An impressive debut - Rated 
I read this book after reading Barclays second novel 'The Caller' as i was given the second book as a gift. After reading it I was very impressed and decided to buy this one. Andi'm glad I did. This book is very well written and the 2 seperate plots all tie neatly together at the end. Theres a few shocks at the end aswell.
Unfortunately the pace is a bit lagging and it seems to be a bit stretched out un necessaraly however all in all its a solid debut and I highly reccomend it.
A poor book - Rated 
A poor book lacking pace, clear plot and likeable characters. It's what you write that matters, not how you write it, and the author should take note of that. The story is also marred by excessive, unnecessary violence - what is wrong with modern crime writing nowadays?
Satisficatory debut - Rated 
This is the story of an American detective who moves to Ireland with his family after one of his cases goes badly wrong. The detective ended up killing a man who turns out to have been part of a duo of serial killers in the 80s and 90s.
The remaining killer then comes to Ireland to get his revenge on the detective.
The story focuses on the present day in Ireland with the detective and his family, and also in the 80s and 90s with the serial killer "buddies" growing up in Texas. I actually found this backstory far more interesting than the stuff set in the present day, which more often than not, could have been "speeded up". Too much padding and not enough plot.
There were also too many characters introduced near the start of the book. But by that time they reappeared, you had forgotten who they were. Very few reminders were given along the way.
To sum up, not bad, but not brilliant either
Lighthouse or Darkhouse? - Rated
This is a great debut novel. Whilst I agree with other reviewers that it sticks broadly to a formula, it is definitely a gripping crime thriller. I just could not put it down, and found myself reading until two in the morning having originally intended to read just to the end of the next chapter.
A New York detective opts for a "quiet life" in Ireland, which will allow his beautiful French wife to follow her own career interests. Her task is to transform a lighthouse for a high-class magazine article. Hence, the title. However, trouble follows Joe Lucchesi wherever he goes, and he soon finds himself, his family and most of the village folk of Mountcannon in grave danger from a rampaging Texan lunatic.
The characters and the interactions between them keep the book moving along at a breathless pace that leaves the reader always wondering, "What's next?"
Start reading, and you won't stop until you get to the end of the epilogue.
All very depressing - Rated
The reviews on the book said "Excellent" "A terrific debut by an exciting new writer" "A knockout". It was none of these. A garbled plot, badly drawn characters and completely unbelievable. A sort of crime thriller written to order following a prescribed template.
And why do modern crime novels have to be so vile to women? Who gets off on this? Hero's wife is attacked in a horrible manner - but wait, she had been unfaithful to him decades previously so perhaps she deserved it. And another victim is overweight so probably she deserved to die as well.
All very depressing.
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