A June of Ordinary Murders

Starred review from February 9, 2015
At the start of Brady’s first novel, a vivid and crafty whodunit set in 1887 Dublin, the city is gearing up for its celebration of Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a landmark not universally popular in a country where many citizens object to giving “loyalty to a foreign queen.” Just days before Victoria’s eldest grandson, Prince Albert Victor, and his younger brother, Prince George, are due to arrive in Dublin to represent the monarch, a man and a young boy are shot to death and their faces badly mutilated. Det. Sgt. Joe Swallow investigates. Despite the difficulties in identifying the victims, the press takes him to task for a lack of progress. Meanwhile, the death of the local crime matriarch, “Pisspot” Ces Downes, sets the stage for a bloody battle among rivals to assume control of the criminal underworld. Fans of mysteries that capture the flavor of the past will hope that Swallow has a long literary life. Brady is the former editor of the Irish Times.