NEW 2025 SEAN DUFFY BOOK BY ADRIAN McKINTY: HANG ON ST. CHRISTOPHER

Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during the 1980s, and now into the 1990s, are a terrific set of books, and up there with the best police novels currently being written. His last novel, The Detective Up Late, was promoted as being ‘Duffy’s Last Case’, but the street worn detective is welcomely back for one more adventure.

Hang On St. Christopher, (Blackstone, 4 March 2025), is the eighth novel in the series and opens with the same sense of chaos and violence that has infused the earlier books. It is July 1992 and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five apocalyptic years. Due to events in previous books, Detective Inspector Sean Duffy got his family safely over the water to Scotland, to “Shortbread Land”, and now only returns to Belfast six days a month to get his pension. It is an easy gig, provided Duffy can keep out of trouble.

The delicate balance of his life is upset when a murder case falls into his lap before he can scarper back to Scotland. His protege is on holiday in Spain and Duffy is the only detective at the station. Reluctantly he agrees to take on the case, which seems quite straight forward. A carjacking appears to have gone wrong, resulting in the shooting death of a solitary, middle-aged painter. But something does not seem quite right to Duffy, and he soon discovers that the man has a questionable and dangerous past.

The opening chapter is a master class in writing. Set against the backdrop of a violent protest march and its aftermath, McKinty skilfully uses the chapter to establish the Northern Ireland setting, bring readers up-to-date with events, and flesh out and nuance Duffy’s personality and character traits. At the same time, the increasing threats around Duffy add good tension and suspense. It is a fine piece of writing that quickly draws readers into the story.

Once underway, Hang On St. Christopher contains all the elements we have come to expect from a McKinty novel. The writing is first rate, the sense of place is vivid and the story commands attention throughout. The plotting is tight and McKinty ably balances the unfolding of the police investigation and the machinations by the Intelligence agencies, with a mounting sense of danger to Duffy and his team. There are also some terrific set-pieces, including an encounter between Duffy and some neo-Nazis, and a strong cast of supporting characters. As usual, there is plenty of reflection on the past and Duffy’s life choices, but none of this slows the pace significantly, and the book powers through some exciting moments to a typically cynical ending.

As always, McKinty excels in his depiction of the period, seamlessly weaving in small convincing details and numerous cultural references to clearly ground the plot in the early 1990s. Musical references feature heavily in the story, and they are usually enhanced by Duffy’s wry sense of humour:

“I picked it up. ‘Duffy,’ I muttered.
‘This is Dan Harkness.’
Harkness was a Special Branch chief super in RUC intel. Highflier. …
‘Hello, Harkness, my old friend,’ I said
‘Friend is coming it a bit strong, is it not, Duffy?'”

There is even a small insider joke where McKinty seems to be giving himself some advice about extending the series for too long:

“As you said yourself, we’ve already had Duffy’s Last Case, haven’t we? You don’t want to be like Sinatra, do you? A new ‘Farewell Tour’ every year.”

Underlying it all is an interesting storyline that delivers some decent surprises along the way to a suitably downbeat ending. There are probably a few too many co-incidences, but overall this is a fine piece of crime writing, and one of my favourite reads of the year, so far.

The only problem with Hang On St. Christopher is the difficulty in getting hold of it. It was released in the United States on 5 March 2025, but has not been released locally in Australia or the United Kingdom. It is, however, available from the usual online booksellers