of help?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- myra Scrabeck
- 12-17-20
Another home run by Dervla McTiernan
Love the Detective Cormac stories on Audible. The narrator is excellent with the voices of all characters except Cormac's. Her interpretation of his voice is very flat. It really does not add any dimension to his character. He comes across as someone with no emotion. I don't think that the author's intention is for this particular character to be quite so flat. Otherwise, very good job!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gayle
- 11-03-20
Another Winner!
Having already read The Ruin, I couldn't wait to try out another Dervla McTiernan book in the Cormac Reilly series. The Scholar was every bit as good as The Ruin. The language was a bit gritty at times, but the story and the excellent narration saved the day! Highly recommended!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Travis Bedell
- 11-11-20
Twists
I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Narration was excellent! I will definitely listen to others by Mctirnen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!