"Cross" is an excellent installment in Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series, continuing the saga of a quite unique private investigator. Taylor's unaffected machismo, wittiness, and literary/pop culture references make him a likable character. Bruen's pitch-perfect dialogue and stream-of-conscious thinking easily pulls you in to this book and the ghastly Galway Taylor describes.
If you have never read Bruen before, start with "The Guards" which is the first book in this series (and also a Shamus Award Winner). There are no duds in this series. Ken Bruen is easily one of the best writers honing his craft today, and picking up a new Bruen book "is like sitting down with a good friend" - the quote is my Dad's. And it's true.
This is not Ed McBain-type crime fiction. I would call it literary crime fiction. Bruen's writing is sublime at times, you can't help but feel for his well-drawn characters, and soon enough an hour or so has gone by since you lifted your head from the book! I highly recommend this book, this series, and the writing of Ken Bruen -- you, too, may find a friend.
If you have never read Bruen before, start with "The Guards" which is the first book in this series (and also a Shamus Award Winner). There are no duds in this series. Ken Bruen is easily one of the best writers honing his craft today, and picking up a new Bruen book "is like sitting down with a good friend" - the quote is my Dad's. And it's true.
This is not Ed McBain-type crime fiction. I would call it literary crime fiction. Bruen's writing is sublime at times, you can't help but feel for his well-drawn characters, and soon enough an hour or so has gone by since you lifted your head from the book! I highly recommend this book, this series, and the writing of Ken Bruen -- you, too, may find a friend.
