When Detective Finnegan Beck is demoted from his high-powered job in Dublin and relocated in disgrace to the small Irish town of Cross Beg, he predicts boredom will be his biggest threat. It’s a sleepy backwater, a forgotten town of narrow alleyways that lead from the cathedral down to the river, and towards the bogland beyond. It’s a place where seemingly nothing – good nor bad – has happened. Not for a long time.

But when a teenage girl is found dead in the woods a mile from town, and a seemingly-harmless local drifter is arrested, Beck has an instinct that someone with far darker motives is behind the crime.

This is a police procedural story but it wasn't an overbearing or heavy type of police procedural book. It has a great balance between the mystery of the story and the characters. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheQuietHours
Pub Date: 08 Feb 2019

In a town full of liars, no one is safe.
When Detective Finnegan Beck is demoted from his high-powered job in Dublin and relocated in disgrace to the small Irish town of Cross Beg, he predicts boredom will be his biggest threat.

It’s a sleepy backwater, a forgotten town of narrow alleyways that lead from the cathedral down to the river, and towards the bogland beyond. It’s a place where seemingly nothing – good nor bad – has happened. Not for a long time.

But when a teenage girl is found dead in the woods a mile from town, and a seemingly-harmless local drifter is arrested, Beck has an instinct that someone with far darker motives is behind the crime.

It seems that everyone in Cross Beg has something to hide though. Wading through layers and layers of lies, and generations upon generations of secrets, he believes he’s finally getting closer to the truth.

That is, until the killer strikes again…

This debut novel from a powerful new Irish voice is the first in a gripping series that will feature his charismatic detective, Finnegan Beck.

My thoughts
rating 4 stars
Great start to a new series as will to a new author , as soon as I read what was on the cover the cover in town full of lairs no one is safe I knew had to see if i could get it to read, and what can i say i actually likes it way better then I thought I was going to , I loved how the main character at times reminded my of Hercule Poirot's and that he had flaws that he knew about and that he wasn't going to let them stop him, I also liked that one of the characters has a hand in the LGBTQIA , and I can't wait to read more by this author or from this series. With this said I would like to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it in a change for my honest opinion

A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC of this excellent book.
I loved this mystery, it was definitely a superior one of this genre. Normally I am not that crazy about stories with serial killers, but somehow this was one I couldn't put down.
Detective 'Finn' Beck has been demoted from his job in Dublin and sent to Cross Beg, a fictional town in Ireland to join the Garda there.
The murder of a young girl in the woods shocks the town and Finn, partnered with detective Claire, is determined to get the murderer even though he's told it's not his case by his superior, a nasty overinflated character who is determined to make Finn's life a misery.
Soon there's another death...the victim the man who originally found the girl's body is found drowned. Finn is sure it was murder, but his boss wants to close the case by determining the drowned man committed suicide out of guilt over murdering the young girl. More bodies pile up; it looks like they have a serial killer in their patch.
Beck is a very sympathetic character; he's been through a lot and suffers from horrific nightmares. He also drinks too much, not making his life easier and endangering his job. There were many instances in which I empathized, understanding his feelings and his reactions to them. I also liked his relationship with Claire. All in all I thought it was a terrific book, hard to put down, with a jaw dropping denouement. Highly recommended and I for one can't wait for the next installment of Beck's trilogy.

Crikey, I wasn't expecting the bad guy to be HIM! I really enjoyed this intriguing examination of the criminal underbelly of a respectable coastal town in Western Ireland, where a lot of people are hiding their misdeeds, leading us on a twisty journey to find a killer. It all starts with the death of a teenager in the woods, then a whole stream of nastiness unravels during the investigation until we realise there's a serial killer on the loose.

I enjoyed the two main cops - Beck and Claire and they contrasted very well. The glimpses of Beck's past that filter through during the story also add more interest and intrigue. It's a very intricate plot with lots of characters, which normally has me lost, but the author introduced the cast in such a way that you knew who everyone was and what part they played in the life of the little town.

I was also pleased that the characters dominated the story, not police procedure, which so often stalls a good story for me.

I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and every time I had to put the book down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again. What a great way to spend Christmas Day! All the stars from me and looking forward to the rest of the series.

What begins as an investigation into the murder of a teenage schoolgirl escalates swiftly into the hunt for a devious killer who may have gone unnoticed for decades. Set in the fictional rural Irish town of Cross Beg, the story opens with the discovery of the girl's body, found strangled in woods close to the town. Detective Finnegan ("Finn" for short) Beck has been demoted from his job as a detective inspector in Dublin and sent to Cross Beg, in Galway, where he believes he will die from boredom. The death of the young girl changes all that.

Suspicion falls on an unemployed local who called the police after, he claims, he found the dead girl's body and Finn's instincts tell him the man is telling the truth. Beck is a heavy drinker who suffers terrible nightmares and has a messy personal life. He is partnered with a younger female detective, Claire and the two uncover a series of secrets which turn the case on its head. Then, there's another murder and bodies start to turn up all over the place - 3 random killings inside a week seems excessive, especially for this backwater town.
Despite being constantly hindered and reprimanded by his bosses, Beck continues his maverick-style investigation and discovers that some of Cross Beg's seemingly respectable citizens are hiding secrets - some personal, some criminal - which will have a disastrous effect on many people's lives. His direct methods upset his superiors but, each time he's proved right, they relent and allow him to carry on.

We learn a lot about Beck's background, which includes a broken marriage and the reason for him losing his high-powered police post in Dublin. There are only sketchy details about the other main characters, but, as this is the first of a trilogy featuring Finnegan Beck, it's possible we'll learn more about them in future stories. Every few chapters, we get an insight into the thoughts of the killer who has a tendency to philosophise about his actions. Similarly, at various points in the story, we are given details of Beck's nightmares.
Meanwhile, the latter's interview of a long retired police sergeant brings some startling revelations about past crimes and misdemeanours in the town.

This is the debut of Irish crime novelist Michael Scanlon. He's a civilian employee of the An Garda Siochana (the Irish police force), so his documenting of police procedure in Beck & Claire's investigation and the work of crime scene staff and pathologists, is first rate. The action moves along at a brisk pace and his use of the killer's thoughts serves to advance the story relatively smoothly. Finn Beck is a likeable character even if, at times, he can seem a bit smug. This is great crime thriller - fine work from a first time crime writer - and I look forward to reading more about Finn Beck.

My thanks to the publishers, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.