The Detective Up Late (The Sean Duffy Series, #7)

by Adrian McKinty

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Detective Up Late is the 7th Sean Duffy procedural mystery by Adrian McKinty. Released 8th Aug 2023 by Blackstone, it's 317 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in May 2024 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

This is a consistently top notch procedural series from a perceptive and immensely talented author. From the beginning, it's been nuanced, perceptive, and tension filled. The characters, especially the titular series character Sean Duffy, have evolved over the course of the books and are fully three dimensional with believable (sometimes regrettable) moral senses and internal motivations. It's set in the 1980s-90s and the author manages to really capture the time period and culture.

This is an engaging book from the start. Sean's got a lot more to live for than when he started as an RC constable in the mostly Protestant RUC during "the troubles". Trouble soon finds him however, when he starts to look into the disappearance of a 15 year old traveller girl and he winds up neck deep in it, trying to solve her disappearance and bring evildoers to justice, without getting himself, his colleagues, or his family killed in the process. 

As with all the books in the series, it's very well told, and the author has a masterful style of storytelling, well engineered, precise, and tension filled. The denouement and resolution are (as always) satisfying. The subject matter is often gritty, and there are descriptions of violence, racism, xenophobia, etc which might be distressing for some readers (and should be). In point of fact, it's an ongoing linchpin of the entire series set up, since Duffy's a Roman Catholic often derided by his mostly Protestant colleagues, living in Northern Ireland in the 80s. 

Five stars. VERY well written. Highly recommended for public library acquisition, home reading, and for book club discussion. The series would be a good candidate for a long binge / buddy read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes