THE RAGE is a crime novel set in present day Dublin, Ireland.
Detective Sgt. Bob Tidey is in court and prepared to commit perjury.
The story begins with the murder of crooked banker, Emmet Sweetman. DS Tidey is investigating the murder. Meanwhile, he is called to the stand on another issue, this time as a witness for the first time in his career. A video clip has surfaced and it contradicts his original statement. Tidy has already received a public reprimand from the judge, and he struggles with the moral ethics surrounding the issue.
Complications arise when it is revealed that one of the thugs involved is the son of a local politico, the Minister For Commerce and Enterprise.
Vincent Naylor is an ex-con, newly released from jail and already planning his next job, aligning himself with a criminal gang to rob an armored vehicle used by the Ulster Bank. A chance conversation in the back of a cab puts the wheels in motion. To warm up for the big event, Vincent robs a shoe shop in town.
A retired and troubled nun, Maura Coady, is concerned not about the abandoned vehicle left outside her home, but by the two men she saw who parked it there, both of them wearing gloves. With the continued absence of the two men, her curiosity mounts and eventually gets the better of her. She calls in a tip to the police, a decision that will later cause her immense emotional distress.
As Bob Tidey works the Sweetman case, he finds clues that suggest the murder of the banker may be linked to the unsolved killing of a minor eighteen months earlier. He also learns that the tip Maura Coady called in may have placed her life in danger.
THE RAGE is a superbly written crime thriller filled with action and suspense. The skilful prose draws the reader into the emotions of a complex and multilayered cast, and provides an engrossing look at life on the mean streets of Ireland.
The author presents us with believable characters to whom we can relate. His hero is honest, yet flawed. The ethical dilemma Tidey faces brings out the sensitive side to a tough, hardened detective. Ultimate decisions must be made, and Dt. Sgt. Tidey, like all others he encounters in the criminal world, must live with the consequences of those decisions.
The novel reflects on the political and economic issues of its time, demonstrates the gritty and corrupt face of Ireland and its effects on socioeconomic classes.
THE RAGE comes to a satisfying, full circle ending and provides overall an excellent read.
