Cork takes centre stage in Tadhg Coakley’s new novel

Oscar Wilde once claimed he never travelled without his diary because ‘One should always have something sensational to read on the train’.

If you have forgotten your diary, a good alternative would be an engaging book like the latest offering Dark Streets from Mallow-born author Tadhg Coakley.

This is the third in his ‘Irish Noir’ series featuring Detective Tim Collins, though indeed it could be described as ‘Munster Noir’ as it is set both in Cork city and the lush countryside of Co. Kerry.

Part One of this series, the crime novel Whatever It Takes, was chosen as the 2020 Cork One City One Book, and Detective Collins was welcomed back by enthusiastic readers in a second outing, Before He Kills Again.

This third book featuring the Cork detective sees the plot unfolding with a series of horrendous crimes neglected by the Gardaí, which has the population of Cork city on edge.

Fresh from a harrowing abduction case linked to Kerry drug gangs, Detective Tim Collins returns to Cork city where he uncovers a world of darkness. As he digs deeper, the line between justice and revenge blurs and trust becomes a luxury he cannot afford as allies become adversaries.

The streets of Cork emerge as keepers of dark secrets challenging all that he once held certain, and which force him to confront the demons of his haunted past rooted in his formative years at University College Cork.

As the story unfolds, Tim has to make a decision about how far he is prepared to forge ahead with his quest to uncover the truth, and will redemption be the glittering prize for his efforts?

There are two parallel timelines in the book, one in 1990 where we meet a young Tim, then later in 2015 when he is thrown out of the gardaí, and these time-frames weave seamlessly in and out of the narrative.

So, just who is the character of Detective Tim Collins, who refuses to leave the imagination of author Tadhg Coakley?

“Collins is a real Cork character, I made him a former Cork hurler. I wanted to depict him as a flawed human being with all of his drive and his rage. He is his own worst enemy,” said his creator.

I thought that he would be just in one book, Whatever It Takes, but after that I knew I wasn’t finished with him.

“I realised I wanted to see more of him and what he would do next. I placed him in difficult situations where he would suffer- that might make me look bad, but I think that the point of literature, art or sport is to stir up empathy and emotions.

“My aim with Collins was to create a character that is both strong and fragile at the same time. Through placing him in a series of books I wanted to develop his character over time as he aged and lived through more experiences. I didn’t want to create a James Bond type, who doesn’t change at all.

Throughout my life, I have been reading crime thrillers set in Sweden, Oslo, Los Angles, Louisiana, Edinburgh, Maine, and all over the world.

“So I thought, well, what about Cork? In 2015, I started writing Whatever It Takes and set it in Cork city.

“In this latest book, I wanted to develop his past by depicting young Tim and his back-story to show the reason he is totally obsessed with protecting women against violence.”

The plot and central characters inform the narrative of any story, but often too it is the settings which imbue the tale with its unique flavour, this is essential to the Noir genre in general. In Dark Streets, the reader gets to traverse both the Kingdom and the Rebel County.

“I have always loved West Kerry, its ruggedness and its charm,” said Coakley. “And I knew Tim Collins had to forge a new life for himself without the gardaí, so I had to send him to Corca Dhuibhne, but he had unfinished business in Cork city, so I sent him back home to face serious pain and danger and to fulfil his destiny.”

A vivid location makes the story feel more like reality, and although the reader knows it is not a real location, it helps to make it feel real and therefore aids in relating more to the characters. Use of certain locations in thrillers enables the reader to visit these places in their imagination, and of course everyone wants to visit Cork and Kerry.

I also want to reflect modern Ireland in my books and cover specific issues such as gender-based violence (mainly violence against women), immigration, homelessness, dereliction in cities, and corruption in high places, but you have to stitch such issues into the narrative quite tightly - the last thing I want to do is preach to my readers.

Although I didn’t base my plot twists on any real events, I hope they are credible, tense and engaging and reflect the real Ireland.

And will we encounter more of Detective Tim Collins?

“I’m currently planning the next one. Tim has to suffer more, but he can take it, he is vulnerable and tough at the same time.

“Everyone can make a difference, everyone.”