Review by Miche Sora -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare

[Miche Sora]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The 11:05 Murders is the second book of the Inspector Sheehan series by Brian O’Hare. It is a murder mystery seen from the police side of the investigation. I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars for a solid plot and good writing with the fewest grammatical errors of any book I’ve ever read. I would have rated it four stars, but the police procedure was a bit dry and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, not to mention that I figured out who the killer was in the first couple of chapters.

Inspector Sheehan is the chief detective inspector for the Serious Crimes division of the Strandtown Police Station in Belfast B District. He’s just hired on Sergeant Denise Stewart, who transferred from Lisburn City Police, where she suffered sexual harassment from her former coworkers. With the help of the Crown Prosecutor Robert Turner, she testifies against her former boss for laundering money for a Chinese prostitution ring. Then they catch the murder of James Fitzpatrick, and two more quickly follow—each on a different Tuesday at 11:05pm. As the plot builds and all of the random pieces finally start to come together, Inspector Sheehan has one of his famous hunches that not only catches the killer, but saves lives as well.

The book starts off with a bang, but the action doesn’t pick up again to that same level until about halfway through the book. The story is told in the limited omniscient point of view; there are various cop points of view, but none directly from the killer’s. The characters’ personalities emerge in the first few chapters as being human and believable, but could still use a bit more fleshing out, especially Denise Stewart’s. There is office romance, but it helps to drive the plot, instead of taking it over. This book would make a great movie or a cop TV series.

A couple of things puzzled me. One is that while this book takes place in Belfast, there is very little Northern Irish flavor, or even British flavor, to it. Change the place names to somewhere in North America and remove the very few British/Irish expressions found in the book, and you’d never know the author wasn’t American or Canadian. Different countries and cultures fascinate me, so that was a bit disappointing. Also, though the series belongs to Inspector Sheehan, he is not the most prominent character in this book; WDS Denise Stewart and Detective Tom Allen are featured far more often than Sheehan.

Three things that I enjoyed most about this book: the author understands how difficult it is for a woman to break into the boys’ club as part of being a cop; he treats sexual harassment and domestic abuse with care and respect that many authors neglect; and he uses in-depth psychological analysis by a psychologist to provide additional information, which is of a surprising nature and helps catch the killer. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series, even though it’s not my usual genre.

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The 11.05 Murders
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[jhollan2]

Thanks for the thorough review. I've spent a few years in Ireland and love reading books set there, so I was disappointed to hear that not much of the dialect and linguistic differences made it into the book. How do these compare to Tana French's novels?

[Miche Sora]

I've never read Tana French's novels, so I can't compare them. They look interesting, though, so thanks for letting me know about them! Definitely on my TR list.

[AliceofX]

I figured out who the killer was in the first couple of chapters.

That was probably my biggest gripe with the book is that it gave too much away and made the plot predictable.

One is that while this book takes place in Belfast, there is very little Northern Irish flavor, or even British flavor, to it. Change the place names to somewhere in North America and remove the very few British/Irish expressions found in the book, and you’d never know the author wasn’t American or Canadian. Different countries and cultures fascinate me, so that was a bit disappointing.

That I have to disagree with. I think a crime mystery should focus on the crime. When it starts to focus too much on the investigator's personal lives, or the setting, then it start to take away from the suspense and intrigue.

Nice review, Miche Sora.

[Miche Sora]

Nice review, Miche Sora.

Thank you! I appreciate that.

That I have to disagree with. I think a crime mystery should focus on the crime. When it starts to focus too much on the investigator's personal lives, or the setting, then it start to take away from the suspense and intrigue.

I agree--I wouldn't want the setting to take away from the mystery either, but a little bit of Northern Irish flavor would have been nice. Maybe the author wrote the book in that fashion so it would bring in a wider English-speaking audience?

[Izesicle]

I agree, there was too much focus on Denise and Tom and less focus on Sheehan's detective skills and procedure. I rated the novel two out of four stars.