The Ghosts of Belfast

By: Stuart Neville

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Fegan has been a "hard man" - an IRA killer in Northern Ireland. Now that peace has come, he is being haunted day and night by 12 ghosts: a mother and infant, a schoolboy, a butcher, an RUC constable, and seven other of his innocent victims. In order to appease them, he's going to have to kill the men who gave him orders.

As he's working his way down the list, he encounters a woman who may offer him redemption; she has borne a child to an RUC officer and is an outsider too. Now he has given Fate - and his quarry - a hostage. Is this Fegan's ultimate mistake?

©2009 Stuart Neville (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Mystery / Thriller, 2010
• Notable Crime Books of 2009 (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times)
• The Year’s Most Mesmerizing Mysteries (Maureen Corrigan, NPR)

"Stuart Neville's debut novel about the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland is harsh, brutal, and unrelentingly grim. With spare, crisp dialogue, and a gift for turning an Irish phrase, Neville plants himself firmly in Adrian McKinty territory. And who better to narrate than Gerard Doyle? Doyle gets it—and so do we. His whine; his growl; his rough yet sensitive, always-passionate performance gives everything a listener could want from an audiobook." ( AudioFile)

"With this stunning debut, Neville joins a select group of Irish writers, including Ken Bruen, Declan Hughes, and Adrian McKinty, who have reinvigorated the noir tradition with a Celtic edge." ( Publishers Weekly)

Gritty, real, disturbing.

You could feel the dull grey skies and the damp mood throughout the book. The characters were raw to me, sometimes I had to turn my head away from my own visualizations. A strong piece of work..a different kind of look at the struggle Ireland went through. The intertwining pain,guilt and absolute evil in the small cast of characters. The realities are not romanced here. Its worth the read.

Engaging. Gritty. Tough.

If you like Adrian McKinty and Stieg Larsson, you'll love this book. Gerard Doyle is one of the best narrators out there - he really helps make the story great.

A great "read"

Gripping, real, intense. And the narration only enhances the experience. I rarely write reviews but this book took my breath away. This is not just another horror tale. This is storytelling at its finest. It is an accomplished exploration of one man's journey through a very real hell. The story enlightened my understanding of the conflict endured by generations of Irish men and women. Very powerful.

Top Shelf

Great narration, the accents are perfect even switching from the rolling Dublin speech to the hard Belfast accent. Characters are spot on, totally real. Edge of your seat plot. Overall a must hear.

Attention: Martin Scorsese

This is a powerful, suspenseful, violent book. It could make a similar film. I listen to audiobooks while walking my dog, and with Stuart Neville leading us on, we just kept going. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to listen to a top flight crime novel. A special thanks to Gerard Doyle for a superb job of narration. I eagerly await Neville's next.