Ed Loy is the Dublin investigator par excellence and the city dominates Hughes’ books like Los Angeles does in Raymond Chandler. From crooked race courses to dark streets and the drunks by the Liffey, Loy’s adventures are atmospheric, fast-paced and gripping. ALL THE DEAD VOICES is the 4th in a fascinating series.
He has moved into an apartment in Dublin's city centre, leaving behind his family home: he wants to break free of the ghosts of his own past, to live in the teeming present. But if that's what he wants for his own life, it's not always what his clients will permit: the baggage they bring with him propel him relentlessly into past.
The police are working along similar lines with their new Cold Case unit. Looking back over a fifteen-year-old murder, they are satisfied by their original findings - but not so Loy. He has been hired by the victim's daughter to investigate the suspects ignored by the first investigation: a rich property developer, an ex-IRA man and Loy's own nemesis, George Halligan.
But Loy has to watch his back: in the murky world into which he has fallen, he can't tell which threats come from the IRA and which from the police protecting their old case. Can Loy persuade his longstanding friend DI Dave Donnelly to help solve the Fogarty case, or does he have to rely on the murderous George Halligan? Does it all go back to the IRA? Are the men who gave the commands now respectable citizens?
In his toughest case yet, Ed Loy delves into the dirty side of life in the New Ireland, where progress comes at a price and no one is free of their past.
'Muscular writing, a smart line in self-deprecating humour, terrific dialogue and an engrossing portrayal of the sights and sounds of Dublin noir' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'This is an extremely dark book, pushing the limits in terms of violence and morality' Sunday Times
'Loy is a winning combination of caustic cynicism and romantic idealism ... [Hughes] works with heavy resonant imagery [and] gives the reader an ending which confounds the expectations of the genre ... which is all the more satisfying for it' Irish Times
'A tense, well-written thriller, very effective at conveying the undercurrent of danger to Ed's investigations. It weaves together the different threads of the story expertly, and every word counts' Eurocrime
'Ever-improving series ... Dublin's answer to Ian Rankin's Edinburgh-set Rebus books ... Hughes has always been a fine writer ... All the Dead Voices sees him up his game with impressive results ... gripping, beautifully written and occasionally wise' London Lite
'A gritty and realistic look at modern Ireland ... the fantastic thing about this book is the characters; they are so clearly depicted and authentic, you genuinely feel as if you have entered the gang-land Ireland ... highly recommended!' RTE Guide
Author
About Declan Hughes
Declan Hughes has spent twenty years working in the theater in Dublin as director and playwright and helping to run Ireland's leading independent theater company, Rough Magic.
Ed Loy is the Dublin investigator par excellence and the city
dominates Hughes’ books like Los Angeles does in Raymond Chandler. From
crooked race courses to dark streets and the drunks by the Liffey,
Loy’s adventures are atmospheric, fast-paced and gripping. ALL THE DEAD VOICES is the 4th in a fascinating series.
