Detective Inspector Sean Duffy was a Catholic policeman stationed in the predominately Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1985 Belfast, Ireland during the time of the “Troubles.” Detective Sergeant “Crabbie” McCrabban heads the local Carrick RUC. A call comes in that a brutal double homicide and suicide has taken place in Whitehead.

At first it was believed that Michael Kelly shot his parents point blank then jumped off a nearby cliff. Suicide rates were high in the area, but the slaying/suicide of the well-to-do family didn’t make sense to investigators. They especially questioned the disappearance of the family car having at first thought Michael had taken it.

Upon further investigation it looked like the deaths may have been a professional hit. But Duffy was known to doggedly pursue the clues and kept pushing towards the truth, especially after another body was found.

In the meantime, three new recruits joined the detectives at Carrick RUC. McCrabban felt a little uneasy because he was promoted over Duffy, but he looked to Duffy to help him out when needed, and Duffy was more than willing to help his friend.

McCrabban, Duffy and the three recruits continue to combat protesters and put their lives on the line every day. Later, Duffy is offered a surprising new job from his acquaintance Kate Albright who works for M-15. Although she caused him much grief over the past couple of years, including instructing him to kill someone to get his job back, he seriously considers taking the position to get him out of the deadly area.

Gun Street Girl is the fourth book in the Detective Sean Duffy series of novels written by Adrian McKinty. The series is based during the conflict around Belfast, Ireland between the Catholics and the Protestants circa the nineteen eighties. Readers of a certain age will undoubtedly remember the deadly clashes and the hunger strikes of that time.

The edgy and brilliant series doesn’t back down on the history of Ireland and the Troubles that lasted three decades and caused 3,600 deaths and thousands of injuries until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 put an end to the Troubles and restored self-government to Northern Ireland.

McKinty does a stellar job of creating vivid descriptions of the day to day hardships and ultimately the toll the war took on the people and the landscape of the beautiful island of Ireland.

If possible, read the four books in order to understand the background and history of the conflict, although it isn’t necessary to enjoy each individual novel. An interesting side note is that the house the character Sean Duffy lives is the same house, including address, where McKinty grew up. Hopefully, the author will continue this excellent series.

A special thank you goes to Seventh Street Books for providing us a complimentary copy of this book. If you are interested in purchasing any of Adrian McKinty’s books, they are available on Amazon.com.