I was totally disappointed in this one.  I read it thanks to a challenge to read one of the group’s “favorite authors” of 2020 whose books we hadn’t read before. Okay fine – I picked Ken Bruen who was favorite #3 in the top 25!  (I’m only missing 4 or 5 authors of that list total.) 

*******
A Galway Epiphany 
by Ken Bruen 
2020/ 400 pages
Read by Gerry O’Brien  6h 7m
Rating:  C- / crime 
*******

Too bad – this book was too violent for me, the characters used gross language, and they drink too much. If we want to compare these authors to classic authors this goes along with Malcolm Lowery and Under the Volcano.

I loved Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy and that was seriously violent but it has some literary value to make up for the gore. Blood Meridian is an incredible book, one of my favorites of all time. I’ve also very much enjoyed the whole of Mark Herron’s Jackson Lamb series as well as all of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series.  These are masterpieces and have an abundance of totally redeeming literary value. The only literary thing about Ken Bruen’s books is that he name-drops some other good books – that doesn’t make a book literary even if he does include Burke.  (One problem I might have is starting so far into these Jack Taylor books – there are at least 20 prior to this one. Taylor might be winding up his career the way Robicheaux and Lamb are.)

The plot threads were interesting enough,  but keeping 3 or 4 of them in the air at one time gets a bit much.  No wonder Jack seems a bit old and worn out. 

See this link for an interesting review: 
https://artsfuse.org/216926/book-review-ken-bruens-a-galway-epiphany-a-vision-of-exhaustion/