The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 18 books · 2001 to 2025 · Set in Galway

Ken Bruen

Crime and mysteryPrivate eyeNoir and hardboiled

Jack Taylor, thrown out of the Garda Síochána, drinks his way through Galway as an unlicensed private investigator, quoting crime novels and losing friends with every book.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Bruen’s other series are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Ken Bruen books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Jack Taylor

18 books · Set in GalwayNoir and hardboiledPrivate eye
  1. 1The Guards2001With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Killing of the Tinkers2002With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Magdalen Martyrs2003With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Dramatist2004With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Priest2006With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Cross2007With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Sanctuary2008With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Devil2010With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Headstone2011With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Purgatory2013With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Green Hell2015With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Emerald Lie2016With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  13. 13The Ghosts of Galway2017With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  14. 14In the Galway Silence2018With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Galway Girl2019With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  16. 16A Galway Epiphany2020With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  17. 17Galway Confidential2024With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Galway’s Edge2025With Jack TaylorBuy on Amazon

Characters

6 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Galway