About the author:
Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin and DS Lucy Black series.
He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen’s University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb’s College in Derry, where he was Head of English until 2013. He currently teaches in Holy Cross College, Strabane.
Brian’s work has been nominated for, and won, many awards, including Borderlands (shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger), Gallows Lane (shortlisted for both the 2009 Irish Book Awards / Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year and Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2010), and Little Girl Lost (winner of the University of Ulster’s McCrea Literary Award 2011).
In 2014, Brian won BBC NI’s Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors, an award which saw him become Writer In Residence with BBC NI.
Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife, daughter and three sons.
Social Media & Links
Facebook: @bmcgilloway
Twitter: @brianmcgilloway
Website: www.brianmcgilloway.com
About the book
“Moving and powerful, this is an important book which everyone should read.” Ann Cleeves
“The Last Crossing is a brilliant excavation of the recent past.” Adrian McKinty
Tony, Hugh and Karen thought they’d seen the last of each other thirty years ago. Half a lifetime has passed and memories have been buried. But when they are asked to reunite - to lay ghosts to rest for the good of the future - they all have their own reasons to agree. As they take the ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland the past is brought in to terrible focus - some things are impossible to leave behind.
In The Last Crossing memory is unreliable, truth shifts and slips and the lingering legacy of the Troubles threatens the present once again. Out to buy NOW from Amazon.
For my stop I have my review, enjoy.
The Last Crossing by Brian McGillowayMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - in and out over 4 days
Pages - 380
Publisher - The Dome Press
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
“The Last Crossing is a brilliant excavation of the recent past.” Adrian McKinty
Tony, Hugh and Karen thought they’d seen the last of each other thirty years ago. Half a lifetime has passed and memories have been buried. But when they are asked to reunite - to lay ghosts to rest for the good of the future - they all have their own reasons to agree. As they take the ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland the past is brought in to terrible focus - some things are impossible to leave behind.
In The Last Crossing memory is unreliable, truth shifts and slips and the lingering legacy of the Troubles threatens the present once again.
My Review
This is my first dance with this author, we open to the scene of an execution. Tony is headed back to Scotland to face their past and the actions that cost a young man his life and impacted on theirs. Tony, Hugh and Karen haven't seen each other for years, their fate cast by an act they committed and the choices they each made.
The book splits in two, pre assassination (the past) and post assassination (present time) flipping between the two with alternating chapters. It took me a wee bit to notice, just coming off shifts, that each chapter ends and begins with a linking word or sentence, pretty nifty and well done!
The book looks mostly at Tony, main character, and how things centered around him, his feelings, job, attitude and what drew him into such a dark group, activists who met out "justice" as they see fit. His brothers death, him wanting someone to pay, a group who see him ripe for joining, all of this is set in Ireland. Then Tony flees to Scotland and the book is across the two locations although primarily Ireland I would say.
It is a dark read, how easy it is for people to get involved in a movement, killing and how small choices and actions can have huge consequences, impact and far reach even many years later. This was my first book by this author, it won't be my last 4/5 for me this time.
