Blog Tour: Whatever It Takes by Tadhg Coakley

Today, I am delighted to be hosting Tadhg Coakley on the latest leg of his blog tour to celebrate the launch of his great new thriller Whatever It Takes. My thanks to Kelly of Love Books Tours for inviting me to take part, and to the publisher, Mercier Press, for providing the ebook for review.

Here’s what I thought of the book:

Detective Garda Collins is a local hero, a former hurling star who’s helped his county to two All-Ireland championships. He’s recently returned to work after a break down. And he’s a man with a mission: to bring down local gangster Dominic Mulloy, whose world centres around drugs, violence and prostitution. But Mulloy has never been caught out before. And he has at least one ally in the police. Collins may not be able to fulfill his mission playing by the book. So just how far will he have to go? Throw in the kidnapping of two teenagers, each high profile for different reasons, and the scene is set for a thrilling battle.

Tadhg Coakley

Tadhg Coakley’s background makes him ideally suited to writing this book. He’s a Cork man, born and bred, and now lives in Cork City; he knows his book’s main location well. His sports knowledge shines through too. His research was thorough and his descriptions showed that, but without the hint of an information dump.

In Tim Collins, we have a protagonist who fits many of the stereotypes of the genre. A flawed personality; issues in his personal life; a willingness to break the rules if need be. There were definite echoes of John Rebus, Nick Dixon, or Kim Stone. And there was even a Morse-like insistence in the use of his surname only. But that’s not to suggest this was derivative in any way. The setting in the west of Ireland, on the periphery of the sports world, brought a refreshing new approach to a familiar theme.

But what struck me most about this book was the simplicity and elegance of the prose. It’s beautifully written. As a writer myself, I find myself pulled up by awkward phrases or clunky construction. There was none of that. The words just flowed.

Whatever It Takes is the first in a series. I look forward very much to reading more about Detective Garda Collins. Highly recommended, especially to fans of Ian Rankin, Damien Boyd or Angela Marsons.

You can find your copy of Whatever It Takes by clicking here.

By Elizabeth Ducie

Elizabeth Ducie was a successful international manufacturing consultant, when she decided to give it all up and start telling lies for a living instead.

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