The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan - a debut thriller set in Cork

In this debut, a retired detective is forced to revisit her most traumatic case when two young women are killed in eerily similar circumstances. Retired Garda Julia Harte lives modestly in a secluded Irish village with her dog, trying not to think about the murderer who destroyed her life back in 1994.  Even when she learns he died in prison, Julia cannot relax and she is startled to get a call from her one-time chief superintendent, Des Riordan. He asks her to return to Cork to help with the new investigation, in case it is a copycat crime.

What happened in 1994 is slowly revealed in flashbacks, beginning with a targeted attack on Julia and her police partner Adrian, who was killed. Julia was desperate to help with the investigation but she is a woman and not a detective, so is frozen out by the higher-ups and annoys them with her persistence. She also upset her husband who raged she was not being sufficiently careful, but Des Riordan ultimately included her and supported her desire to become a detective.

After she retired, Julia wrote a bestselling book, intended as a textbook for those interested in criminal psychology as well armchair detectives. She changed the names in all the case she wrote about so was horrified when ghoulish online true crime aficionados devoted time to decoding the pseudonyms she had used, causing additional trauma to families that had already suffered. This is why Julia left Cork and keeps a low profile in her new home.

There are so many ghosts in Cork. Victims saved and lost. Cases that turned on a few seconds, a hunch ignored or picked apart. Sitting now in the dark, Julia realizes she has no hunches this time, no idea why this is happening, and that reality winds around her throat like a tightening rope. Every hour that passes without a viable lead turns the case to sand, pouring through the hourglass too fast. Gostly shadows creep from the walls and she closes her eyes.

Think, Julia.

This is a fast-paced and suspenseful story with an interesting, flawed heroine who has just turned sixty – not your average fictional detective, unless named Marple or Silver! It’s also realistic that most of the present-day detectives resent the two retired detectives being asked to help with the investigation and act impatient and rude to them, despite their commanding officer having asked Julia and Des to come. I appreciate a book with a strong sense of place, which Jordan provides – the street where Julia and her husband live, the housing development where Adrian is killed, the guest house where Des and his wife live, and even the Cork police station which has undergone changes since 1994. I liked Julia’s dogged determination to find her friend’s killer, her loyalty to his surviving family, and the dog she rescues from an abusive owner. I don’t see how it could become a series, which is also refreshing, although, paradoxically, I am always eager to discover a good, new series.

The Dark Hours is my eleventh book for the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge. I also chose it for Reading Ireland Month 2025. It is set in Cork, where the author lives.

Title: The Dark Hours
Author: Amy Jordan
Publication: Mira, hardcover, 2025
Genre: Suspense
Source: Library

Off the Blog: I was asked to read to a local elementary school on Friday and when they said I could choose my own book, I spent a lot of time pondering and asked for a fourth grade class.  I chose Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill because the girls are 9, turning 10, which I figured these children would be.  Then I added Over Sea, Under Stone in case they prefer fantasy.  They were rapt for both, raised their hands when they had questions or when I checked if they knew certain words.   Then I donated both books to the classroom library, hoping a few would be interested to read more!