The Guns of Heaven (1983) - Pete Hamill

Written by Pete Hamill
Read by Christian Conn
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

A Hard Case Crime Novel, #24
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release date: September 5, 2006
Duration: 05:57:40

On a visit to Northern Ireland, newspaper reporter Sam Briscoe meets with a mysterious IRA leader and agrees to deliver an envelope to his supporters in New York City. It’s a decision with grave consequences-not just for Briscoe, but for his 11-year-old daughter as well. Shortly after Briscoe hands over the envelope to its intended recipient, Irish-born Jack McDaid, McDaid and his bar are blown to smithereens by a bomb.

The bloody Irish conflict is about to come to the streets of New York, and Briscoe is the only man standing in its way…

One of the many benefits of audiobook listening is the ability to revisit stories you read years ago. Such is the case with this action tale. Though first released 23 years ago, it’s only dated by its villains, not its prose, subject matter, or Christian Conn’s delivery. Conn’s crisp voice moves you along at a respectable pace, so you don’t quite focus on the fact that the story revolves around the conflict in Ireland. Instead, you appreciate that here in 1983, Sam Briscoe, a newspaper reporter, is trying to prevent a terrorist attack on New York City of the magnitude that actually happened on 9/11. Conn’s performance refreshes the thriller. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2007,

As with every Hard Case Crime release since the imprint’s 2004 inception, The Guns of Heaven is an utterly readable and thoroughly enjoyable pulp noir gem. As timely as it is timeless, this unearthed crime fiction classic featuring hard-nosed reporter Sam Briscoe will enthrall, enlighten, and, above all else, entertain…. Paul Goat Allen