Reviews

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

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booksmacked's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sevenacross's review against another edition

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4.0

I will definitely look for more books by this author. I did not want to put this one down!

that_kitten's review against another edition

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4.0

Crime fiction isn't my usual fare, but I picked this up after participating in Stuart Neville's microfiction Twitter contest. The premise sounding interesting - unrest in the politics of Ireland and ghosts-that-aren't-ghosts.

This is an action-packed thriller. The plot follows a wide range of characters, which occasionally gets confusing, but it flows together well. The protagonist is Gerry Fegan, who is an ex-terrorist and hired killer. He's being "haunted" by the twelve ghosts of his innocent victims, and there's only one way to make the screaming stop - take out the men that ordered their deaths.

There's a great deal of violence, but I believe that can be expected of the genre. Gerry is a hard MC to get behind due to his actions and past, but it's difficult not to hope he achieves his goal. Stuart does a wonderful job of keeping the reader guessing as to whether Gerry has gone truly mad, or if the shadows that follow him are real.

anikachap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

ckpeebler's review against another edition

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5.0

On first glance I would have never thought I would like this book, much less love it!! In my opinion Fegan is one of the best written characters of all time, he’s going to stay with me for while. I learned so much reading this book about Irish history and how ramifications from The Troubles still echo today. This book really touched me and even brought me to tears. I can hardly wait for the second book to come in from the library (although Fegan is just a minor character sadly).