Review by muchirij -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare

[muchirij]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

A savagely violent rape in the prologue sets the pace for this detective story set in Northern Ireland. Woman Detective Sergeant Denise Stewart, a woman with an interesting personality is introduced to us. She has transferred to a new police force where she is pleasantly surprised by how she is treated, which is a complete contrast to her former station. Her first case with the serious crimes unit team investigates a murder which is quite disturbing, graphic and violent in its nature. The murder seemingly with no clues leads the detectives pursuing different suspects. A second murder with the same modus operandi leads the media to wonder if they have a serial killer on the prowl. Will the detectives be able to connect the murders to the rape that occurred twelve years ago?

I enjoyed O’Hare’s pleasant and easy to read style. The story has a nice flow to it. The tale is filled with suspense that kept me at the edge of my seat. Some humorous dialogue punctuated with snappy comments keeps the mood of the novel humorous. The tale has a realistic feel to it with simplistic detective work and a front seat feel of the life of a police officer.

The detectives following different leads takes the reader through the arduous police work and some interesting finds that keeps the reader rooting for the serious crimes unit. If I did not know better I would have thought Brian O’Hare was a cop. I also enjoyed the slight psychological aspect of the novel and very much enjoyed Dr. Nigel’s character.

While the book was an interesting read I could not immediately decipher what some of the abbreviations used in the book meant like RUC, PSNI though further reading clarified that. I also felt left out in some scenes because they did not entail full details of what was going on, which for a detective story is important, like prosecutor Turner celebratory dinner with Stewart did not mention what they had for dinner which I feel would have helped their character development. A few spelling mistakes here and there should have been detected.

I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. This is a very compelling read that addresses many issues facing modern society like sexism and relationships. The plot had many twists especially at the end. Character development was good many times I found myself rooting for detectives Allen and Stewart. I would recommend this book to teenagers and mystery fans, especially those who like deductive reasoning. The book has a Sherlock Holmes feel with a taste of psychological drama, I totally loved it.

******
The 11.05 Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords

Like muchirij's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Izesicle]

I agree, it feels like the author was a cop before because he Illustrated teamwork and camaraderie among police officers very well. He also captured the awkwardness of a new transfer perfectly. I rated the book two of four stars.

[muchirij]

Yes I enjoyed the book so much, it had some redundancies but overall it was a good read.