by Ken Bruen (Author)

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.

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Advance Praise for Ken Bruen and "The Guards
""The Guards blew me away. It's dark, funny, and moving--just for starters. With a sharp eye and a lyrical voice, Ken Bruen takes us on a powerful odyssey through the mean streets of Galway, straight into the Irish heart. Bruen's tale is a potent draft of desire and hopelessness, conviction and surrender, inadvertent heroism and unexpected grace. This is mystery writing of a high order."--T. Jefferson Parker, author of "Black Water and "Silent Joe
""The Guards is a wonderful book, wrenching and real, fast, funny and wise in every sense. Why the hell haven't I heard of Ken Bruen before? He's a terrific writer and The Guards is one of the most mesmerizing works of crime fiction I've ever read. I'm going to read the rest of his work now, so don't bother me for a while. And when he's got a new one, send it to me quick. This guy is the real thing."--James W. Hall, author of "Blackwater Sound
""The Guards is raw, hard, bitter, and amazing. It's got that ancient feel to it, as of a primal story being retold with a fine, careless Irish swagger. It's as if Bruen made up his mind to tell us this story whether we wanted to hear it or not. Oh, we do. For sure."--Jon A. Jackson, author of "Badger Games
""The Guards is an astounding novel, a poetic account of a desperation as deep and cold as the North Sea, retribution, and resurrection. It's so good I can't think of it as a crime novel. It's a fine book with some crimes."--James Crumley, author of" The Final Country
""The Guards is a pint and a half of perfect book. Make it this year's specialty of the house."--Boston Teran, author of "The Prince of Deadly Weapons
""The Guardskicked my ass--it's up there with the best. If Elmore Leonard got together with James Joyce to write a Spencer novel, this is what you'd get!"--David Means, author of "Assorted Fire Events

Author Biography

Ken Bruen has been an English teacher in Africa, Japan, Southeast Asia, and South America. He has been a finalist for the Edgar and Anthony Awards, and has won a Macavity Award, a Barry Award, and two Shamus Awards for the Jack Taylor series. He is also the author of the Inspector Brant series. Several of Bruen's novels have been adapted for the screen: The first six jack Taylor novels were adapted into a television series starring Iain Glen; Blitz was adapted into a movie starring Jason Statham; and London Boulevard was adapted into a film starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley. Bruen lives in Galway, Ireland.

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