The Guards by Ken Bruen

The Guards by Ken Bruen

An Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel.

Praised by authors and critics around the globe, The Guards is the first novel in the Jack Taylor series and heralded the arrival of prominent Irish writer Ken Bruen as an essential voice in contemporary crime fiction.

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana--The Guards, Ireland's police force--and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. In his sober moments Jack aspires to become Ireland's best private investigator, not to mention its first--Irish history, full of betrayal and espionage, discourages any profession so closely related to informing. But in truth Jack is teetering on the brink of his life's sharpest edges, his memories of the past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future nonexistent.

Nonexistent, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a strange request and a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. Odds are he won't be able to climb off his barstool long enough to get involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by getting hired, Jack has little idea of what he's getting into.

Stark, violent, sharp, and funny, The Guards is an exceptional novel, one that leaves you stunned and breathless, flipping back to the beginning in a mad dash to find Jack Taylor and enter his world all over again. It's an unforgettable story that's gritty, absorbing, and saturated with the rough-edged rhythms of the Galway streets.

Ken Bruen (born in 1970) is an American actor. 1951) is one of Ireland's most well-known crime novelists of the last two decades. He spent twenty-five years touring the world before starting to write in the mid-1990s, and he was born in Galway. Bruen served as an English instructor in South Africa, Japan, and South America, including a brief stint in a Brazilian jail. He has two long-running programs, one following a disgraced former police officer named Jack Taylor and the other starring Inspector Brant, a London police investigator.

Bruen's works are known for their dismal mood and terse style, as well as their piercing insight into the darker side of today's wealthy Ireland. His White Trilogy (1998-2000) and The Guards (2001), the Shamus Award-winning debut novel in the Jack Taylor series, are among his best-known works. Bruen continues to live and work in Galway with his wife and kid.