The Ruin – Book 1 of the Cormac Reilly Series
About the book
Galway 1993: Young Garda Cormac Reilly is called to a scene he will never forget. Two silent, neglected children – fifteen-year-old Maude and five-year-old Jack – are waiting for him at a crumbling country house. Their mother lies dead upstairs.
Twenty years later, a body surfaces in the icy black waters of the River Corrib. At first it looks like an open-and-shut case, but then doubt is cast on the investigation’s findings – and the integrity of the police. Cormac is thrown back into the cold case that has haunted him his entire career – what links the two deaths, two decades apart? As he navigates his way through police politics and the ghosts of the past, Detective Reilly uncovers shocking secrets and finds himself questioning who among his colleagues he can trust.
The Ruin draws us deep into the dark heart of Ireland and asks who will protect you when the authorities can’t – or won’t.
For readers who enjoy character-driven Irish crime fiction with a strong sense of place, emotional depth, and moral complexity.
Author’s Note
Awards & critical praise
Download for Readers
For book clubs, media, and curious readers — here’s a resource you might find useful.
You’ll find a printable discussion guide for this book.
Other Books in the series
Book 2
The Scholar
When Detective Cormac Reilly's girlfriend Emma stumbles across the victim of a hit and run early one morning, he is first on the scene of a murder that would never have been assigned to him.
Book 3
The Good Turn
When police officer Peter Fisher is called to the scene of a supposed prank call, irritation turns to fear when he realises that there is no joke. A young boy says he witnessed a little girl being bundled into the boot of a car, and Peter believes him.
Book 4
The Unquiet Grave
For years the boglands of Northern Europe have given up bodies that are thousands of years old, uncannily preserved. Bodies with strange injuries that suggest ritual torture and human sacrifice.
Looking for more?
If you’ve finished the Cormac Reilly novels or want to explore more, take a look at the standalone thrillers or the Audio Novellas.
