The ending of the book, usually one of Bruen's greatest strengths, here is slightly anti-climatic. Taylor is hired to locate a priest accused of absconding with church-related funds (Bruen is always very adept at spining multiple plot threads) and also gets drawn into helping a shadowy crime figure he's had dealings with in the past, forcing him to perform yet another act of betrayal sure to torment his ravaged soul even further. Taylor, who for a brief moment in time hoped to find happiness with an American writer of crime fiction, is devastated when they destroy his chance at love with her while threatening the lives of the two friends he has left, the policewoman Ridge and the shady Stewart. In this book, a small group of angry rich kids plot revenge on Taylor while working on a plan to carry out Ireland's first massacre at a school. The Jack Taylor series itself may be undependable but the character is consistent in his self-sabotaging, brutal ways. Though the plots may be lightweight or strain credulity, his work is addictive, thanks to the great terse prose, the dry wit, the distinctive formating that gives the writing such immediacy, and the keen awareness of the changing face of Ireland. 'If you're a fan of Ken Bruen's work, even knowing how erratic his books are, you still automatically read whatever he writes. To fight back, Jack must relinquish the remaining shreds o Jack Taylor confronts an evil coterie named Headstone, who have committed a series of random, insane, violent crimes in Galway, Ireland. Some people help the less fortunate others kill them.

Headstone by Ken Bruen