The Priest
Gerard O’Donovan
Publisher: Little Brown
ISBN: 9780-07515-4485-5
11 November, 2010
In today’s publishing world, debut authors need to hit the ground running and – for the most part – Gerard O’Donovan certainly does that with The Priest. A disturbing tale of a killer stalking the dark streets of Dublin who delights in making the sign of the cross before sending his young female victims to God, by increasingly violent means, and thereby causing a media frenzy that makes those investigating the crimes furious.
Of all of the characters, it is the main protagonists DI Mike Mulcahy – seconded from the serious drugs squad to the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit against his wishes – and new, star reporter Siobhan Fallon who are by far the most engaging. Indeed if anything were it not for these two then the whole story may have unravelled completely, given that Mulcahy’s female boss, Brogan, is way too weak in her opinions, and Cassidy, her loyal sergeant, is so reckless in his animosity towards Mulcahy he could easily be watched in The Sweeny.
That said, however, the prose are clear and crisp and the story packs enough punch to keep even the most ardent aficionado satisfied. Despite a lack of edginess and depth to some of the characters that would have made the whole thing far more enjoyable, this is nevertheless a promising start for the 2007 Debut Dagger short listed author.
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.