Detective Fiction, Irish Americans - Fiction & Literature, Multicultural Detectives - Fiction, Occupations - Fiction

A Great Day for Dying

Name: A Great Day for Dying
Author: Jonathan Harrington
ISBN: 9780373264131

by Jonathan Harrington

Write a review

Overview

Saints and sinners.

An assassin wearing a leprechaun mask guns down the grand marshal of New York's St. Patrick's Day parade, and it's Danny O'Flaherty's Irish luck to be the only witness. The victim — brash, inflammatory journalist Fintan Conway — had many enemies, but when police accuse Danny's friend and IRA activist Brendan Grady, Danny is determined, despite Grady's refusal of help, to prove his innocence.

While juggling teaching at an inner city high school, romance with feisty Irish beauty Fidelma Muldoon and threats that go beyond politics into the world of hard drugs and danger, Danny uncovers some shocking truths about Conway, Grady and the thin line between ethnic loyalties and greed. It is a line that reaches back to his own past, to a woman he once loved and the caprices of fate that can both bless and shatter our lives.

Synopsis

Saints and sinners.

Charlotte Austin Review

. . . thrilling . . . compelling and enjoyable.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Charlotte Austin Review

. . . thrilling . . . compelling and enjoyable.

Romantic Times

. . . a highly enjoyable read.

Publishers Weekly

For a third-time charm, Harrington moves from Ireland to New York for another Danny O'Flaherty mystery (following The Death of Cousin Rose and The Second Sorrowful Mystery), adding bits of Irish folklore and ancient history and demystifying current Irish politics in the process. And what better time for an Irish mystery than St. Patrick's Day, with the victim none other than the parade's grand marshall, Fintan Conway? An iconoclastic columnist for the New York Voice, Conway has made plenty of enemies over the years with contrary positions. As grand marshall, he has managed to insult every group imaginable, from the Gay Irish & Lesbian Alliance and abortion rights advocates to IRA "thugs" and Loyalist paramilitary "scum." Danny and his Irish girlfriend, Fidelma Muldoon, who are near witnesses to Conway's collapse as the parade moves by, are later shocked to learn that a friend of theirs from Ireland, Brendan Grady, has been charged with the killing. Although Brady rejects their offer of help and won't explain why, Fidelma insists that Danny step in to do what he can. An inner city schoolteacher, Danny manages to squeeze enough time from his daily routine to do a little research into Conway's past and poke his nose into the police investigation. Despite a weak plot and little suspense, the congenial characters and Irish theme, coupled with a release pegged close to St. Patrick's Day, may give the book a boost. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Teacher/sleuth Danny O'Flaherty (The Death of Cousin Rose), now back at his job in New York City, and illegal immigrant/ girlfriend Fidelma witness the murder of opinionated Irish American journalist Fintan Conway. Police arrest their secretive Irish friend Brendan for the murder, so Danny investigates. Suspects include the Conways' estranged gay son, a "dork brain" Celtic-rock musician, an "other" woman made rich by Conway's will, numerous Irish political extremists, and perhaps the police themselves. Harrington's prose may be overly methodical and unconvincing at times, but series fans should appreciate the plot. For larger collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.