---
product_id: 10971898
title: "The Cold Cold Ground: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel (1) Paperback – November 13, 2012"
brand: "adrian mckinty"
price: "₪57"
currency: ILS
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/10971898-the-cold-cold-ground-a-detective-sean-duffy-novel-1
store_origin: IL
region: Israel
---

# The Cold Cold Ground: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel (1) Paperback – November 13, 2012

**Brand:** adrian mckinty
**Price:** ₪57
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** The Cold Cold Ground: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel (1) Paperback – November 13, 2012 by adrian mckinty
- **How much does it cost?** ₪57 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.il](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/10971898-the-cold-cold-ground-a-detective-sean-duffy-novel-1)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Maybe McKinty's best
  

*by C***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 15, 2012*

The fact that The Cold Cold Ground is, for the most part, a police procedural shouldn't be cause for comment except that no one else, as far as I know, has had the bright idea to set a procedural during the Troubles, Northern Ireland's long-running sectarian conflict. A Troubles-set procedural seems like an obvious and rich source for story ideas, so it's a bit odd that no one's done it until now. I'll take a guess that there's still so much residual animosity and bitterness about the Troubles floating around the British Isles that any attempt to fictionalize the subject guarantees a certain amount of unpleasant blowback for the author. If there is any in this case, at least the critics can't complain that the writer's not up to the job.The novel kicks off with the discovery of a man's mutilated body in a junked car. At first it looks like yet another killing related to the Troubles, but it rapidly emerges that this might be the work of a serial killer targeting homosexuals. Detective Sean Duffy is the lead investigator and he soon finds that the IRA may be involved, and that a woman found hanged in an apparent suicide may also be part of the mystery. This all plays out against the background of Catholic Belfast reaching the boiling point as the IRA  hunger strikers in Maze Prison begin to die.McKinty has crafted a novel that works beautifully as a procedural and as a period piece (the story's set in 1981) capturing the look and mood of a region with one foot in a civil war and the other on a banana peel. The procedural aspect of the novel is exceptional. Duffy is shown to be very much part of a team. His fellow officers aren't just there to pass on important bits of plot information at key moments, they also get to be clever, add commentary, and crack wise. Duffy clearly feels comfortable working with this group and relies on them, despite the fact that he's a Catholic in the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a predominantly Protestant organization despised by Catholics. The scenes of Duffy with his fellow cops are probably the strongest elements in the novel. The final sections of the story have Duffy becoming more of a lone wolf, and they work well in giving the story a thrillerish finale, but I found myself wishing that the procedural aspects had kept going to the end. Also, some of the players who come into the story towards the end are rather high up the political food chain, and that moves things well beyond a police procedural.  The transition is a bit jarring. That aside, the mystery at the heart of the story is satisfying and cleverly thought out.McKinty brings the Belfast of 1981 alive with short, sharp descriptions of shattered streets, grandiose sectarian graffitti, menacing British firepower in the air and on the ground, and a populace that's always keyed up to either fight, flee or heap abuse on the police. The main reason I can believe that McKinty's descriptions are bang on is that they match up perfectly with an excellent memoir about the Troubles by Malachi O'Doherty called The Telling Year: Belfast 1972 (I'm pretty sure this was the book) that I read a few years ago. I think what McKinty captures best is the all-encompassing feeling of dread and tension that people, especially the police, lived with. Northern Ireland, as seen through Duffy's eyes, is a minefield of actual and theoretical dangers, any one which can be triggered by a wrong step, a wrong turn or a wrong word. It's an intensely disspiriting world (even the weather's crap) and McKinty makes it feel very, very real.Sean Duffy is a strong and entertaining protagonist. He's smart, funny and believable as a cop. Far too many fictional cops moan and groan about their jobs. Duffy seems to like what he's doing and is dead keen on getting results. He's not a jaded or beaten down cop (there are far too many of those), he's not too cynical, and he's human enough to indulge in the odd bit of very petty corruption. Duffy's keenly aware that he's a fish out of water as both a university-educated policeman and as a Catholic in the RUC. The dichotomies in Duffy's life seem to find symbolic expression in an unexpected event that takes place in a public washroom. It's an odd and audacious scene that begs for some kind of follow-up, which, I suspect, will come in the next Duffy novel.I have a minor complaint about Duffy that really qualifies as more of a pet peeve: we're forced to learn far too much about his musical tastes. Lately it seems to me that every mystery writer has to make point of telling us what their dectective likes to listen to. In the past few years I've read mysteries by Ken Bruen, Massimo Carlotto, and Gianfranco Carofiglio in which their detectives musical choices are regularly mentioned. It's a pedestrain way to build a character, and the worst part is that these Desert Island Discs moments always (for me) break down the fourth wall. I always feel I'm being buttonholed by the author for a bit of a natter about his favourite songs and artists. I blame Elmore Leonard. He introduced the idea of characters referencing their choices in music and movies, and after that the genie was out of the bottle. One of these days I'd like to see a mystery writer give us a brilliant detective with really horrible taste in music. How about a sleuth who only listens to ABBA and Slim Whitman? I shall now stable my hobby horse.I've read four other crime novels by Adrian McKinty and The Cold Cold Ground is jostiling for the number one position on my list of favourites. It has the tension, fast pace and intrigue you expect from any mystery/thriller, but it also manages to evoke a time and place that's beginning to fade into the past. And in Sean Duffy we have a character who is not only compelling, but, I'm guessing, is going to be changing in upcoming novels. One final aside: is there a more perfect example of Brit/Irish understatement than calling a low-grade civil war the Troubles? If it had been even more bloody would it have been called A Spot Of Bother?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Loved this first-in-series Sean Duffy book!
  

*by C***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 18, 2023*

The Cold Cold Ground is Adrian McKinty’s first book in the Sean Duffy series.  It was a very good read IMHO, and I quickly devoured the book.  McKinty is a very good writer and he baits the reader very well.  The Cold Cold Ground  is set in Northern Ireland in the Belfast area in 1981 during the Troubles.McKinty’s background research, and story line are excellent IMHO.  The year is 1981and IRA prisoners are going on hunger strike protesting British actions.  Each time a prisoner dies, riots and violence erupts.  In Northern Ireland, the Protestants and the Catholics are extremely heated in conflict.  The British greatly increase troops presence which greatly increases tension.Sean Duffy is a Catholic prisoner for the Royal Ulster Constable which puts him at odds (and danger) with the Protestant majority population.  It is also very rare that a Catholic becomes a policeman (peeler) on the predominantly Protestant RUC.Duffy is assigned a case in which two gay men are murdered.  Gay sex is illegal at the time in Ireland.  Peculiarly, each man has had one hand cut off.  Is this the beginning of a gay serial killer?  Or is something more sinister at work?  Then a missing girl is found dead.  The young, vodka gimlet drinking detective has indeed inherited a complex case.McKinty has created a very affable, attractive, smart detective in Sean Duffy.  However, is he just new and naive enough that this case will consume him?  Will the political side of this case become Duffy’s undoing?The Cold Cold Ground is an excellent first-in-series detective story and Adrian McKinty will be able to write considerably more about Sean Duffy.  I know that I will be reading more in the series.  If a reader likes police procedurals, Irish crime, thrillers, then they will certainly enjoy The Cold Cold Ground.  This book gets the 5-star rating.  Enjoy it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Sean Duffy
  

*by M***C on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 4, 2023*

I flew through the book because it was better than I actually thought it would be.  Sean Duffy is quite the character.

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*Product available on Desertcart Israel*
*Store origin: IL*
*Last updated: 2026-02-06*