The news about Ireland’s report on Catholic reform school child abuse came just as I was finishing a terrific series of crime novels by author Ken Bruen, set in Ireland. One of Bruen’s novels deals specifically with the “Magdalen Laundries” run by Catholic nuns, and the terrible effects on children that echo down through their lives: The Magdalen Martyrs.

I highly recommend Bruen’s “Jack Taylor” novels, if you’re into noir. Taylor is one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever encountered in crime fiction; “flawed” doesn’t even begin to describe him. The series in chronological order:

The Guards
The Killing of the Tinkers
The Magdalen Martyrs
The Dramatist
Priest
Cross
Sanctuary

All of these books are available in Kindle editions, except the most recent, Sanctuary.