The Ghosts of Galway marks Jack Taylor's return from the dead. The last book ended with a suicide attempt, which apparently was not successful. With each book Jack is a little worse for the wear, but with this new entry it seems he has been transported into a different decade. Instead of lists of books Jack has read, The Ghosts of Galway has a list of mountaineering movies he has watched. (Apparently Jack now likes to binge watch box sets). Trump is mentioned a few times but not Thatcher. Jack limits his cigarettes to five a day, and doesn't get in near as many fights.

As usual with the Jack Taylor books, it takes a while for the main plot to get going. This one involves a small group of wanna be anarchists terrorizing the town by leaving animal carcasses around.

Long time fans of the series will be rewarded with appearances by a few of the regular characters, but sadly they all seem to be dying off and Emerald is taking a place in the regular cast.

Ken Bruen is one of my favorite authors and I have read all the Jack Taylor books. I must admit that this book was not my favorite - Jack drags the reader kicking and screaming into modern times. However, Bruen's writing is poetry as always, and I would buy a box of cereal to read the back if he wrote it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

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