42020 Booklife Prize Critic's Report 9.5/10DUBLIN 2019: Michael Gleeson is a well-respected psychiatrist - a quiet man, a good friend, and a useless cook. As the son of a long-dead IRA man, he also spends part of his professional life secretly counseling former members of the disbanded organization. Michael always thought this would be enough to satisfy his heritage, but when the highly skilled yet deeply disturbed Turlough O'Sullivan enters his office, he sees an opportunity that the demons of his past won't let him overlook.
Haunted by childhood tales of the gruesome history of the Irish people under British rule, Michael enlists his new patient's help in an unthinkable revenge - tracking down the living descendants of the most brutal villains of Irish history - as payback for his country and his lineage.
But Michael's plan for a bloody retribution doesn't run smoothly: not only must he learn the truth about the role models who formed him as a child, but on his trail is a young detective at Scotland Yard, an officer obsessed with stopping the unknown serial killer who is out for an historical revenge that she can't understand.
"The plot twists in this increasingly exciting thriller build intrigue until the true, demented brilliance of Gleeson's plan is audaciously revealed." - Booklife Reviews (July 10, 2020)
"I can see a future movie of Starving Men, and it would be a great one." - San Francisco Book Reviews, 5 stars
"A murder mystery like no other...psychology and history combine to create a riveting and engrossing read." - Readers' Favorite Review (K.J. Simmill), 5 stars
"A masterfully written, complex thriller about one man's obsession with righting the wrongs of the past." - 2020 Booklife Prize Critic's Report
"Unwavering momentum...An absorbing tale brimming with politics, historical details, and mystery." - Kirkus Reviews
"A complex, suspenseful plot with tension so thick that it felt palpable...Wonderful characters with depth and substance. I was immediately drawn in and held captive from beginning to end." - Goodreads Review
"A roadrunner of a novel...the author co-opts the utterly captive reader into an emotional co-conspiracy." - Readers' Favorite Review (Joel R. Dennstedt), 5 stars
"The narrative is smooth, the story flows seamlessly and the atmosphere of the setting gave me chills. This is exactly what I expect to feel when I read a thriller." - Readers' Favorite Review (Rabia Tanveer), 5 stars
Readers' Favorite Silver Award Winner (September 2020)