The Ruin is a crime story set in Ireland.    The story starts strong with a young policeman (Cormac Reilly) investigating the death of a woman who appeared to have killed herself with an overdose of heroin.   He takes the two apparently-abused/neglected children into custody.   The main story shifts to 20 years later when Jack, one of the children sent to foster care, is discovered in the river, an apparent suicide.   Cormac is now in Galway and new to the police station there.    There are internal politics and a hint of corruption in the force and Cormac  finds himself assigned to the cold case regarding the death of Jack’s mother.

Much of the story is a police procedural, but sections are also told from a different perspective.    Jack’s older sister has recently come back from Australia becomes a prominent character.    Jack’s girlfriend is a surgeon and chapters of the book are focused on her life and her perspective on the mystery of the death.    The lives of the three main characters become interwoven as clues to both deaths are investigated.  The shift in perspective is interesting, but it also breaks the flow of the story a bit.   As the three pursue their leads, the suicides are suspected as murders and a suspect is then pursued in a climatic (but a bit cliched) ending.   The first half of the book is stronger than the second half.    The author admits she had the premise and had to figure out the resolution as she wrote the book (her first novel.

Neverthless, it was an enjoyable read and it is a recommended book.  4.2 out of 5.0 stars4.2

An audiobook sample: