The Scholar is the second novel in the Cormac Reilly series by Irish-born Australian author, Dervla McTiernan. After a year of being stuck with cold case reviews, Detective Inspector Cormac Reilly is pleased to finally be assigned some active cases. But before he can get started on them, his girlfriend, Dr Emma Sweeney stumbles on a dead body near her university lab.

It’s clearly a hit-and-run, and from the hair and clothing, looks like Carline Darcy, the granddaughter of the founder of multinational pharmaceutical giant Darcy Therapeutics, John Darcy. It’s their labs from which Emma does her research. Emma immediately rings Cormac, who takes on the case, partly to protect Emma from adverse fallout.

While Detective Sergeant Carrie O’Halloran is happy to be relieved of some of her caseload, given Cormac’s relationship with Emma, she wonders if he is the appropriate man for the hit-and-run case. Given what she has previously been through, Cormac is concerned about the possible psychological effects on Emma of being interrogated. He would like to keep her at a remove from it all because he’s not at all convinced that a certain party is as innocent as she claims to be.

His superintendent makes it clear to Cormac that not upsetting John Darcy is a priority and, once again, it seems that some at Mill Street Garda Station have agendas to which Cormac is not privy, including politicking by his boss, and at least one member of his team set on undermining him.

Once again, McTiernan gives the reader a tightly plotted tale with twists and red herrings that will surprise even the most astute reader just when they think they have it all sussed out. It features drug development research, university exam fraud, large sums of money, domestic abuse, a dangerous husband, and two singular fifteen-year-old boys who act on their concerns for beloved siblings. There is some character development in this instalment and the horror that lies in Emma’s past is revealed. Another excellent dose of Irish crime fiction that will have fans eagerly anticipating The Good Turn.