The Guards

by Ken Bruen

ISBN 1876631 481

$19.95

Publication date: July 2001

This is a novel about disgraced alcoholic ex-policeman Jack Taylor, in Galway Ireland. Mourning the death of his father, Taylor is slowly drinking his way into oblivion when he's asked to investigate the apparent suicide of a young woman. His investigations lead him into confrontations with a sexual conspiracy involving some of the city's most wealthy and powerful men, and with his own demons.

'Bruen has written a genuine Irish noir thriller to rival the best. ...Both a tautly written contemporary noir with vividly drawn characters and a cracking story, The Guards is an acute and compassionate study of rage and loneliness. Bruen has created a true original.'
The Sunday Tribune, Dublin

A White Arrest, a Bruen crime trilogy set in Brixton, UK, will be released in April 2003 by Duffy and Snellgrove.