The Rules Of Revelation by Lisa McInerney | Book Review

[AD/Gifted - I received a copy of this book in order to take part in a readalong with Tandem Collective. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

The Rules Of Revelation by Lisa McInerney - 4/5

Blurb:

"REUNIONS. RECRIMINATIONS. RECKONINGS.

Ireland. Great nationalists, bad mothers and a whole lot of secrets. Ryan Cusack is ready to deliver its soundtrack.

Former sex-worker Georgie wants the truth about Ryan's past out there but the journalist has her own agenda.

Mel returns from Brexit Britain, ill-equipped to deal with the resurgence of a family scandal.

Karine has always been sure of herself, till a terrible secret tugs the rug from under her.

Maureen has got wind that things are changing, and if anyone's telling the story she wants to make sure it's her.

A riotous blast of sex, scandal, obsession, love, feminism, gender, music, class and transgression from an author with tremendous, singular talent."

Review:

The Rules Of Revelation is the third book in the Ryan Cusack series, following The Glorious Heresies and The Blood Miracles. I haven't read either of the first two books but heard that it could still be read as a standalone. 

The book is set in Cork and follows the story of Ryan Cusack. He has a son, Diarmaid, with a woman named Karine and is out of the country due to some things he had done in his past life with regards to drugs and drug dealing. He is making waves with his band, Lord Urchin, and we also hear stories from Mel, Georgie and Maureen.

I don't want to give too much away but it is a very character driven book and you do need to give it your full attention. It isn't fast paced, which is what I look for in a book, but I ended up caring so much about these characters and wanted to see what the story was between them. 

The story for each character is built well and McInerney writes beautifully. The writing is funny, especially any scenes with Maureen, but serious too. It covers a lot of socio-economic factors so it has a lot of depth to it. We hear about sex work, gender bias, class issues and sexism, to name a few. 

My favourite parts were Ryan's chapters where he would be explaining tracks from his album to Karine. 

I will definitely go back and read The Glorious Heresies and The Blood Miracles because I need to hear more about these characters. I am also very excited to hear there are plans for a TV adaptation. I think it will work really well.