I Hear The Sirens In The Street by Adrian McKinty

 

The time is 1982 and the place is Belfast, Ireland in the midst of 'The Troubles'.  Detective Inspector Sean Duffy is an usual detective in this time and place.  He is a college graduate in psychology rather than coming to the police straight out of secondary education.  He is also a Catholic which makes him mistrusted both by the other police who are overwhelmingly Protestant and who regard Catholics as those who make their daily lives dangerous and by the Catholics around him who regard him as a traitor.

Life is never boring for a policeman.  The latest case is a man found stuffed in a suitcase.  After investigating, the man turns out to be an American tourist who is an ex-military man judging by a tattoo.  He has been poisoned by a rare poison. Who is he and what in the world was he doing in Northern Ireland to get himself killed?  The investigation uncovers links to American industries relocating to Ireland, notably the automotive factory owned by John DeLoren, aristocratic Irish landowners down on their luck, land rich but money poor and ready to make money however, and enticing women who seem to take an interest in Duffy.

Along with the investigation there is plenty of other things going on.  The Troubles make every day tense with the need to check under one's car every time before turning the ignition.  A riot on Duffy's street flares up when a young African-American woman moves in to the dismay of those already living there.  There are tensions at work as Duffy tries to do what needs to be done regardless of rules and while training his subordinates.  Then there is a changing list of women who he is interested in.

I listened to this novel and it was a glorious experience.  The narrator is Gerald Doyle who has narrated scores of novels.  He was an out of work actor who more or less fell into reading audiobooks and his warm, lilting Irish voice is perfect as a reflection of Duffy.  The book is the second in the Sean Duffy series and readers will find a multilayered book that portrays the era as well as providing a twisting mystery.  This book is recommended for readers of mystery.