Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly

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 a lonely clearing on the high bog where three masked gunmen will force 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

THEAKSTONS AWARD SHORTLISTED

ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEE

**

Review

Adrian McKinty has come up with an unforgettable title for the latest terrific novel in his superb DI Sean Duffy series, which is set in Northern Ireland. Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly (Serpent's Tail £12.99) is a line from a song by Tom Waits, and it perfectly sums up the paranoid atmosphere at Carrickfergus CID in the late 1980s. The murder of a small-time drug dealer doesn't obviously have political implications, but it leads back to the activities of a notorious police unit, the B Specials, in 1968. McKinty moves seamlessly between action and reflection, and his sardonic tone is a delight.

   

- The London Sunday Times

Police At The Station is another great addition to the series. McKinty's hero is irreverent, charming, and mordantly, laugh-out-loud funny, and his eclectic personal soundtrack and bitter, pragmatic politics make for vivid period detail.

   

- Kirkus starred review

Duffy's investigation into the death of a pusher takes him down some dangerous roads, always checking under his Beemer for a mercury tilt switch bomb before he careens off in it. Driving it all is McKinty's compelling literary style: Duffy's first-person narrative and internalized musing are lyrical and lengthy at first, then reduced intermittently to terse one sentence statements that move the story along at an astonishing pace. A must read for fans of Stuart Neville and Celtic noir. - Jane Murphy

   

-Booklist starred review

THE DETECTIVE SEAN DUFFY NOVELS HAVE WON SPINETINGLER, BARRY, AND NED KELLY AWARDS AND HAVE BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGAR, ANTHONY, CWA IAN FLEMING, AND THEAKSTON AWARDS.

“McKinty is one of the great storytellers writing crime fiction today.” 

– DON WINSLOW, New York Times-bestselling author of The Cartel

"McKinty is one of Britain's great contemporary crime writers and the Sean Duffy books are his masterpiece." 

– IAN RANKIN, New York Times-bestselling author of *Rather Be the Devil *

“McKinty's hero is irreverent, charming, and mordantly, laugh-out-loud funny, and his eclectic personal soundtrack and bitter, pragmatic politics make for vivid period detail.”

– Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

"McKinty continues to astound .... [His] novels are, in my mind, already elevated to canonical status.... McKinty takes the time-tested conventions of the mystery genre and builds a narrative utterly unique and compelling over them.... In short, McKinty has learned from the masters, and in my opinion, now is one."

– MysteryPeople

"Mixes a mordant wit and casual, unpredictable violence that vividly portrays a turbulent time.... McKinty is in full command of language, plot, and setting in a terrifying period of history that sometimes seems forgotten. Fans of gritty Northern Irish crime writers such as Stuart Neville, Declan Hughes, and Brian McGilloway will enjoy this talented author."

– Library Journal STARRED REVIEW

"Remarkably clever.... Written in a darkly funny, laconic style... riveting. The noir ambiance is irresistible, and the Belfast setting is disturbingly vivid.... Sure to inspire readers to go back and catch up on more of McKinty's superb writing.... An excellent noir thriller."

– Shelf Awareness for Readers

About the Author

Adrian McKinty is the author of eighteen novels, including the Detective Sean Duffy novels The Cold Cold Ground, I Hear the Sirens in the Street, In the Morning I'll Be Gone, Gun Street Girl, and Rain Dogs and the standalone historical The Sun Is God. The Cold Cold Ground won the Spinetingler Award. I Hear the Sirens in the Street won the Barry Award and was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award. In the Morning I'll Be Gone won the Ned Kelly Award and was selected by the American Library Association as one of the top-10 crime fiction novels of 2014. Gun Street Girl was shortlisted for the Anthony, Ned Kelly, and Edgar Awards. Born and raised in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, McKinty was called "the best of the new generation of Irish crime novelists" in the Glasgow Herald.