Galway’s Edge: A Jack Taylor Novel

At the start of Bruen’s enjoyable if busy latest Jack Taylor novel (after Galway Confidential), the Irish PI is hired by a special envoy from the Vatican to dissuade Galway clergyman Kevin Whelan from joining a vigilante organization. Edge is a local group whose nominal mission is to administer justice when the law fails. In reality, its members use that aim as a smokescreen for all manner of shady dealings. Jack agrees to warn Whelan, but soon after they meet, the priest is found dead. Then two other Edge members are killed, suggesting that someone—possibly a powerful financier named Benson—is trying to hijack Edge for his own purposes. While Jack pursues Benson, a number of other matters demand his attention, including a woman’s plea to get her police officer husband to stop beating her, the theft of a golden crucifix, and a stranger’s request for Jack’s assistance in killing himself. Though Jack is initially reluctant to take on each case, the needs of the petitioners draw him in; unfortunately, the preponderance of subplots weigh the momentum down. Still, Bruen’s trademark clipped prose and knack for suspense serve the story well. Series fans will be satisfied. Agent: Lukas Ortiz, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Mar.)