All Souls

Cynthia Whissell is a psychology professor at Laurentian University.

In this detective thriller, Inspector Matt Minogue of the special murder
investigation unit of the Garda in Dublin, Ireland, solves a
121-year-old murder case and fingers the owners of a cache of illegal
arms that are being put to ill use near the coastal village of Portaree.
Events in the novel build to a climax with the approach of the festival
of All Souls (Halloween). A convicted murderer is released from prison
and begins to recapture old memories that he hopes will eventually
exonerate him. The personalities of the accused, the victim, and the
true murderer dominate this fascinating, grim tale.

Brady’s writing is liberally sprinkled with Irish idiom, politics,
religion, social welfare, geography, and superstition. This absorbing
book plays fair by following all the unwritten rules of good detective
fiction. Readers are given the information they need to identify the
murderer as soon as Minogue himself receives it. They may even succeed
in outguessing the Inspector, who has to overcome a personal blind spot
before he can arrive at the truth.