Book interview: Identity the underlying issue with northern crime thriller Blood Ties
Brian McGilloway: 'When control is lacking in the real world, at least I can control my fiction'
IN Blood Ties, Brian McGilloway’s 12th Crime novel, Ben Devlin is called to the scene of the murder of a man who, as a teenager, killed his friend, Hannah Row. The death occurs on the anniversary of the crime, and, bizarrely, an exact match of the dead girl’s blood is found at the scene.
“I had that idea seven years ago, but until now, I could never find the right story,” says the author, on zoom from his home in Strabane, County Derry. “I love the concept that we create others’ identities as much as we create our own. How would the victim be seen in that case? Would it be the person who had been killed, or the owner of the blood?” As he investigates the case, Devlin frequently crosses the border from his home in Lifford, County Donegal, as he liaises with Hendry, his counterpart in the PSNI. Devlin discovers that, since his release from prison, the dead man, Brooklyn Harris, has been grooming young girls, and attracted the attentions of a vigilante group. Pursuing justice for Harris, Devlin is met with opposition from all sides – but he doggedly carries on.
