JACK TAYLOR NOVELS Headstone The Devil Sanctuary Cross Priest The Dramatist The Magdalen Martyrs The Killing of the Tinkers The Guards BRANT NOVELS CRIME NOVELS MAX & ANGELA NOVELS CROSS UK & US Cross (kros/ noun, verb, & adjective) means an ancient instrument of torture, or, in a very bad humour, or, a punch thrown across an opponent's punch. Jack Taylor brings death and pain to everyone he loves. His only hope of redemption - his surrogate son, Cody - is lying in hospital in a coma. At least he still has Ridge, his old friend from the Guards, though theirs is an unorthodox relationship. When she tells him that a boy has been crucified in Galway city, he agrees to help her search for the killer. Jack's investigations take him to many of his old haunts where he encounters ghosts, dead and living. Everyone wants something from him, but Jack is not sure he has anything left to give. Maybe he should sell up, pocket his Euros and get the hell out of Galway like everyone else seems to be doing. Then the sister of the murdered boy is burned to death, and Jack decides he must hunt down the killer, if only to administer his own brand of rough justice. Buy the book from Amazon, Amazon.co.uk or an independent bookstore. PRAISE "His insights into pain, loss and Irishness are unforgettable."    —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "An amazing portrait of a peculiarly Irish form of despair, and nary a page passes without a memorably mordant laugh, a wonderful turn of phrase, or an aphorism that any crime fan will want to share with another devotee."    —Booklist (starred review) "This is dark-side stuff from a master."    —Kirkus Reviews "CROSS sucks you into the dark, gritty streets of Galway."    —Entertainment Weekly "A little recap for those not familiar with the Jack Taylor series, as Taylor is not your normal P.I. and Bruen not your normal crime-writer. As Bruen holds a PhD in Metaphysics, you will find surreal insights into the human condition all seen through the troubled and cynical eye of his alter ego - Jack Taylor, a man displaced from his former position as a `guard' [an Irish Policeman], now etching a living as a private-eye of sorts. Bruen's Jack Taylor novels are not plot driven, but character driven tales of the darkness that lurks in the heart of the changing society that we find ourselves in.... If you like your crime thrillers to challenge the way you think—Bruen's your man. "    —Ali Karim, Shots Magazine