The Guards Author:Ken Bruen The most astonishing piece of crime fiction to come along in years-gritty, absorbing, and saturated with the rough-edged rhythms of the Galway streets. Still mourning the decades-old death of his father, stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Sochna-The Guards, Ireland's police force-and staring at the world through the smoky bot... more »tom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. Nothing, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a strange request and a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. Odds are he won't be able to climb off his barstool long enough to get involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by getting hired, Jack has little idea of what's in store for him in this riveting, darkly humorous novel. Stark, violent, sharp, and funny,The Guards is an exceptional novel, one that will leave readers stunned and breathless, flipping back to the beginning in a mad dash to find Jack Taylor and enter his world all over again. Praised by writers and critics around the globe, The Guards heralds the arrival of an essential new crime novelist.« less