Hi Bonnie. There is a very small group of us with surnames like McCarty, Hughes, and Lane that have worked together for years in the political field. We have all worked at very high levels in the political world, in fact one of us occupies one of the corner offices in the Michigan State House and is the Legislative Director for the Governor of Michigan, who is also of Irish descent and loves to sing pub songs with us. Every so often we meet in his office with its 20 foot ceilings, incredible woodwork, beautiful fireplace, and historic decor, close the door, and dance around like goofy little boys and wonder at the shanty Irish likes of us sitting in a place like that. Then we usually head for dinner, a drop of the craither or some of the black, tell lies, and often swap books and such. Brother Hughes handed me a copy of "The Guards" and told me I would enjoy it. And thus it began. Bruen's writing style is sparse, but laden depth. He explores the dark side of relationships, he explores redemption and the weakness of the human condition. And he explores in a real, no shamrock shite way, being Irish. This stuff is not an uplifting read, but it is a fascinating read. These are not huge tomes, they have a story and the character developement is excellent, but the read is a day or so if you read like I do.

All the best,

Mick