New York Times bestselling author Adrian McKinty continues the Edgar Award–winning Sean Duffy series with Hang on St. Christopher.
Rain slicked streets, riots, murder, chaos. It’s July 1992 and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five apocalyptic years. Detective Inspector Sean Duffy got his family safely over the water to Scotland, to “Shortbread Land”. Duffy’s a part-timer now, only returning to Belfast six days a month to get his pension. It’s an easy gig, if he can keep his head down.
But then a murder case falls into his lap while his protege is on holiday in Spain. A carjacking gone wrong and the death of a solitary, middle-aged painter. But something’s not right, and as Duffy probes he discovers the painter was an IRA assassin. So, the question becomes: Who hit the hitman and why?
This is Duffy’s most violent and dangerous case yet and the whole future of the burgeoning “peace process” may depend upon it. Based on true events, Duffy must unentangle parallel operations by the CIA, MI5 and Special Branch. Duffy attempts to bring a killer to justice while trying to keep himself and his team alive as everything unravels around them. They might not all make it out of this one.
The series
Amid the foggy streets and tense neighborhoods of 1980s Belfast, the Sean Duffy series immerses readers in a city brimming with secrets, suspicion, and moral complexity. At its heart is a detective navigating not just violent crime, but the invisible pressures of a society divided by politics, religion, and loyalty. Each case is more than a puzzle, it is a collision of personal ethics, institutional corruption, and the everyday realities of life under constant scrutiny.
Read full series description
The series weaves together atmospheric settings, sharp dialogue, and a darkly intelligent humor that illuminates the human cost of violence and the resilience of those who confront it. From unraveling serial murders to chasing elusive conspiracies, the stories explore how ordinary people are shaped and sometimes shattered by extraordinary circumstances. The backdrop of Northern Ireland during the Troubles is not just a historical setting, it shapes every choice, every risk, and every consequence that Duffy faces.
Through meticulous world-building and deeply realized characters, the series balances suspense with insight, making readers feel the tension of each investigation while understanding the weight of history pressing on every street corner. It is a journey into noir-infused crime fiction where the stakes are as psychological as they are procedural, and the atmosphere is thick with uncertainty, danger, and moral ambiguity.
For those drawn to crime novels that combine historical depth, intricate plotting, and psychological tension, the Sean Duffy series delivers an experience that is both gripping and haunting, keeping readers on edge long after the last page is turned.
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