
The Scholar
The Cormac Reilly Series, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Aoife McMahon
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By:
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Dervla McTiernan
About this listen
A compulsive new crime thriller set in the fiercely competitive, cutthroat world of research and academia, where the brightest minds will stop at nothing to succeed.
When Dr. Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit-and-run outside Galway University early one morning, she calls her boyfriend, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID that will put this crime at the center of a scandal—her card identifies her as Carline Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland's most successful pharmaceutical company. Darcy Therapeutics has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy - it has even funded Emma's own groundbreaking research.
As the murder investigation twists in unexpected ways and Cormac's running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question himself and the beliefs that he has long held as truths. Who really is Emma? And who is Carline Darcy?
A gripping and atmospheric follow-up to The Ruin, an "expertly plotted, complex web of secrets that refuse to stay hidden" (Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King's Daughter), The Scholar is perfect for fans of Tana French and Flynn Berry.
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Editor's Pick
Going back to Galway
"My discovery of The Cormac Reilly Series last year is an example of a happy accident. I hadn’t heard of Dervla McTiernan yet (few had since The Ruin was her debut novel), and while I do like a good police procedural now and again, it’s not my go-to genre. It was the Galway, Ireland setting that first caught my attention (one of my favorite places in the world). I downloaded The Ruin with few expectations and after just a few chapters in I was hooked—hooked on a new author and what’s becoming a breakthrough series. Luckily, that Galway setting has been carried into book two, The Scholar, and the perfectly cast narrator Aoife McMahon is also back for a repeat performance! Everything about this series is smart, yet more entertaining than challenging, making for a super satisfying listening experience. I’m thrilled to know there is more coming from Dervla McTiernan in the not-to-far-off future." —Tricia F., Audible Editor
And so back to The Scholar, which I learned was the second novel in a series the author is writing about Cormac Reilly, a police detective, that began with The Ruin. I was an exceptionally good listen.
Cormac is one of the most human mystery-thriller novel characters I’ve encountered, either in print or audio. He isn’t macho, and has moments of self-doubt, recrimination, shoulda-dones. He also shows a sweet loving tenderness toward his girlfriend, Emma Sweeney, but in the course of the story has cause to doubt her. This creates a lot of dramatic tension in a plot which is already deep into a multi-pronged set of what seem to be unrelated events and mysteries. One hopes that Cormac will knit them together as he attempts to solve the primary event, the murder of a young woman.
There were times when I thought there were too many plots, and as most readers/listeners would do, I tried to put myself in Cormac’s head to solve and resolve them. He figures them out, to be sure, but with perhaps a bit too much ease. I could not; there really weren’t many evidentiary hooks, but there was certainly enough mystery to keep me wondering – as any good novel ought to do – what happens next?
The answer, in The Scholar, is a lot.
As mentioned earlier, Ms. McMahon does a five-star job of narrating. In a genre so overrun with male authors and macho characters, it was a delight to read a work by a woman with well-drawn, three-dimensional characters of both genders.
A Good Story, A Great Listen
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Loving Dervla Mctiernan
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I loved it, and Dervla McTiernan is a new FAVORITE!! I’m going now to buy the rest of her books.
Excellent!
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Good and strong characters, good stories, plot & dialog.Thoroughly enjoyable mystery series. I'll read more and would certainly recommend her to others.
I have to add that I have not only discovered a new author, but I have also discovered a new (for me) narrator in Aoife McMahon.
She is outstanding without getting in the way of the author. Her portrayal of various voices was amazing. Regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, personality.. , I was left with no doubt to was speaking at any time during the book.It was like listening to a cast of narrators rather than one very skillful artist. She's as good or better than any narrator I've listened to in the past - even than the ones I like and continue to admire very much. Thumbs op for the whole package!
Pleasant new find
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Loved This Book!
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Great story
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Very clever story from the author and I hope there’s more to this series. If you like watching PBS Vera then this series is for you. Publisher summary is spot on so no need to add to it. I do use the 1.2 speed. Give it a try
Where my comments of help?
Narrator can just read the phone book=TERRIFIC
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Another home run by Dervla McTiernan
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Another Winner!
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Twists
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