The Good Turn

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MY THOUGHTS: I took a while to really get into The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan. It may possibly be because this is book three in a series of which I haven't read either of the two previous titles. There was an interesting blend of very believable characters, and a great variety of cases. The main character, Cormac Reilly, has a great talent for pissing people off, particularly his superiors. Garda Peter Fisher has a sharp mind and a kind heart. I hope that Anna and Tilly will feature in future story lines. Books about police are complicated. For me they always have been. Even when they're not set in the US. But in this book, even more than the previous two, gives us Reilly as the One Good Cop. She spends an awful lot of time showing us how the One Good Cop cannot take down systemic corruption, but then of course at the very last minute somehow it all works out for our Cormac. It doesn't really work unless you are a reader who can ignore the previous 95% of the book where it was made fully clear to us that this level of corruption is impossible to destroy. And of course to make it all work McTiernan has to give us some ridiculous coincidences and the kind of irrefutable evidence that never exists in the real world. It starts as critique and then turns into outright fantasy and they don't go together.

Puffin is an imprint of Penguin Random House, the world’s number-one publisher representing a vibrant community of publishing houses marked by unparalleled success. Through our world of stories, Puffin aims to open up the world to every child. Our mission is to inspire children to feel they can be and do anything, and to create readers for life. Things are as bad as they could be for poor DS Cormac O'Reilly . Nothing is going right for him in any area of his life right now. His girlfriend is living and working overseas, many of his colleagues appear to dislike him, and worst of all the management seem to want him long gone. I felt sorry for him for much of the book but also admired him for his conscience and his determination to do the right thing in the face of an obviously corrupt police force. I thought the crime/mystery plot was really well done. I had no idea just who Peter and Cormac should trust. Even when I thought I might guess some plot points, I still wondered if I might be incorrect with my assumptions. And, as I said, McTiernan really pulled all the plots together cleverly; it all made sense and was connected in the end with no unnecessary cliffhangers left to annoy the reader. She is on the board of Sheffield Doc/Fest and New Writing North in addition to being a member of BAFTA’s Children’s and Learning and New Talent committees and the Children’s Media Conference advisory board. Josephine Williams is definitely a leader - and her teachers know it! What other eleven-year-old is desperate for MORE schoolwork?A sharp, funny middle grade adventure with themes of real-life activism and how to help others for fans of The Goonies and The London Eye Mystery.

This new book features Detective Cormac Reilly and is set in Dublin, Ireland 2015. Cormac Reilly has appeared in two previous books by this best selling author. This is the first book of the series that I’ve read and I can’t wait to read the others. The Ruin was an outstanding debut but The Scholar proves beyond a doubt that Dervla McTiernan is a remarkable talent ... crime fiction of the highest standard' - Jane Casey This book's narrative, character development, rooting in historical context and picture-painting is absolutely fantastic, and I think it's a must read for any older primary school pupil and above. I loved Margot and Wesley's friendship development in particular, as well as how Wesley calls out Jo's focus on herself, and her self-realisation. The book kept me guessing, too - even when I thought the end was looking bleak, a sort of semi-resolution was formed, and I think that was the perfect way to tie up the book. McTiernan really makes Ireland another character too. From the talk of playing Camogie and rugby to the wild coastal views from the small village farms, I felt like I was in Ireland. (The only thing I do have trouble imagining is the snow and cold as I swelter in the 42 degree Celsius heat…)My rich homie qualm with this book (hence 4.5) is the ending is a lil too neatly tied up for corruption of that magnitude. The homies had been struggling for years and then Captain Cormac comes in and saves the day. Also they were being a lil daft to the connections between some characters, but it wasn't full on dumbassery. However, the plot was so intricately woven and captivating that it didn't justify being turfed down to a 4. And tbh I'm not really into the whole police corruption storyline (especially since it was prevalent in book #1) but this one snatched my ass in. David Almond introduces his new picture book, A Way to the Stars, a story about perseverance and finding a way to make dreams come true. Josephine is a go-getter, a leader and eager to do better for herself and drag her classmates, willingly or otherwise, with her. Wesley has responsibilities and worries at home way beyond his paygrade. Margot, the newcomer, who to Wesley is a spy and interloper intent on snatching away his friendship with Josephine, is eager to please and wants to be friends with both the others. The trouble is Margot is a bit tactless with her humour. They each have many things to work on and also crosses to bear, real or imaginary. A little girl goes missing, believed abducted. Garda Peter Fisher sets out to investigate and call in re-enforcements to help in the search for the abducted girl. Detective Cormac Reilly, when he hears of the alleged crime wants support and officers sent to help deal with the problem. He fears the child’s life is in danger and knows every hour is critical. But the hierarchy are too intent on a supposed drug bust to spare any men to help. Left to their own resources Peter and Cormac try and do the best they can with limited resources. When tragedy occurs they both end up as scapegoats. It seems too clear that Cormac’s enemies are out to get rid of him. And given his father’s intervention in Peter’s situation, Peter is faced with a choice he never anticipated having to make. The trouble is, as far as Cormac is concerned that corruption is within the police force itself, which makes exposing it a dangerous prospect. With both Peter’s and Cormac’s career hanging by a thread, who can they trust? An intriguing mystery adventure . . . bold and brilliant' Sophie Anderson. 'A joy to read.' Alex Wheatle.

I enjoyed the way the author planned the book. Cormac and his protégée Peter Fisher are split up by events early on and the book is told from alternate points of view. It is obvious to the reader that each of them knows things the other needs to know and the tension builds right up to the end. The book is a police procedural which shows clearly the ways the police should and should not work. It is very well done. This was a good, pacy, murder mystery with an intricate plot of police corruption, drugs and edgy characters. For 9+ readers, this gripping, thoughtful update to the Blytonesque "secret society" genre engages squarely with racism and social injustice.' Guardian Elsewhere the violent abduction of a young girl punched and shoved into the boot of a car takes place and is witnessed by a young boy. When Garda Peter Fisher is called to the scene to investigate he finds himself making a fatal mistake in the case. The dialogue within the story is beautifully composed, really showing the feelings of the characters as they explore their mysterious find in the abandoned factory. With the chapters being nice and short, the book lends itself really well to whole class reading activities; my group of children enjoyed the story and really felt for the characters as their stories unfolded.

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I highly recommend The Good Turn. It would help if you've read the previous two books but I don't think it's completely as essential as some other series I've read. I definitely think McTiernan is getting better with each book and, given that she does use a plethora of characters, I look forward to reading and enjoying her titles for a long time. OOOHHWEEEE!! I've said it before and I'll say it again: THIS is Dervla McTiernan... whoever wrote The Murder Rule stole her identity. McTiernan flexed her skillz in the last book the series (hopefully there is more to come). Beautifully written, deftly plotted, and fast-paced... what more could a hoe ask for?

So begins a series of adventures, small ones at first but then after seeing lights on in the empty factory building Josie wants to explore a bit more and everything becomes a lot more serious. There are several separate threads-a mother whose young daughter hasn't spoken for three months; the violent abduction of another young girl; the suspension of Cormac Reilly and the banishment of officers who support him. S.J. is on the money with this 5 STAR sassy, fun, teeth-kissing new adventure about the perils and pluses of trying to do good! A must-read for fans of her High Rise Mystery series and for readers wanting a story of this age, socially relevant, thought-provoking and engaging. But that night they stumble across something strange. Someone seems to be living in the derelict building! The Copseys have to solve the mystery... and perhaps earn their bravery and activism badges along the way... What a fine author is Dervla McTiernan! In "The Good Turn", she splits the narratives early in the book, with Garda Cormac Reilly being suspended and remaining in Galway, and another young Garda, Peter Fisher, a protégé of Reilly, being sent to the seaside village of Roundstone as a banishment for a suspected unlawful killing.Overall, this book ties up threads from earlier books, but the end is rushed, with mostly summaries which are unsatisfactory. Immediately after finishing the second book in the DS Cormac Reilly series, I started reading THE GOOD TURN, the third novel in the set. At the beginning of this one, Reilly is not happy. As a result of events that occurred in the second book, his partner, Dr. Emma Sweeney, has moved to Brussels, and Cormac is trying to make this long distance relationship work. At the Garda Station in Galway, he is still being hampered by office politics, particularly with regards to his relationship with his superintendent, who has left Reilly’s unit understaffed while the majority of its Garda officers are deployed to work on a drug smuggling case being coordinated by the superintendent’s own son.