McGarr and the Method of Descartes

This Cartesian principle resonates throughout Gill's narrative about the violence in Northern Ireland, as he represents the many competing forces in the battle to control Northern Ireland. Catholic Provo extremists are bent upon assassinating Ian Paisley, a self-annointed Protestant minister and firebrand Loyalist intent upon establishing his own absolute right to rule Ulster. Paisley's security staff in Belfast, equally bloodthirsty and equally irrational, have their own plans for payback to the Catholic minority and their supporters in the south. The official governments of the two parts of Ireland have their own interests, not always consistent with those of the extremists on both sides, and the British further complicate the issue. The police of both areas operate independently, and some high officials are actively in cahoots with leaders of various factions. Into this vividly described maelstrom, comes Supt. Peter McGarr of the Garda Siochana, as he investigates the seemingly unrelated death of a rugby star. With the most powerful opening section Gill has ever written, this novel stands apart from the rest of the McGarr series and easily holds its own as an independent novel. Though the characters usually associated with McGarr do make some minor appearances, the narrative's strength lies not with the Garda but with the vividly portrayed characters involved in the political unrest. McGarr himself does not even appear in the novel until p. 65. Readers unfamiliar with the complexities of the troubles in Northern Ireland may find it a bit difficult to keep track of who's who and who's on which side, and even the participants don't always know, as people frequently cross borders and change alliances. This is a stunning novel, however, with an ending as complex as the conflicts themselves. With no humor to disguise the violence and sadness afflicting the Six Counties, Gill writes this one "straight." Mary Whipple