I just finished two excellently-written books, Black Irish, a fiction piece by Stephan Talty, and True Crime in the Civil War, a nonfiction work by Tobin T. Buhk. Black Irish is a thriller set in the insular Irish neighborhood of South Buffalo called “The County.” The story centers around Detective Abbie Kearney, a Harvard-educated adopted daughter of a retired cop on the hunt for a serial killer in the working-class neighborhood. Despite being raised in the County, she is constantly stonewalled in her quest for answers and struggles to gain the trust of the locals and even those in her own department. As she battles through the old school code of silence the neighborhood follows, she must confront her own complicated and troubled past as she comes face-to-face with her father’s demons, as well as her own. Mr. Talty excels at writing believable and authentic dialogue and his details of the murder scenes are grisly and stomach-churning – they reminded me of some of the murder scenes in the movie Seven, by David Fincher. And his description of the “Gaelic Club,” the Irish club and bar (and social epicenter) of the County, brought to mind every fine Irish pub I have frequented – I could almost smell the mahogany and beer as I entered. Although the ending was just fair, I thought overall it was a really good read.
True Crime in the Civil War, subtitled “Cases of Murder, Treason, Counterfeiting, Massacre, Plunder & Abuse,” was a fascinating read for me, although I would probably admit that the stories here are not for everyone. Personally, I love American history, and particularly the Revolutionary and Civil Wars have always been subjects that have held a special interest for me. While I definitely would not qualify as a history “buff,” I did find these stories captivating and great page-turners. From the trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators to the Confederate plot to burn down the city of New York, from the Fort Pillow massacre to Detroit’s draft riot, the stories here were captivating. What stood out to me and was a common theme throughout was the notion of justice, both frontier and judicial, and how quickly it was administered in those days, which typically involved swinging from the end of a rope. Mr. Buhk, a Michigan writer, pays great attention to detail and his smooth and succinct writing style is a joy to read.