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The Making of a Detective
The Making of a Detective
May 4, 2025 1:56 AM

Author:Pat Marry

The Making of a Detective

When he retired in 2018 Pat Marry had been instrumental in solving dozens of serious crimes, including many murders.

But as a newly qualified garda in 1985, Marry had no idea how to become a detective. He soon realised he would have to learn on the job - put himself forward and show that he had what it took.

Taking initiative, following up hunches (even far-fetched ones), obsessing about details, trying new investigative techniques, thinking laterally - these were essential. In addition, you had to be a bit of a psychologist.

The Making of a Detective follows Pat Marry's path from rookie to Detective Inspector through the stories of key cases he worked on and investigations he led.

It includes high profile cases like Rachel Calally's murder by her husband Joe O'Reilly. But there are also stories that have faded from public memory, such as the 1995 murder of Marilyn Rynn, which involved the first use of DNA evidence to solve a crime in Ireland. Or the 2001 murder of Mary Gough, a case solved mainly by scrutinizing her husband's internet use - then a new investigative tool.

The Making of a Detective is a unique and gripping insight into the work of a dedicated garda operating at the very top of his profession.

'An absolutely fascinating book ... Really interesting stories and insights' Sean O'Rourke, RTÉ Radio 1

'An absolute must-read . . . as page turning as a crime novel' Irish Examiner

Reviews

An absolutely fascinating book ... Really interesting stories and insights

—— Sean O'Rourke , RTÉ Radio 1

An absolute must-read ... as page turning as a crime novel

—— Irish Examiner

This book is a revelation ... actually it's full of them, all costly catastrophes. Factually rich, funny and full of practical hard-earned wisdom, it is also an extensively-referenced portal into a parallel how-to universe where great buying delivers remarkable business results. If you don't read this book, you may find yourself in the next one!

—— Dr Richard Russil, author and coach

A refreshingly different take on how to be great at procurement by learning from a plethora of examples of painful, unbelievable, funny and downright stupid buying by organisations, or more precisely the people in them. A brilliantly unique and insightful read from one of the most experienced individuals in this space

—— Jonathan O’Brien Author and CEO Positive Purchasing Ltd

A great opportunity to learn from other people's mistakes, not your own. Through exceptionally well researched examples, Peter teaches both new and established professionals how to avoid the same mistakes. I thoroughly recommend this book to anybody involved in, or responsible for spending money for their organisation

—— Garry Mansell, Former GM, Source-to-Contract, Coupa Software

An unusual business book in that it is both useful to readers and also genuinely entertaining with fascinating stories of failure and fraud from around the world and every sector

—— Shirley Cooper, Commercial Director, Tapestry Compliance and NED, Ministry of Justice

A hilarious, enlightening and brilliant look at how organisations - public and private - have been guilty of horrendous buying failures. Not content with just lifting the lid on some of the most egregious excesses in history, Peter Smith provides insightful and practical advice to avoid repeating such disasters. This book will make you think twice about buying anything - but do buy this

—— Antonio Weiss, bestselling author of 101 business Ideas That Will Change the Way you Work and Director, The PSC

This book is a fascinating account of the biggest buying blunders by private and public sectors alike. Written in his trademark dashing and fluent style, doesn't just expose hilarious dodgy stories with Schadenfreude but offers insightful and practical advice on how to avoid career limiting mistakes

—— Bernhard Raschke, Partner and Head of EMEA Supply Chain Centre of Excellence, Korn Ferry

This book is a great effort to dig the challenges out of the back office of procurement and bring to the fore the opportunities for improvement... If you want to improve your chances of not being done by Bad Buying, there's no better place than this book to see what the risks are and begin to understand how to avoid them

—— Charles Findlay, Director, State of Flux

Covid-19 restrictions have put the spotlight on global supply chains and the difficulties caused when everybody wants to buy the same thing at the same time. Peter's book highlights where buying can go catastrophically wrong and how to avoid these pitfalls. Had this been published pre-Covid, some of the recent c*ck-ups and waste might have been avoided. It's a must read for the public and private sector alike

—— Lt-Gen. Sir Andrew Gregory, Controller, SSAFA

In turns informative, shocking and amusing, Bad Buying explores the career-limiting catastrophes to avoid and sets out a vision for better buying, not only stewarding finances responsibly but also supporting the firm's purpose and place in the community

—— Stuart Brocklehurst, CEO, Applegate Marketplace Ltd

Bad Buying has a rich set of examples of both corrupt practices and unintentional but costly and wasteful mistakes made by business professionals. With trillions spent by organisations buying goods and services, every executive who is involved in or oversees those processes needs to make this a must read

—— Raj Sharma, Founder and CEO, Public Spend Forum

A must read for Boards, CEOs and Governments. The case studies remind us all that there is 'no such thing as a free lunch' and 'if it's too good to be true it usually is'. Buyer beware, and never underestimate you stakeholder or your suppliers. Instead, build relationships and trust

—— Lucy Harding, Partner and Global Head of Practice, Odgers Berndtson

Purchasing plays such an important role in business success, but is also one of the least understood activities. Using case studies from around the globe, Bad Buying has illuminated how and why organisations can get it wrong when it comes to spending money with suppliers. This is a timely, informative and highly entertaining read!

—— Nandini Basuthakur, CEO, Procurement Leaders

A highly readable reminder of how greed and gullibility so often go together, and why we need good investigative journalism to keep reminding us that if the pitch (and the person doing the pitch) look just too good to be true there is probably something fishy going on behind the scenes

—— Professor Sir David Omand, former director of GCHQ and author of How Spies Think

An emphatic indictment of the 'expert class' people who think agility with numbers is somehow equivalent to wisdom and morality

—— Duff McDonald, author of The Golden Passport

Packed full with amazing examples

—— Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2

Colossal, costly disasters could be averted if those holding the purse strings read this book

—— The Times

An edgy multi-layered mystery with an unforgettable opening and one suspect after another. The goings on in the detectives' private lives were just as fascinating as the main story. The characters were so well-rounded they felt real. I didn't want this story to end.

—— Allie Reynolds, author of Shiver

The shocking opening hooked me in and the twists and turns kept me furiously turning the pages, desperate to know how the story would unfold. Lie Beside Me is a clever and compelling thriller, with a fantastic cast of characters you'll want to spend time with. I loved it

—— Lisa Gray, bestselling author of Thin Air

Superbly plotted and and relentlessly pacy, Lie Beside Me is hands-down her best yet. From its grab-you-by-the-throat opening to its truly shocking conclusion, Lie Beside Me will have you second-guessing everyone and everything. This really is a series going from strength to strength

—— Caz Frear, Richard and Judy bestselling author of Sweet Little Lies

Thrilling

—— My Weekly

Praise for Gytha Lodge

—— :

A novel that literally makes you hold your breath then gasp out loud

—— Val McDermid

An excellent detective novel. The opening scene is superb, and sets up the story beautifully. Gripping, multi-layered and fresh. Terrific

—— Will Dean , author of Dark Pines

An absolute gem - I was hooked from the first page

—— Jo Jakeman , author of Sticks and Stones
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