Obit cover art

Obit

A Collins-Burke Mystery, Book 2

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Obit

By: Anne Emery
Narrated by: Christian Rummel
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About this listen

Long ago, Declan Burke fled Ireland in the dark of night, started a new life in New York City, and has never looked back - until one morning when he picks up the newspaper and reads the obituary of one Cathal Murphy. He sees at once that the obituary is a coded summary of his own life and probably a thinly veiled death threat. He turns to Halifax lawyer Monty Collins for advice, but when Monty starts to investigate the obit’s allusions to Declan’s IRA past, Declan decides to keep his lips sealed.

But keeping old secrets becomes much more difficult after a burst of gunfire at a family wedding and the appearance of Leo Killeen, the commanding officer of Declan’s former battalion in Dublin. Declan and Monty are confronted by a cast of enigmatic characters, including the owner of a nightclub frequented by the New York mob; a sultry chanteuse; and Burke’s hotheaded son Francis, whose resentment and dubious activities set the family on a road to destruction. The subsequent discovery of a body in a rundown Brooklyn flat forces Declan to confront the suspicion that he has been manipulated all along by an unseen hand.

©2010 Anne Emery (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Family Life Genre Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction New York

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Critic reviews

"Strong characters and a vivid depiction of Irish American family life make Emery's second mystery . . . as outstanding as her first." (Library Journal)
"Emery tops her vivid story of past political intrigue that could destroy the present with a surprising conclusion." (Publishers Weekly)
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This second novel in the Collins-Burke journey deals with the history of Fr Brennan Burke's family, the shadowy Irish Republican past, the hurried flight from the old country to New York, and the past catching up for Brennan's father in a dramatic and almost fatal way. The plot twists are many, the red herrings almost as many, but I never felt lost or that I was being taken on an illogical journey. Anne Emery builds the story of a family with secrets, many of which are still too dangerous to let see the light of day. The real backbone of the story is once again the friendship between Brennan and Monty, though it is strained at times as Monty delves into sensitive family history. As usual with all the Collins-Burke books there is a fair share of humour and I laughed out loud at Leo Killeen's accidental faux pas. Or was it deliberate? As we get to know Leo, that's a distinct possibility! With this second book the reader gets to realise that there is going to be a series of Collins-Burke mysteries, Anne Emery is in no hurry to cram everything between the pages for fear she may start a story she cannot finish. We are being taken on a long journey, some of the threads of which only pick up again in the 6th book, Death at Christie Burke's. There are now 7 books in the series, and each may be read on it's own. Anne Emery is very good at filling in just enough history without rehashing huge chunks from the previous books. But do yourself a favour, to get the best out of the characters, start with the first book Sign of the Cross and work your way through. The books deserve it because they are that good. An author as competent, educated and assured as Anne Emery is hard to find these days. The icing on the cake for all these books is the narration by Christian Rummel. He does a superb job. It's no wonder there are literally dozens of books out there narrated by him, he is awesome.

Kept me guessing right to the end!

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Well, I liked the Collins- Burke duo in book one, and even though Burke was a priest who occasionally fell into carnal habits, one felt a certain amount of understanding and sympathy for him. In this 2nd book he really was SO un-priestly in behaviour and language I felt disappointed. The whole book was littered with the f word - too much and mostly unnecessary. The spiteful wife of Collins was another character who I found to be 'unreal' - spiteful for no apparent reason!
The story was heavily involved in the IRA troubles - but seemed to take a very sympathetic view of murder and mayhem. I also found it rather complicated with many characters that allowed for confusion.
Overall, I do still have a 'sort of' liking for the duo, but in this book my fondness was sorely tested.

I would wait to hear reviews, and check out the synopsis before reading the next in the series.

Narration was good.

Hmmmmm

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