Heroin addict & Pub quizz whizz, Alexander Lawson. Lawsons habit controls his exsistance and the pace of life in the bay town Carrickfergus. At 24 Lawson is washed up, a failed stint as a dectective in Belfasts drugs squad (for obivious reasons) has left the erstwhile coppers once brightly burning star in descent. Lawson believes he's now a marked man, neck deep in debt and trouble with local unsavouries it would appear Lawsons copy book is blotted beyond all salvation.Salavation however arrives in an unlikely guise. The of murder of his first love no less, Victoria Patawasti. Victoria met her untimley demise under suspicious circumstancein Colorado. The suspicious Patawasi family believe once keen mind of Alexander maybe their last chance to gaining closure over their daughters death. Lawson siezes the opportunity to escape the ever tightening noose around his neck, and wrangler a place on the trip for his part time 'peeler' mate John. Once in the states, Alex wastes no time getting back on the gear, the sleauthing takes a distant second place. Lawson merely goes through the motions to keep his cash flow from the Patawasi's comming. Until he witnesses an accidental murder, from here out in true McKinty fashion the wheel on the apple cart are well and truely turned over.Lawson flight instict's kick in when he discovers warrants have been issued for his arrest in Colorado and back in Belfast, he goes on the lam, ironically further embroiling himself in the Patawasimurder case whilst trying to lie low. He also find himself between the legs on his sycophantic bosses trophy wife, the duplicitous Amber. The fuse is well and truley lit beneath Lawson feet...I McKinty’s debut novel Dead I Well Be and this one follows the same tried and test method, there are numberous plot similarties, which make you think maybe the author is a one trick pony. But ultimatley both contain some sharp, punchy writing, that reads like a movie script. McKinty has aggressive but also reserve's the right to dispense some fine descriptive prose when needed. I bought it as a holiday book and it made for a great read while ppolside with a beer in hand.
I think I was technically reading three of McKinty's books at the same time. I had ordered The Sun is God. I had been on a waiting list for Orange Rhymes with Everything for weeks, and The River, I actually had as a free audio book (loved it from the start and immediately had to buy a used print edition - the only way it can be purchased as it is out of print). Everything showed up at once.This was one of his early books and I have to say, overall I really liked it. There were a couple of scenes that literally had me breathing fast, hearth thumping, riveted to the words. Some people don't like it when an author meanders, in this book I'm thinking specifically about the poppies being picked, the history of Bayer and heroin, and the way he thinks about it. It's meaningful, though it drifts somewhat from the plot. At least that may be how some see it.It wasn't a pretty story. Our guy isn't an easy one to care for. He is well past flawed, but I could understand why he made some of the choices he did. The ending pulled together perfectly I thought too. Really a very good book.
What do You think about Hidden River (2005)?
I normally love this author's work and find his books riveting reading but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. I couldn't "gel" with the main character Alex Lawson, primarily because I didn't like him as a character This was a bit too cliche laden and there were some slow moving parts to the story. I could see who the "bad guy" was going to be well before the final denouement. I know it is an earlier work by a very talented author but I couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed by it. The darkness and grittiness is there in parts and hence my middle of the road rating.
—Cphe
I can't remember how it is this (audio)book came into my possession, it's nowhere near the escapist fare I usually go for. I am infinitely more choosy about my audiobooks than text; have no recollection of why I bought it. I'm just glad I did. A lot of things get described as 'a very compelling read', but this one really lives up to the label. I daresay, though, that I don't know much of the fascination for this work I owe to the narrator's utterly true-to-character voice, accent, and narration skill. Hats off to Gerard Doyle for bringing Alexander Lawson to life.
—Brandifer
I really enjoyed this earlier work of one of my favorite crime novelists. Part of the reason was somewhat nostalgic, as I spent several years of my childhood in Denver, where much of the story takes place. I remember the name of Colfax Avenue, though apparently we never stopped there long enough for me to get a sense of its seedy reality. The book is actually a fairly distopian take on what in my more innocent experience was a pretty cool place to grow up.Two Irish men, both sometime policemen, take a trip out to the great American West to try and dig into the truth of the death of a former friend. Alex Lawson, the narrator of the tale, is in a pretty poor position to do this, as he is currently supporting a heroin habit, even if he repeatedly says he is 'not an addict'. But circumstances in Belfast make this opportunity to get out of the country desirable, not to say downright necessary. Lawson both wants and needs to drag up his skill at crime solving.I had a couple of quibbles with the whodunnit aspect of the book, which I'll leave unsaid in case they would give something away for you. But I loved the story of Alex and John coming to America and the adventures they encounter there, as well as McKinty's usual poetic gifts, and the way the backstory of Alex's downfall is gradually woven into the story.
—Seana
