Book Review: The New Policeman

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

SUMMARY: Heart-pounding Irish music is the common ground between material and magical worlds in this ambitious fantasy, which begins in western Ireland. When J. J. Liddy is 15, his mother jokingly asks for a birthday present of more time. From an eccentric neighbor, J. J. learns to his astonishment that his mother's request may not be impossible to fill. Bravely venturing into an alternate fairy world, J. J. takes on a thrilling, epic quest in which he confronts dark family rumors and tries to repair a cosmic time leak between his world and the land of eternal youth. Thompson packs her mesmerizing, chaotic novel with Irish culture, interconnected mysteries, and sly questions about the stresses of contemporary life and the age-old frictions between religion and folklore. Musical scores for Irish tunes close each chapter in this soulful, wildly imagined tale. (from the Booklist review)

OPINION: This book looks thick, but the short chapters, each with a song, make the pages fly. You'll wonder where the time went! The alternating chapters come together at the end of the book, with many mysteries solved. My only complaint is that I wish it came with a soundtrack. It talks about Irish music so much that I really wanted to listen while I read! This is not an edgy fairy book, like Tithe or I Was a Teenage Fairy, but it is a wonderfully atmospheric read.