Review: A Ferry Leaves Dublin
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2014
I first met Detective Inspector Ian Drake in Stephen Puleston's first book, 'Brass In Pocket'. This is an extraordinary series featuring the beautiful country of North Wales, and the singular obsessive DI Ian Drake. This is a man with severe OCD, Obsessive Complusive Disease, that interferes with Drake's job. He works with the north Wales Police Force. His colleague Caren Waits has a habit of swirling her tea in her mouth and taking loud gulps of said tea, that annoys Drake immensely. She lives on a farm, and he often fears she brings unknown specks on her boots into his 'clean as a whistle' car. He notes his colleagues, slovenly, in his mind, apparel. And, after awhile their habits became annoying to me. His wife, Sian, is a physician, and she has become the caretaker to their two girls because as she complains, Ian is hardly ever home. His OCD and his work has taken him away from his family. As the novel proceeds, we realize just how much Ian Drake's life is ruled by his obsessions.A ferry has left Dublin, and a dead man is found on this ship. Thus the novel begins, and as we find out, we have far to go. DI Drake runs a very tight ship, so to speak, he notices everything, runs minutiae over and over in his mind, and with the three officers in his group, Caren, Winder and Howick, they have a great deal of work ahead. Drake is a tough task master, and he pushes them. He works as hard as they do, all the time wondering if they note his peculiarities. This is a difficult case with few clues until one of Drake's relatives, just out of prison, let's him know in an aside conversation, that the murder was drug related. Drake can't run on that information, but it plays in his mind.This investigation leads to many places, and each clue leads to others. All the while, DI Drake is trying to deal with his obsessions, seek counseling, keep his marriage intact, spend time with his dad who is ill, and keep his new boss out of his hair. Just as we think we know where this investigation is leading, it changes course. One of the more interesting aspects of DI Drake is his ritual in coffee making. Hot water at a certain degree, good coffee steeped for a certain set of minutes, and then drunk. His colleague's eating habits, lunch grabbed in the cafeteria, candy bars and, always pastries of some sort, with the sugar left circling their mouths. After reading this series, I am starting to watch the eating and personal habits of others. I know OCD is not contagious, but, I have found some strange things out there!The writing is first rate, the police/procedural/mystery brings us the same sort of crimes we would find anywhere. However, this series introduces us to a country we might never visit except in books and film, and the story lines always keep us on the tip of our toes. It is difficult to put this book down after you have started.Highly Recommended. prisrob 01-31-14