Product Description

In this intensely riveting, action-packed novel, "virtuoso mayhem machine" (Booklist) Michael Forsythe returns to his native Ireland -- where a dangerous and beautiful old flame causes way more trouble than he bargained for.

Running hotel security at a resort in Lima, Peru, Michael has been lying low and staying out of trouble -- until two Colombian hit men hold him at gunpoint, and force him to take a call from his ex-lover, Bridget Callaghan. At that moment she offers him a terrible choice: come to Ireland and find my daughter, or my men will kill you -- now.

Once in Dublin, in the span of a single day, Michael penetrates the heart of an IRA network, escapes his own kidnapping, and then worms his way into a sinister criminal underground in search of the missing girl. But before the day is out, Michael once again finds himself face-to-face with his kidnappers -- as well as the lovely and murderous Bridget. There he must confront a series of shocking truths about himself -- and do whatever it takes to stay alive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1037779 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. McKinty finishes up his knockout trilogy featuring Irish mercenary Michael Forsythe with his most visceral, satisfying effort yet (after 2006's The Dead Yard). Perennial fugitive Forsythe has drifted to Lima, Peru, where he's grabbed by a couple of strong-arm men who force him at gunpoint to take a phone call. Bridget Callaghan, a former lover and the one-time fiancée of Irish-American mobster Darkey White (whom Forsythe killed), has finally tracked Forsythe down and offers a modest proposal: come to Belfast and find her 11-year-old daughter, Siobhan, who's gone missing, or take a bullet. Our man arrives in Dublin on June 16, when the city is overrun with Joyceans celebrating Bloomsday. Dodging various assassins, Forsythe makes his way up to Belfast. Back on his home turf, he sets out after the girl, apparently kidnapped by a fringe group of IRA paramilitaries. McKinty writes masterful action scenes, and he whips up a frenzy as the bullets begin to fly. Devotees of Irish literature will also appreciate the many allusions to Joyce's Ulysses.
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Michael Forsythe is a virtuoso mayhem machine--except when it comes to handling his fatal attraction to Bridget Callaghan, the ex-girlfriend turned New York Irish Mob boss who's been trying to kill him for a decade. Fittingly, then, this final chapter in McKinty's Forsthe trilogy forces Michael to sort out his relationship with the fire-haired Bridget or die trying. After rousting him from a Peruvian hotel security gig in spectacular fashion, Bridget orders Michael to help rescue her adolescent daughter from kidnappers in Ireland. As literary luck would have it, he lands in Dublin on Bloomsday and sets off on a daylong journey to Belfast--although it's more path of destruction than Joycean deconstruction. While this novel outpaces immediate predecessor The Dead Yard (2006), it doesn't quite catch Dead I Well May Be (2003). But McKinty overcomes minor missteps--a key revelation tipped almost from the outset and a less-than-satisfying final scene--with his trademark dark lyricism, one great red herring, and a masterful plot twist that brings Forsythe's character full circle in a lightning flash. And Michael continues to play his insouciant hard-guy role with aplomb. "You know how much damage your skull will do to my gun if I pull this trigger at point-blank range?" he asks one inept crew leader. The answer: "None at all." Raise a glass; young Forsythe will be missed. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"[H]is most visceral, satisfying effort yet....McKinty writes masterful action scenes, and he whips up a frenzy as the bullets begin to fly." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[O]utpaces its immediate predecessor, The Dead Yard...with [McKinty's] trademark dark lyricism, one great red herring, and a masterful plot twist that brings Forsythe's character full circle in a lightning flash." --Booklist (starred review)

Customer Reviews

Slainte, Mr. Forsythe!
In this, which the dust jacket says IS the last of the Forsythe series, Michael Forsythe is forced to return to Ireland in order to help the woman he fell in love with and whose fiance he killed in the first book of the series.

When we first see Forsythe in this one, he is in Peru, heading up security for a hotel. For a moment--just one brief one--it seems he may have found some peace after all, a place where he can use his skills but not in overtly violent ways. But then, and quickly, it all goes to pot, and Forsythe is given a choice: return to help me look for my daughter, or die after this conversation.

Forsythe returns for more than one reason. He wants to help Bridget find her daughter, who has been kidnapped. He wants to see Bridget again. He wants a chance at getting rid of the albatross he's had hanging around his neck for years: Bridget wants him dead, revenge for the fiance he killed in her presence all those years ago.

The hunt for Bridget's daughter takes up a big part of the book, of course, but so do other things equally enthralling. For one, Forsythe is MUCH more in tune with who he is in this book. In the first book, he was an angel of death who didn't really much twig to the fact that he trailed doom wherever he went. Now, though, he's very much aware of it. Very much prepared to go where that takes him. He hurts people, kills them, and loses very little sleep over it. He's never lost a lot of sleep, but now he loses none.

The tension between Forsythe and Bridget makes this novel stand out even more than the previous two. Forsythe seems to encounter people who want him dead or in incredible pain every few pages or so, and it's a wonder he can keep his head straight through all the beatings and chases. I must admit that at first I thought "he can't possible be upright after that kind of beating" and "he can't possibly be thinking straight after getting the crap kicked out of him" several times in this one, but one of the things that becomes clear here is how Forsythe compartmentalizes and uses pain to move forward.

All in all, this was a satisfying third novel. I will miss Mr. Forsythe, but the end of this one seems natural, not contrived.

Now--on to another McKinty (a non-Forsythe one)!

Another great book by Adrian McKinty
We were previously introduced to Michael Forsythe in "Dead I Well May Be" and "The Dead Yard". I would strongly recommend reading "Dead I Well May Be" before reading "The Bloomsday Dead", because there are a lot of references to (and plot twists involving) previous characters that will be better understood if you are familiar with these characters already.

"The Bloomsday Dead" is a highly entertaining novel, but in a slightly different way than the two previous Michael Forsythe books. This novel reads much like an episode of the television show "24", with plenty of fast paced action and numerous plot twists. But, as usual, Adrian McKinty adds a touch of poetry between action sequences, especially when describing the beautiful (and sometimes not so beautiful) scenery of his native Ireland. I found the conclusion of the novel to be a satisfying end for our hero (..I'm not sure if hero is the right word for him), but I wouldn't mind reading more about Michael Forsythe either, if given another chance.

Great book
This book was great it was just as good as Dead I Well May Be and i cant wait to read the dead yard, its the most violent books ive ever read and i love it
Adrian Mckinty is a great writer and i will read every book he writes