As the sun sets on the bustling streets of Cork city, a young woman lies brutally murdered in her own home. Former inter-county hurler turned detective Garda Tim Collins, and his new partner Deirdre Donnelly are tasked with solving the case. As they dig deeper, they uncover a sinister plot to attack more women.
Against the clock and with a fierce commitment to stop the violence, Collins and Donnelly race to find the perpetrator before he kills again. But when one of Ireland’s most dangerous criminals shows up in Collins’ home patch of West Cork, that case becomes personal and pushes him to the brink. As the investigation explodes in a brutal showdown, we see a different side of Collins as he questions how far he will go to seek justice.
With a strong sense of place and a shocking double climax, this second instalment of the Tim Collins series is a gripping and thrilling read.
Author’s Note: When Whatever It Takes was published in 2020, I knew I wasn’t finished with Detective Garda Tim Collins. I wanted to see what would become of him and the best way of finding that out would be to put him in new (and difficult) situations and expose him to new people – as well as exposing new people to him. I also wanted to surround him with new topographies and voices, because places form us as well as experiences.
Whatever It Takes is firmly set in the city of Cork, among its cadences, which mirror its rolling landscapes. Before He Kills Again is partly set in Cork city too, exploring themes like sexual and gender-based violence and how misogyny can be spread through social media.
It’s also partly set in West Cork. This is mainly because Collins is from there and I wanted to explore the themes of home and love in the book, and what they mean. I also wanted to explore the geographical features of West Cork and how they reflect his character.
Where To Get It
Praise for Before He Kills Again
“Before He Kills Again grabs the reader’s attention from the opening pages, and the mid-novel move to another case doesn’t detract
from the pace. As Collins is rapidly drawn into the backstory of some of the West Cork men involved, so is the reader. Crime fans who haven’t read Whatever it Takes will have no trouble picking up here, while those already with Collins will enjoy seeing his character develop further here. Like The Game last year, I would not be surprised to see Before He Kills Again appear on best-of lists of Irish crime fiction at the end of the year. A gripping read.”
“What we also have here is a rather shocking double climax which is very satisfying. I’m ready for much more of Tim Collins and could easily see myself watching this Cork Rebus-esque detective on screen. It’s an expertly crafted, unflinching, and creepy-as-hell thriller. Tadhg Coakley is at the top of his game.”
