After reading The Rúin, I wasn’t totally convinced it was for me. I didn’t dislike it, but it felt a bit slow and unsatisfying. But I kept going and I’m so glad I did. With each book, the series gets stronger. By the time I finished The Good Turn, I was completely hooked. This is now a series I genuinely look forward to continuing.
In The Scholar, Cormac Reilly finds himself drawn into a murder investigation after his partner Emma discovers a hit-and-run victim near the university where she works. The case quickly escalates. Layers of privilege, power, and pharmaceutical money complicate everything. It’s more tightly plotted than The Rúin, and I found the pacing better too. There’s still that brooding atmosphere and a focus on Cormac’s professional isolation, but it felt more focused this time. I got a better sense of who Cormac was as a character, someone who was reserved but felt things deeply.
Then came The Good Turn. This one brings Peter Fisher, Cormac's colleague, to the forefront, and the narrative shifts between Galway and the small coastal town of Roundstone. A young girl is abducted, a key arrest is botched by Peter Fisher, and Cormac makes a career-defining decision to deal with corruption in the police force. The story delves into the police corruption and even outside of that the procedural pressure felt by police and the personal fallout for them. I found myself more invested in Peter than I expected to be, and the change of scenery added something fresh to the series. McTiernan manages to keep the crime procedural format and deepen the emotional stakes.
In short, I recommend this series. The characters become more compelling as we go, and McTiernan seems to grow more confident with each book. So if you’ve read The Rúin and weren’t quite sure, I’d encourage you to keep going. I enjoyed The Scholar a lot, but The Good Turn really sealed the deal for me. I'm reading the fourth book now.
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