The Sean Duffy Series
8 primary works
Book 1
Detective Sergeant Duffy is the man tasked with trying to get to the bottom of it all. It's no easy job - especially when it turns out that one of the victims was involved in the IRA, but last seen discussing business with someone from the UVF. Add to that the fact that as a Catholic policemen, it doesn't matter which side he's on, because nobody trusts him - and Sergeant Duffy really is in a no-win situation.
Fast-paced, evocative and brutal, The Cold, Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles - and a cop treading a thin, thin line.
Fast-paced, evocative and brutal, The Cold, Cold Ground is a brilliant depiction of Belfast at the height of the Troubles - and a cop treading a thin, thin line.
Book 2
RAIN DOGS WAS WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD 2017
Book 2 in the Detective Sean Duffy series.
'McKinty is one of Britain's great contemporary crime writers and the Sean Duffy books are his masterpiece.'
IAN RANKIN
Sean Duffy knows there's no such thing as a perfect crime. But a torso in a suitcase is pretty close.
Still, one tiny clue is all it takes, and there it is. A tattoo. So Duffy, fully fit and back at work after the severe trauma of his last case, is ready to follow the trail of blood -- however faint -- that always, always connects a body to its killer.
A legendarily stubborn man, Duffy becomes obsessed with this mystery as a distraction from the ruins of his love life, and to push down the seed of self-doubt that he seems to have traded for his youthful arrogance.
So from country lanes to city streets, Duffy works every angle. And wherever he goes, he smells a rat...
Book 2 in the Detective Sean Duffy series.
'McKinty is one of Britain's great contemporary crime writers and the Sean Duffy books are his masterpiece.'
IAN RANKIN
Sean Duffy knows there's no such thing as a perfect crime. But a torso in a suitcase is pretty close.
Still, one tiny clue is all it takes, and there it is. A tattoo. So Duffy, fully fit and back at work after the severe trauma of his last case, is ready to follow the trail of blood -- however faint -- that always, always connects a body to its killer.
A legendarily stubborn man, Duffy becomes obsessed with this mystery as a distraction from the ruins of his love life, and to push down the seed of self-doubt that he seems to have traded for his youthful arrogance.
So from country lanes to city streets, Duffy works every angle. And wherever he goes, he smells a rat...
Book 3
Sean Duffy's got nothing. And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. So when MI5 come knocking, Sean knows exactly what they want, and what he'll want in return, but he hasn't got the first idea how to get it.
Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning.
From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?
Of course he's heard about the spectacular escape of IRA man Dermot McCann from Her Majesty's Maze prison. And he knew, with chilly certainty, that their paths would cross. But finding Dermot leads Sean to an old locked room mystery, and into the kind of danger where you can lose as easily as winning.
From old betrayals and ancient history to 1984's most infamous crime, Sean tries not to fall behind in the race to annihilation. Can he outrun the most skilled terrorist the IRA ever created? And will the past catch him first?
Book 4
Belfast, 1985. Gunrunners on the borders, riots in the cities, The Power of Love on the radio. And somehow, in the middle, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy is hanging on, a Catholic policeman in the hostile Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Duffy is initially left cold by the murder of a wealthy couple, shot dead while watching TV. And when their troubled son commits suicide, leaving a note that appears to take responsibility for the deaths, it seems the case is closed. But something doesn't add up, and people keep dying. Soon Duffy is on the trail of a mystery that will pit him against shadowy US intelligence forces, and take him into the white-hot heart of the biggest political scandal of the decade.
Duffy is initially left cold by the murder of a wealthy couple, shot dead while watching TV. And when their troubled son commits suicide, leaving a note that appears to take responsibility for the deaths, it seems the case is closed. But something doesn't add up, and people keep dying. Soon Duffy is on the trail of a mystery that will pit him against shadowy US intelligence forces, and take him into the white-hot heart of the biggest political scandal of the decade.
Book 5
EDGAR AWARD SHORTLISTED * SPINETINGLER AWARD WINNER * NED KELLY AWARD WINNER * STEEL DAGGER AWARD SHORTLISTED
'McKinty's Troubles-set tales of sarky Belfast cop Sean Duffy are becoming one of the great crime series ... Brilliant!' - THE SUN
'It blew my doors off' - IAN RANKIN
It's just the same things over and again for Sean Duffy. Riot duty. Heartbreak. Cases he can solve but never get to court. But what detective gets two locked room mysteries in one career?
When journalist Lily Bigelow is found dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle, it looks like a suicide. But there are just a few things that bother Duffy enough to keep the case file open. Which is how he finds out that she was working on a devastating investigation of corruption and abuse at the highest levels of power in the UK and beyond. His investigation leads Duffy to Helsinki, following the Finnish businessmen Lucy Bigelow had an interest in.
And so Duffy has two impossible problems on his desk: who killed Lily Bigelow? And what were they trying to hide?
BOOK 5 IN THE DETECTIVE SEAN DUFFY SERIES
'McKinty's Troubles-set tales of sarky Belfast cop Sean Duffy are becoming one of the great crime series ... Brilliant!' - THE SUN
'It blew my doors off' - IAN RANKIN
It's just the same things over and again for Sean Duffy. Riot duty. Heartbreak. Cases he can solve but never get to court. But what detective gets two locked room mysteries in one career?
When journalist Lily Bigelow is found dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle, it looks like a suicide. But there are just a few things that bother Duffy enough to keep the case file open. Which is how he finds out that she was working on a devastating investigation of corruption and abuse at the highest levels of power in the UK and beyond. His investigation leads Duffy to Helsinki, following the Finnish businessmen Lucy Bigelow had an interest in.
And so Duffy has two impossible problems on his desk: who killed Lily Bigelow? And what were they trying to hide?
BOOK 5 IN THE DETECTIVE SEAN DUFFY SERIES
Book 6
'McKinty is one of Britain's great contemporary crime writers and the Sean Duffy books are his masterpiece.' Ian Rankin
This time, help isn't coming. This time, Duffy has to save himself.
Belfast 1988: a man has been shot in the back with an arrow. It ain't Injuns and it isn't Robin Hood. But uncovering exactly who has done it will take Detective Inspector Sean Duffy down his most dangerous road yet, a road that leads to three masked gunmen forcing Duffy to dig his own grave.
Hunted by forces unknown, threatened by Internal Affairs and with his relationship on the rocks, Duffy will need all his wits to get out of this investigation in one piece.
SPINETINGLER AWARD WINNER
NED KELLY AWARD WINNER
BARRY AWARD WINNER
STEEL DAGGER AWARD SHORTLISTED
EDGAR AWARD SHORTLISTED
THEAKSTON'S AWARD SHORTLISTED
ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE
RAIN DOGS WAS WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD 2017
This time, help isn't coming. This time, Duffy has to save himself.
Belfast 1988: a man has been shot in the back with an arrow. It ain't Injuns and it isn't Robin Hood. But uncovering exactly who has done it will take Detective Inspector Sean Duffy down his most dangerous road yet, a road that leads to three masked gunmen forcing Duffy to dig his own grave.
Hunted by forces unknown, threatened by Internal Affairs and with his relationship on the rocks, Duffy will need all his wits to get out of this investigation in one piece.
SPINETINGLER AWARD WINNER
NED KELLY AWARD WINNER
BARRY AWARD WINNER
STEEL DAGGER AWARD SHORTLISTED
EDGAR AWARD SHORTLISTED
THEAKSTON'S AWARD SHORTLISTED
ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE
RAIN DOGS WAS WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD 2017
Book 7
Book 8