The Trafficking Murders by Brian O'HareMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Despite the book’s very disturbing and grim subject I quite enjoyed this crime novel with its large number of different characters. The plot was complex and constantly encouraging the reader to think along various directions, trying to keep pace with the investigative team, led by Inspector Jim Sheenan of the Belfast police department. The author manages to maintain a fairly light touch when describing some of the details about the trafficking criminals’ harsh treatment of their victims. This gave the story more of a general appeal to a wider range of readers in my opinion. I was grateful for that but I imagine others who prefer their crime novels to be more realistic and gritty may not feel the same.
It did manage to make me feel desperately sorry for Alina and the other Rumanian victims who were tricked into seeking a better life in Northern Ireland. I felt the Chinese victims’ aspect of the story became the main target for the police team in the end. The plot grew into more of a cosy murder novel at this point and there was a long complicated explanation in the last few pages. The female detective, Denise Stewart, described this as Sheenan’s Poirot moment, and for me it was the least attractive part of the novel. I usually think the same when they occur at the end of Agatha Christie’s Poirot-type detective novels anyway.
This is the fifth novel in a Chief Inspector Sheenan series and can stand alone to a certain extent. But there were members amongst his team of investigators, like Stewart and Connors for example, who I would have liked to know more about. Maybe I’ll read an earlier novel sometime to find out more?
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