Ken Bruen

Ken Bruen was one of the most prominent Irish crime writers of the early 21st century. Born in Galway, he spent twenty-five years traveling the world before he began writing in the mid 1990s. As an English teacher, Bruen worked in South Africa, Japan, and South America, where he once spent a short time in a Brazilian jail. He had two long-running series: one starring a disgraced former policeman named Jack Taylor, the other a London police detective named Inspector Brant.

Praised for their sharp insight into the darker side of early 2000’s prosperous Ireland, Bruen’s novels are marked by grim atmosphere and clipped prose. Among the best known are his White Trilogy (1998-2000) and The Guards (2001), the Shamus award-winning first novel in the Jack Taylor series.

Ken Bruen died in Galway at age 74, March 29, 2025.