I had no idea that this was the third in a trilogy until I came to review, which just goes to show what a brilliant wrier Lisa McInerney is. It may be that my reading experience would have been even better had I read the first two books, but I enjoyed this so much that I don’t see how.

The characters in this novel are so well-written, vibrant, human, authentic and the author’s love for them is clear. They are all flawed, some horribly so, but each is written with a deftness that means you still care, that you still want to know what happens to them. Troubled Ryan, trying to shake off a past that won’t let him go; confused Mel, who for me is the stand out character of the novel – the details given about her childhood, though lightly done, show you so much about why she is like she is; Georgie, who doesn’t seem to fit wherever she goes but refuses to be ashamed; Maureen, funny and kind at heart but absolutely terrifying; Karine, who is a little self-righteous but whose love for Ryan and for their son is the heart of this story. And Cork itself, with its gentrified coffee bars not really hiding the hardship that lies underneath, feels like a character too, described so well, and with an affection that doesn’t prevent the author having a clear eye for the city’s faults.

What I really loved though was the writing itself, clever and engaging, darkly funny, it jumps off the page, prickly at times, but always compelling. It feels so right for the tale that it tells.

I’ll definitely be reading the first two in the trilogy – I’ll have an excuse then to come back to this one!

My feedback is based on my reading the Author’s work for the first time. This book is part of a trilogy, and as a result I felt ‘left out’. I could not engage in the writing or plot as a result . My view is solely on the fact that I read this as a stand-alone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers, John Murray Press for this ARC.

I adored The Glorious Heresies, the stunning Women’s Prize winner of 2016 set in the margins of Cork’s community but it’s the law of diminishing returns for me in this third instalment of what has become marketed as an “unholy trinity” of works.

The Glorious Heresies was a masterpiece and I still recommend it routinely but the pages and characters just don’t sing the way in The Rules of Revelation that they did before. I read the second book, The Blood Miracles, and found that Ok but this was, for me, passable.

Heresies stands on its own – it didn’t need any sequels or revisiting – and the decision here and in Blood Miracles to centre supposedly reformed drug dealer Ryan Cusack, someone who was more of a marginal character in Heresies, doesn’t reap much reward. Heresies was more multi-layered with a know of wonderfully drawn characters caught up in a huge tangle. Here, the spirit is lost and I found the atmosphere insipid.

It's such a damn shame as well as Lisa M is clearly a writer of immense talent; however, I want to read a new novel from her on new characters and new journeys rather than revisiting well-trodden ground.

The final part to Ryan Cusack's story sees him out of the drug business, back in Ireland and trying to make it as lead singer in his band. But far from forging a new path, Ryan becomes tangled in his past.

Rules of Revelation matches the comedic melodrama of its predecessors, however as leading characters aim to rewrite their stories this book also deals with the philosophical. Moral dilemmas abound as characters try to navigate complexities of life and identity.

McInerney creates wonderful and memorable characters, who bring humour and life to this series. However, ultimately the main character she is exploring here is Ireland itself, and something fundamental about place and belonging which affects, and infects, the characters. ‘It was said that Ireland was reinventing herself,’ says Maureen Phelan, highlighting a changing national mood and identity. It speaks to other great Irish works in a conversation about art and its relationship to class and Irish identity, however never at the cost of plot momentum or character intrigue. McInerney expertly crafts her books to provide witty and sharp insights on these big themes, but never losing sight of the people at the heart of her books.

The Cork novels are a wonderful series which will certainly become classics of our time. The Rules of Revelation provides a perfect conclusion for a series and characters which I can see myself revisiting again and again.

The third part in her 'unholy' Cork trilogy, Lisa McInerney once again visits the crazy world of her protagonist Ryan Clark as he navigates the underworld of COrk City,

The book is as vibrant as the previous too, but one feels like this is a story that has now been told and that McInerney should maybe move on to new material

There's much to admire here in Lisa McInerney's careful characterisation and gritty depiction of issues such as drug-taking and sex work, but something was lacking for me, which make it difficult to engage in the novel. It works as the conclusion of the trilogy, but perhaps it was tying together of the threads was a little too neat. Solid novel, however.

I feel it’s fair to say as I had got about half way through I realised there’s 2 other books in this series and it would be better to read them first. So. Read them. Then come back to this as it’s a great one but it’d make more sense if you’d read it’s 2 prequels.

I found this book hard to get into and even harder to read as it jumped about from character to character. Ok it's the final book in a trilogy so it may have been clearer had I read the first two books but even then I suspect it'd have been hard work.

Not a book that would encourage me to look at further works by this author

I really struggled to get to know the characters for a good part of the book, I felt like i was misisng something - then found out its not the first book in a trilogy of books, I was so invested at that point though I didnt want to stop. The characters do come to life, and im sure if Id read the other books I would have probably been staying up all night becasue i was so invested in them

I adore Lisa McInerney's writing, and it's absolutely makes her novels so damn good. McInerney is able to write characters like few other authors I've read. The narrative voices of the characters in this novel come through SO strongly, and they all felt so fleshed out and well-developed as a result. It was so immensely gratifying to see how far the characters in this series have come, and especially how far RYAN has come. I love him so much, and McInerney has written him with so much love and care, despite the many, many mistakes he's made over the course of the three books. I loved seeing his relationship with Karine develop, and I also LOVED seeing Maureen again! This novel took her development in a really interesting direction, and I thought it all came together so well in the end. I basically have nothing but great things to say about this book. Reading it has only solidified Lisa McInerney as a favourite author for me, and I CANNOT WAIT to read literally everything else that she releases from now on.

Georgie was wronged by Ryan in the past ( and he seems to have a son he never sees ) but he's returning despite angering deadly gangsters and drug dealers in the past .. it is this author's skill in making us appreciate what everyone intends and also to engage with and sympathise with people who haven't always behaved well.. .. it's their passions for what they do that makes it work .. this novel is not necessarily plot driven but we are grabbed as we are immersed in figuring out what's driving everyone. Very well done .. complex ... I hadn't realised it is final novel of a trilogy .. didn't matter!

What can I say! Having not realised their existence or read Lisa’s previous books introducing Ryan the protagonist, The Rules of Revelation still wowed me. A gloriously authentic novel on the harsh realities of city life and of my beloved Cork no less. Being a fellow Corkonian but living I. England for nearly thirty years, it was a treat to be plunged into Cork speak and all the wonderful colloquialisms of my childhood. In particular the words ‘feek’ , ‘langer’ and my mothers most irritatingly used ‘snazzy’. In fact the only close to criticism I could make is based on the heavy dialectic aspect of the book, I’d question mass appeal.

The story centres round a local troubled city lad done good. Ryan who worked the drugs scene for a serious dealer in his teens, is back having toured and made a name for himself and his band, Lord Urchin. His plan of working an album whilst home is jeopardised by his entire past sneaking round and up on him.

The colourful characters lend a truthful air to the story and though all the men portrayed like his father and his old drugs boss are tough nuts and to be feared, the women are no lambs either.

As Ryan’s relationship with his ex girlfriend Karine slowly re-kindles helped by the existence of their shared toddler Diarmaid, Lisa weaves the complexity of their feelings throughout the story, blending innocence and immaturity with coming of age beautifully.

Lisa also uses mechanisms true to Corks and indeed Ireland’s heart like Music and the death and subsequent funeral of Ryan’s dad being a focal point. The worry over the price on Ryan’s head from his drugs days is a modern concern only too true in the murky underworlds of today.

Though the story leaves some open pages it has a satisfactory ending and I would hesitate in recommending The Rules of Revelation. Many thanks to Lisa McInerney and to NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this meritable book.

In this latest book The Rules of Revelation by Lisa McInerney, you will likely find yourself completely absorbed in the rather chaotic life of Ryan Cusack, his family, neighbours and close friends for a turbulent few days, as I most definitely was!

Returning to Ireland from Seoul, Ryan plans to record an album with his band Lord Urchin on the island of Inishbofin but his past and present are heading for a collision as heads for Cork where many of his former acquaintances, not all well-wishers, await. Georgie Fitzsimons, who grew up in the house next to Ryan but was forced to leave, has also returned to Cork recently. Karine, with whom Ryan has a young son, Diarmaid hopes Ryan will be more involved with Diarmaid. Natalie and Maureen add further complications to Ryan's business.

The depth of feeling that McInerney manages to evoke in the reader for these characters is astonishing; I lived their lives and felt so involved in their story that I was sorry that it finished.

I had a hard time getting into this book, and struggled to connect with it. Just not for me at the moment unfortunately.

Because its the final book of a trilogy I had never read and wasn't aware of, I struggled to gel with the characters at first because there is a backstory with Ryan. In saying that though as a standalone novel it's well written and full of larger than life characters. There's a charm about it which made it really enjoyable and ill definitely pick up the first two books.

This book is a follow-up to Lisa McInerney’s first novel, The Glorious Heresies, continuing the story of Ryan Cusack and his return to Cork from a long self-imposed exile in 2019 made necessary a means of escape from a gangland death sentence. However, it can easily be read on its own.

In a nutshell, the story describes how Ryan returns and eventually finds an accommodation with his personal demons and the gangsters. But, as the author tells us, there is more to it than this because “it was a funny time to be Irish. At no time in Ireland’s history was not a funny time to be Irish”.

So, this is also a story about Cork and about its slow gentrification and about a raft of related characters in some way connected to Ryan. There’s a sense of James Joyce in the way that the story is allowed to take its path and emergent characters can be described and unravelled almost before you know what they’re doing in this plot. There is a huge spider’s web of connections and families in the novel so this process is complicated and you simply have to follow where the book is leading until it starts to make sense. The portrayal of Cork, struggling to come to terms with something closer to peace and prosperity, is brilliantly done.

The narrative style is colourful as are the events and the characters. Karine is still there from the previous book and still yearning after Ryan who loves her in his own confused way. Lots of the characters are equally conflicted like Maureen Phelan who has the capacity to damage anyone within range and Ryan’s band member colleagues who follow his lead never quite knowing what he’s up to but recognising his talent.

In the end, it’s quite a surprise to find the loose ends tidied up and it’s almost a happy ending even if a precarious peace. Lisa McInerney is a genuine talent and the Rules of Revelation is a great, wide-ranging read and highly recommended.

I wasn't aware that The Rules of Revelation was the last book of a trilogy until after I had read it, it reads very well as a standalone novel. Lisa McInerney gives real depth to all of her characters, and as you progress through the novel you care and understand more about each of them. Touching on difficult subjects including drugs, sex work and gender identity this book feels like real life, right now (minus a pandemic!!)

I was given a copy of The Rules of Revelation by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

The Rules of Revelation turned out not to be my cup of tea. I felt the book moved very slowly and I struggled with understanding some of the Irish slang. To my knowledge, this is the 3rd book in a three part series. I think I did myself a disservice by not reading the first two parts since I struggled to get into the story. In my opinion, it doesn’t work well if read as a stand-alone.

The Rules Of Revelation is the third book in the Ryan Cusack series, following The Glorious Heresies and The Blood Miracles. I haven't read either of the first two books but heard that it could still be read as a standalone.

The book is set in Cork and follows the story of Ryan Cusack. He has a son, Diarmaid, with a woman named Karine and is out of the country due to some things he had done in his past life with regards to drugs and drug dealing. He is making waves with his band, Lord Urchin, and we also hear stories from Mel, Georgie and Maureen.

I don't want to give too much away but it is a very character driven book and you do need to give it your full attention. It isn't fast paced, which is what I look for in a book, but I ended up caring so much about these characters and wanted to see what the story was between them.

The story for each character is built well and McInerney writes beautifully. The writing is funny, especially any scenes with Maureen, but serious too. It covers a lot of socio-economic factors so it has a lot of depth to it. We hear about sex work, gender bias, class issues and sexism, to name a few.

My favourite parts were Ryan's chapters where he would be explaining tracks from his album to Karine.

I will definitely go back and read The Glorious Heresies and The Blood Miracles because I need to hear more about these characters. I am also very excited to hear there are plans for a TV adaptation. I think it will work really well.

This amazing woman can do no wrong. Can't praise tjis 'trilogy' enough. Essential reading for anyone with rish links and for those not even little bit Irish it would do you good to read them!