Rain Dogs: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel

McKinty’s new addition to his police procedural series featuring Sean Duffy, a detective in 1980s Belfast, kicks off when a young female journalist is found dead in the locked courtyard of Carrickfergus Castle. While the likable Duffy takes listeners through the twists and turns of the plot, the author paints a vivid, dimensional portrait of the man, the town, and the time. As the voice of nearly all of McKinty’s novels, including the four previous in this series, native Irishman Doyle is no stranger to his well-plotted, darkly funny, socially conscious prose as well as the beaten-but-never-bowed Duffy. He delivers the detective’s narration in a breezy, high-energy voice that magically retains its lyrical quality even when Duffy is down in the dumps. He also employs a bouquet of brogues in defining other coppers, including Duffy’s loyal assistant, a caretaker of the castle, and various townsfolk. For a visiting delegation of businessmen from Finland, Doyle adds a chilly Nordic touch to their conversation about creating a local factory for manufacturing mobile phones. Though the project is beneficial to the area, when Duffy discusses it, his voice is rich with sarcasm, indicating his suspicion it will somehow involve and derail his investigation. A Prometheus Books/Seventh Street hardcover. (Mar.)