{"id":2415,"date":"2025-07-17T18:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T01:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2025-07-17T18:13:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T01:13:22","slug":"bookshelf-the-cold-cold-ground-adrian-mckinty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415","title":{"rendered":"Bookshelf \u2013 The Cold Cold Ground, Adrian McKinty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As police procedurals go \u2013 and many of them really don\u2019t go anywhere \u2013 this first book of Adrian McKinty\u2019s series about detective Sean Duffy has several advantages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* First, it is set amidst the turbulence of the Troubles, the sectarian violence that plagued Northern Ireland for three decades. Social unrest provides rich fodder for political intrigue and random mayhem, and there\u2019s plenty of both here.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

* Second, the text abounds with the linguistic curiosities of the location \u2013 bog (toilet), banjaxed (messed up), sleekit (sly), peeler (cop), bonce (head), hallion (worthless fellow), and, my favorite, eejit (idiot). To amuse your American self, say them aloud in a faux accent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Third, the action in The Cold Cold Ground gets hot, hot, hotter as the plot progresses \u2013 which is a good thing because early on the book wallows in a wee pochle (mess) as Mckinty introduces characters and sets up the story almost exclusively through pages of dialog. In fact, the difference in pacing between the beginning and the ending is so pronounced that it seems like McKinty took note of the slog and deliberately ditched the Prius for a Porsche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story itself involves the suspicious death of a young woman and the gruesome murders of two gay men (at a time when homosexuality was illegal in Northern Island). Duffy and his small squad welcome an actual crime as relief from either trying to prevent Catholics and Protestants from killing one another or cleaning up the results when they do. They learn, though, that there\u2019s no escaping the Troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKinty hangs enough flesh on Duffy\u2019s bones to create a solid character, an officer of the law for whom justice has multiple definitions. He\u2019s the kind of cop we probably don\u2019t want in our own community, but the type that makes for good reading. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As police procedurals go \u2013 and many of them really don\u2019t go anywhere \u2013 this first book of Adrian McKinty\u2019s series about detective Sean Duffy has several advantages: * First, it is set amidst the turbulence of the Troubles, the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[784],"tags":[958,961,770,837,959,960],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","tag-adrian-mckinty","tag-belfast","tag-book-review","tag-novel","tag-sean-duffy","tag-the-troubles"],"yoast_head":"\nBookshelf \u2013 The Cold Cold Ground, Adrian McKinty - Tim Porter's Second Draft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"McKinty hangs enough flesh on Duffy\u2019s bones to create a solid character, an officer of the law for whom justice has multiple definitions. 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He\u2019s the kind of cop we probably don\u2019t want in our own community, but the type that makes for good reading.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tim Porter's Second Draft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/timporterphotography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-18T01:13:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-18T01:13:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/TheColdColdGround-207x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Porter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Porter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415\",\"name\":\"Bookshelf \u2013 The Cold Cold Ground, Adrian McKinty - Tim Porter's Second Draft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2415#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/TheColdColdGround-207x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-18T01:13:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-18T01:13:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/efd6f6b05808f784091b582e4231621d\"},\"description\":\"McKinty hangs enough flesh on Duffy\u2019s bones to create a solid character, an officer of the law for whom justice has multiple definitions. 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