What a great cold case story. Very interesting how it was solved and how the police worked it out. There was a separate story about a crooked policeman running parallel with the cold case which again was very well explained. Yes I enjoyed this very good book.

Cormac Reilly has recently moved from Dublin to Galway, not by choice though, rather that of partner Emma who is starting a new job there. He sees it as a step down but is willing to give it his best. Sadly, his new colleagues don't share his enthusiasm and he is really struggling to fit in. Given old cold cases rather than current ones and working pretty much solo as his team have been seconded elsewhere. To say he is frustrated would be an understatement but he gets on with it in the vain hope that things will eventually get better.
Then, one day, an old face comes back to haunt him. A young man is found drowned in the river. Deemed suicide on the evidence of an eye-witness, the case is closed. Cormac recognises the victim, Jack, as being associated with one of his very early cases, when he had just started with the guards. Jack was the young boy he rescued from a mother who had died from an overdose some 20 years since. Rescued along with his sister who subsequently disappeared from the hospital. Cormack remembers that he wanted to pursue the case back then but it was closed by his superiors.
But, with Jack's death and the subsequent reappearance of his sister, coupled with the fact that Aisling, Jack's girlfriend, not believing it was suicide, gives Cormac the chance to re-open the old cold case. But are things best left alone? Did Jack really kill himself or are the two cases linked? And if so, how? Is there more to this than meets the eye?
Oooo, this was a delightful, slow burner of a book. It wasn't all wham, bam from the start but it did get right under my skin from the off and gave up its secrets slowly along the way. It was definitely refreshing to read a slightly slower paced book for a change. I guess this was due mostly to the nature of the alleged crimes involved. One cold case and the other already ruled suicide. With no immediate panic to "solve" either, we get more of a plodding investigation. Chipping away at the truth, hinting at some foul play, piece by piece until the whole, rather shocking, truth is laid bare.
The slow build up also gave the truth far more impact that I think it would have had if the pace had been more frenetic. I definitely thought that as I started to cotton on to what really happened many years ago.
In Cormac, the author has created a really great character. Apart from some happening between him and partner Emma, he really is just a straight forward guy. Moral, principled, fine upstanding citizen. Determined to get to the truth no matter how many toes he has to tread on to get to it. He is put through the mill at work somewhat but although it does anger and frustrate him, he is still just determined to do his best for people. I guess that the thing that is hinted at throughout the book, the thing about Cormac and Emma, the thing that I hope is resolved in book two and not dragged on throughout the series, is significant enough for him to have made the sacrifice in his career rather than her in hers. Whatever it is!
I know that crime books aren't meant to be happy but there is an underlying feeling of doom and gloom throughout the majority of this book. Probably not helped by the setting which is almost a character in its own right, significance wise. Also not helped by some of the gritty subject matter. But it works, it really does and there is always that glimmer of hope trying to shine through.
All in all, a good debut and a solid series opener that has left me wanting more. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is the first in the DI Cormac Reilly series set in Galway, Ireland. Reilly is trying to find his feet at the police station, after having moved from Dublin to be with Emma, his partner, who starts a demanding new job. After a high flying career, the move which might be viewed as a step down for him proves to be significantly more difficult than he expected. He is viewed with suspicion by other officers, there are problematic politics and tensions which prove to complex and hard to decipher, and the only person willing to connect with Cormac is a colleague he trained with, but who is being shunned by others. Reilly is only being offered cold cases, such as the disappearance of 15 year old Maura Hughes in 1975. 20 years ago when he was a rookie officer, Reilly arrived at the scene of the death of Hilaria Blake, a terminally ill woman who had overdosed on heroin, with her neglected and badly abused children, 15 year old Maude and 5 year old Jack. Upon taking them to hospital, Maude disappears and Jack was taken into foster care. His efforts to investigate were blocked and he is now being offered the opportunity to look into it as a cold case for which there seems to be no logical reason to do so.

Jack Blake grew up happy in his foster home and is now living with medic, Aisling Conroy. Aisling's life descends into a harrowing mass of horror when she is informed by the police that Jack committed suicide by jumping into the river. Maude has recently returned from having spent her life in Australia, and is unconvinced that her brother committed suicide, and she draws in a confused and reluctant Aisling to look deeper into the circumstances of Jack's death. The police refuse point blank to countenance any other scenario other than suicide, despite being offered video evidence gathered by Maude that proves that Jack was nowhere near the bridge at the time he is supposed to have jumped. However, to Reilly's consternation, Maude is arrested for the murder of her mother 20 years ago for no reason that he can fathom. To add to the pressure on Reilly, there are unfounded rumours swirling around in the station that he had slept with Maude and allegations of misconduct in his time in Dublin. Reilly finds that Maude and Jack had been failed by everyone in their childhood as a curtain is lifted to reveal Ireland's dark history with the church. He encounters the poisonous and evil Domenica Keane, and learns of the presence of a paedophile. Will Reilly be able to battle the sinister hidden agendas and obstacles within the police station and find out what happened to Hilaria in the past and Jack in the present?

Dervla McTiernan gives us a promising beginning to this new series as Cormac begins to establish himself in Galway, only to encounter a real can of worms in his new workplace. Despite all that he comes up against, including betrayal, his focus and determination to get to the truth is undiminished. Although we do not get a real sense of Emma, his commitment to her and their relationship gives us a strong sense of his character, he does not drop into a state of blaming Emma for his woes or wanting to return to Dublin. He feels for Maude and all the responsibilities she was forced to shoulder as a child for Jack and her incapable, ill mother, and the lack of action that shames the Church and the Ireland of that time. I found the story a little slow at the start but was soon caught up in the grip of the compelling and tense narrative. Great to have a new voice in Irish Crime on the scene. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but I was drawn in very quickly and really liked the main character, Cormac Reilly.
He’s the new man in town and is finding it hard to connect with fellow Gardas but someone he’s worked with before is there so he sticks with him at first.
It soon becomes clear to Cormac that Danny has done something to upset his colleagues but he can’t get to the bottom of what this is.
Tasked with going through cold cases Cormac has time to try and work out what’s going on with Danny but then he’s asked to re-open a murder investigation from 20 years ago.
Cormac is familiar with this case as he worked on it when he first joined the Garda but soon matters are taken out of his control and he has to find out why.
This is a gritty crime thriller which will keep your interest throughout as there’s constant revelations as the story progresses
I really enjoyed this book and will read the next one in the series.
Thanks to Sphere and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Dervla McTiernan’s first novel is an accomplished police procedural set in the west of Ireland town of Galway. It is an atmospheric and moving piece of writing with an assured plot and a range of well-drawn characters, both the sympathetic and the odious.

As a young policeman Cormac Reilly was the first on the scene at a ramshackle mansion where he encounters two neglected and abused children and their mother, lying dead in her bed. Twenty years later events of that night come back to haunt Reilly, now a successful detective. An apparent suicide, a missing young woman, child abuse and police corruption all combine to draw in a wide range of suspects and participants.

There are many twists and turns in the story: Cormac finds it hard to know who to trust among his police colleagues and among the various other participants in the drama. If the novel has a fault, it is that the guilty party becomes obvious too early, although the motivation remains a mystery until the end.

This was a very entertaining read and I would recommend it to lovers of crime fiction.

A 20-year-old cold case. A suicide that might not be all it seems. A dogged garda trying to establish the links between past and present, and a whiff of corruption in the Garda Síochána as fresh as today's headlines. Dervla McTiernan deftly weaves all the strands together in this hugely impressive debut novel, set in Galway and Mayo. Her real strength is in writing credible characters with whom you empathise from the off. This is the first in a series that will feature detective Sergeant Cormac Reilly - refreshingly normal and morally upright, and not a divorced, alcoholic loner - and I eagerly anticipate the next one. Thanks to #NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Absolute five star read, I'd give six stars if I could. Definitely a bright new star to add to my ever growing list of awesome Irish crime authors. It's a great modern take on the crimes of the past, concentrating not just on the church but wider societies blind eye ,without being too grim reading. I'm really looking forward to the next book....

I do love being able to be in at the beginning of a new detective/crime series, particularly those set in the UK. This one certainly did not disappoint and the added bonus of it being set in Ireland. This was a fabulous start to the new series and really gripped me from page one. I loved the way that the story intertwined with modern day and flash back to when Cormac was a new garda. The characters were really well developed and whilst I guessed early on that Danny was not to be trusted, I did not see the twists and turns that came with his character. Easy to read with plenty of dialogue which I like. I can't wait to read more of this series and what a brilliant debut from this new author!

#TheRuin #NetGalley #LittleBrownBook #DervlaMcTiernan #BookReview
Cormac Reilly is the protagonist in this debut novel. Transferring back to Galway where his welcome by fellow officers is decidedly chilly.
Tasked with looking at cold cases Cormac finds himself investigating the death of a woman from twenty years ago when he was first on scene. What happened to the siblings he found at the house? With politics and rumours circulating how far will Cormac go to solve the mysteries.
I loved this as a first novel and hope that it won’t be the last involving Cormac Reilly as it’s a foregone conclusion that I would read book 2. I was hooked from page one and liked how the story unfolded. The characters were varied and interesting. I did not see the end coming which I liked as I hate when I guess the ending. Thanks to Net Galley and Little Brown book publishers for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of The Ruin, a police procedural set in Galway.

DS Cormac Reilly has recently taken a step down from the elite squad in Dublin he worked for to follow his partner to Galway. His welcome to Galway is less than warm and he is stuck with the coldest of cold cases despite his experience and ability. This does not change with the questionable suicide of Jack Blake, a man Cormac knew as a 5 year old when he discovered, as a rookie in 1993, his dead mother, Hilaria. In fact Cormac is asked to re-investigate Hilaria's death from a heroin overdose. He can't understand the politics swirling around both these cases and the station.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ruin which is an excellent procedural with the requisite twists and turns, an honourable protagonist, tension and some heartbreaking history. Mostly told from Cormac's point of view it also has scenes from Jack's fiancée Aisling and his sister Maude's points of view. I'm not a big fan of the multiple point of view approach but it works extremely well here, rounding out the reader's knowledge and giving a fuller picture than Cormac alone can. I was mostly glued to the pages wondering what would come next although there is a slight sag in the middle which seems a bit repetitive and doesn't really push the plot forward, hence the 4.5 rather than 5* rating. Apart from this dip the novel is well paced and tense, especially in the second half, with the reveals coming at regular intervals.

Cormac Reilly is a great protagonist. He is smart, dogged, moral and very likeable but very much the outsider in Galway. I found it difficult at first to understand what he is doing in Galway and why his reception is so poor but the politics soon become apparent although his relationship with his girlfriend, Emma, remains ill defined throughout the novel.

I also like the portrait Ms McTiernan paints of Ireland where the present day seems inextricably linked to the Church and the past. She takes a matter of fact, it is what it is approach and it works really well.

The Ruin is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending. 4.5*

I guess the first in a series of books about an Irish detective. Loved the book and looking forward to book 2 in 2019. Didn't give it 5 stars as I didn't get a 'wow' from it but nevertheless I recommend it very highly to readers of crime fiction. As with books that will be part of a series you are left with one or two open story lines and unanswered questions. So difficult now to find something new for a detective series but this is definitely an excellent start.

This was a slow burner of a book that gradually enthralled me with its cast of characters and several investigations that are somehow linked. The Irish setting added to the appeal of the book and the descriptions were very evocative.
The main protagonist is Garda Cormac Reilly who has moved from Dublin to Galway to fall in with his girfriend’s career plan. He is asked to investigate a number of cold cases whilst he is settling in but feels there is a rather strange atmosphere at his new police station.
The story also focuses on Aisling a young doctor who has just heard some distressing news and is trying to come to terms with it.
Cormac is then asked to look into a 20 year old case to which he is connected as he was the original investigating officer; he was new to the job and called out to what he perceived at the time as a domestic dispute and finding 15 year old Maude and 5 year old Jack, victims of child abuse home alone with a dead alcoholic mother, young Cormac takes them to the hospital but Maude subsequently disappears. This case has always stayed with him as he felt he never got the full story.
20 years on and Cormac is asked to look at the case again but how is it linked to Aisling’s tragedy?
There are many connections in this sad and at times heartbreaking story. The reader feels for young Maude and Jack and wants to get to the bottom of what really happened to them.
Cormac is an interesting character and he obviously has a back story which is hinted at and which I’m sure will come out in future books as this novel has the feel of a series.
The descriptions of Ireland and the small town community Cormac is serving had the feel of authenticity.
This is a great debut novel, part mystery and part family story. It examines the ties that bind siblings and the lengths that some will go to protect or destroy their families. It will appeal to readers who enjoy literary thrillers . It reminded me a bit of Jane Harper’s The Dry but with an Irish setting as it examined some similar dark themes.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended and suggest you look out for it when it is published in March.