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The Liddys have always been musicians, and fifteen year old JJ is no exception. But lately it seems there is never enough time ¨ for music, for relaxing, for anything. When JJs mother asks for 'more time for her birthday, JJ resolves to find it for her. His search leads him through the thin divide between this world and the next: that of the Sidhe, the fairy-folk. And along the way, he discovers the truth about his great-grandfather, who, local legend has it, killed a priest who tried to stop their music.
I at first wondered where this story was going, as it builds very gradually. But the payoff is more than worth it. Thompson is a subtle and skilled storyteller, and The New Policeman is pure magic. The story works on many levels ¨ as a commentary on the place music and art have in our lives (and the perpetual question of where it all comes from), a sly comment on the manic busy-ness of modern life, and as a magical fairytale. Her portrayal of the world of the Sidhe is so real that it almost hurts: a place that you long to exist, and can almost believe that it does. The chapter breaks are the scores of traditional Irish folk tunes, adding extra depth and dimension. This is a wonderful, haunting story, beautifully structured and told. I loved it, and will be reading it again and again.
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