The Guards - Hardcover

Bruen, Ken

3.83

6,523 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0753152576 ISBN 13: 9780753152577

Publisher: ISIS Large Print Books, 2011

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana--The Guards, Ireland's police force--and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. In his sober moments Jack aspires to become Ireland's best private investigator, not to mention its first--Irish history, full of betrayal and espionage, discourages any profession so closely related to informing. But in truth Jack is teetering on the brink of his life's sharpest edges, his memories of the past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future nonexistent.

Nonexistent, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a strange request and a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. Odds are he won't be able to climb off his barstool long enough to get involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by getting hired, Jack has little idea of what he's getting into.

Stark, violent, sharp, and funny, The Guards is an exceptional novel, one that leaves you stunned and breathless, flipping back to the beginning in a mad dash to find Jack Taylor and enter his world all over again. It's an unforgettable story that's gritty, absorbing, and saturated with the rough-edged rhythms of the Galway streets. Praised by authors and critics around the globe, The Guards heralds the arrival of an essential new novelist in contemporary crime fiction.

Ken Bruen's The Guards is a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen."

"Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish. I await the further adventures of the incorrigible Jack Taylor."--Patrick Anderson "Washington Post "

"Bruen is a brilliant, lyrical, deeply moving writer who can make you laugh and cry in the same paragraph and whose characters are so sharply portrayed that they almost walk off the page at you. If you like Ian Rankin, Dennis Lehane, Pelecanos, and the like, Bruen is definitely a writer to reckon with."-"Denver Post"
"Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish. I await the further adventures of the incorrigible Jack Taylor."-Patrick Anderson, "Washington Post"
"The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen."-"Chicago Tribune"

Bruen is a brilliant, lyrical, deeply moving writer who can make you laugh and cry in the same paragraph and whose characters are so sharply portrayed that they almost walk off the page at you. If you like Ian Rankin, Dennis Lehane, Pelecanos, and the like, Bruen is definitely a writer to reckon with. "Denver Post"

Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish. I await the further adventures of the incorrigible Jack Taylor. "Patrick Anderson, Washington Post"

The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen. "Chicago Tribune""

Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish. I await the further adventures of the incorrigible Jack Taylor. Patrick Anderson, Washington Post

The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen. Chicago Tribune

"Bruen is a brilliant, lyrical, deeply moving writer who can make you laugh and cry in the same paragraph and whose characters are so sharply portrayed that they almost walk off the page at you. If you like Ian Rankin, Dennis Lehane, Pelecanos, and the like, Bruen is definitely a writer to reckon with." --Denver Post

"Bruen is an original, grimly hilarious and gloriously Irish. I await the further adventures of the incorrigible Jack Taylor." --Patrick Anderson, Washington Post

"The next major new Irish voice we hear might well belong to Ken Bruen." --Chicago Tribune

From the Back Cover:

Advance Praise for Ken Bruen and "The Guards
""The Guards blew me away. It's dark, funny, and moving--just for starters. With a sharp eye and a lyrical voice, Ken Bruen takes us on a powerful odyssey through the mean streets of Galway, straight into the Irish heart. Bruen's tale is a potent draft of desire and hopelessness, conviction and surrender, inadvertent heroism and unexpected grace. This is mystery writing of a high order."--T. Jefferson Parker, author of "Black Water and "Silent Joe
""The Guards is a wonderful book, wrenching and real, fast, funny and wise in every sense. Why the hell haven't I heard of Ken Bruen before? He's a terrific writer and The Guards is one of the most mesmerizing works of crime fiction I've ever read. I'm going to read the rest of his work now, so don't bother me for a while. And when he's got a new one, send it to me quick. This guy is the real thing."--James W. Hall, author of "Blackwater Sound
""The Guards is raw, hard, bitter, and amazing. It's got that ancient feel to it, as of a primal story being retold with a fine, careless Irish swagger. It's as if Bruen made up his mind to tell us this story whether we wanted to hear it or not. Oh, we do. For sure."--Jon A. Jackson, author of "Badger Games
""The Guards is an astounding novel, a poetic account of a desperation as deep and cold as the North Sea, retribution, and resurrection. It's so good I can't think of it as a crime novel. It's a fine book with some crimes."--James Crumley, author of" The Final Country
""The Guards is a pint and a half of perfect book. Make it this year's specialty of the house."--Boston Teran, author of "The Prince of Deadly Weapons
""The Guardskicked my ass--it's up there with the best. If Elmore Leonard got together with James Joyce to write a Spencer novel, this is what you'd get!"--David Means, author of "Assorted Fire Events

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.