Green Hell

I’ve read at least 15 books by Ken Bruen, and his protagonist, Jack Taylor, may be my favorite character in all of the crime novel genre (i.e., better than Connelly’s Bosch, Burke’s Robicheaux, Box’s Pickett, Child’s Reacher, etc.) High praise, indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed this pre-publication read, Green Hell, and the book is due for release in July 2015. But, if you aren’t already familiar with Taylor, this is not the place to start.

Green Hell is in two parts. First, an author is trying to write a biography of Taylor, and in so doing, many of Jack’s earlier adventures are relived. But, the character who is writing the novel about Taylor, Boru Kennedy, is too fixated on the violence and drug/alcohol abuse which have plagued Taylor. I’ve always thought Taylor’s intermittent triumphs over his demons was one of the best parts of the stories. Bruen clearly writes with knowledge and compassion about the world of addictions, but his fictional biographer Kennedy does not capture that side of Jack.

The second part of the story is about Kennedy being accused of the murder of the man Jack is after, a college professor, Anthony De Burgo, who is not only bedding, but badly abusing his female college students. Of course, that idea is ridiculous, and before Kennedy can be cleared and released from jail, he commits suicide, thereby only adding fuel to the fire for Jack to deal with de Burgo. It’s Jack’s plan to “take him off the board.” This takes us to Emerald, the mysterious woman who is Jack’s female counterpart to violence. If I tell you more, I’d give away the plot, which is too good to reveal.

In summary, good stuff. Ken Bruen’s writing is unique and powerful. He remains one of my go-to guys, near the top of my power rotation of authors.