 Bruen is also the recipient of the first David Loeb Goodis Award (2008) for his dedication to his art.Other works of note include "The Killing of the Tinkers", "The Magdalen Martyrs", "The Dramatist" and "Priest", all part of his Jack Taylor series, which began with "The Guards".Set in Galway, the series relates the adventures and misadventures of a disgraced former police officer working as a haphazard private investigator whose life has been marred by alcoholism and drug abuse.