Black Water

By Cormac O’Keeffe, Black and White Publishing, £12.99

Cormac O’Keeffe’s debut thriller draws on his experience as an award-winning security correspondent for the Irish Examiner, and his contacts in the police and community on both sides of the law.

The journalist-turned-author sets his novel in the gritty ganglands in Dublin. His female protagonist is Detective Garda Tara Crowe, who is dealing with the gang terrorising the streets alongside Dublin’s Grand Canal.

After the sudden death of a woman is linked to threats from gang members, Crowe sets out in pursuit of the shadowy ringleader of this notorious crew. The closer she gets, the further away she is from discovering the truth – the feared individual she seeks goes only by the name Ghost.

Ghost recruits children to carry out his orders, and the plot thickens when meet Jig, a 10-year-old recruit, and get an insight into the social conditions that led him into Ghost’s crew at such a young age.

Children’s football coach Shay tries to protect boys like Jig from Ghost’s evil influence, but there is only so much he can do.

Tension mounts when Ghost has a big job for Jig, and Shay struggles to keep looming danger at bay.

O’Keeffe goes into great detail in this complex mystery-thriller, and it is clear he has considerable knowledge of gangs and the police force along Dublin’s Grand Canal, and the dynamics between them.

Although a lively and enjoyable read, it lost me as the plot progressed, lacking the grip of other crime novels, and becoming predictable towards the end.

Review by Rachel Scorgie