Snow Business

Writer In Residence: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

Here’s a very nice opportunity for Irish writers: a year-long Writer in Residence, part-time, that pays a fee of €15,000 and offers a room in the new Central Library for writing. To wit:

Introduction
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council invites applications for a writer in residence for the period June 2014 to May 2015. The writer in residence is a partnership between the Library Service and the Arts Office of the County Council, grant-aided by the Arts Council. The residency seeks to support writers in all genres. The residency is envisaged as a part-time position which will allow time for the writer’s own work in addition to engagement and interaction with both the general public and, more specifically, with those with an interest in writing themselves. The writer in residence will focus on working in both the refurbished Blackrock Library and the new Central Library and Cultural Centre (CLCC) in Dún Laoghaire, due to open later in 2014. We are pleased to announce that the writer in residence will have a dedicated room on the top floor of the new Central Library and Cultural Centre.

  For all the details, clickety-click here …

Cry Havoc, And Let Sleep The Dogs Of War

Mark O’Sullivan’s CROCODILE TEARS was one of the most impressive debuts I read last year, so I’m looking forward to reading his follow-up title, SLEEPING DOGS (Transworld Ireland), when it appears in April. To wit:

Gangland boss Harry Larkin has taken three bullets and lies dying in a Dublin hospital. Amongst his delusional ravings to Senior Ward Nurse Eveleen Morgan, one name stands out: Detective Inspector Leo Woods. Harry’s message for his old ‘friend’ Leo: find my daughter Whitney.
  Leo is drawn into the murky world of the Larkin family, a hell he thought he had escaped from thirty years earlier. With the help of Detective Sergeant Helen Troy, his search for Whitney turns up more questions than answers, more darkness than light. Who shot Harry Larkin? What secrets are the Larkins hiding? Is there a connection with the young hit-and-run victim lying beside Harry in the intensive care unit? Why is a Libyan intern at the hospital taking such an interest? And is Leo himself compromised by his past affair with Harry’s wife, Liz?
  While Woods and Troy struggle with the truth about a family built on deception, the search for Whitney becomes increasingly desperate. Leo is looking to the future, and a tentative relationship with Eveleen - but the past won’t let him go that easily.

  For all the details, clickety-click here …

Here Comes The Sun

I do like a writer who is prepared to stretch him or herself, and it’s fair to say that Adrian McKinty’s next offering, THE SUN IS GOD (Serpent’s Tail), offers a dramatically different setting to his recent trilogy, which was set in Northern Ireland during the 1980s. To wit:

Based on real events, a story of murder in the South Pacific among a most peculiar sect of sun-worshippers.
  1906. Will Prior is in self-imposed exile on a remote South Pacific island, working a small, and failing, plantation. He should never have told anyone about his previous existence as a military foot policeman in the Boer War, but a man needs friends, even if they are as stuffy and, well, German, as Hauptmann Kessler, the local government representative.
  So it is that Kessler approaches Will one hot afternoon, with a request for his help with a problem on a neighbouring island, inhabited by a reclusive, cultish group of European ‘cocovores’, who believe that sun worship and eating only coconuts will bring them eternal life. Unfortunately, one of their number has died in suspicious circumstances, and Kessler has been tasked with uncovering the real reason for his demise. So along with a ‘lady traveller’, Bessie Pullen-Burry, who is foisted on them by the archipelago’s eccentric owner, they travel to the island of Kabakon, to find out what is really going on …

  I love that cover, by the way. THE SUN IS GOD will be published on July 24th. For all the details, clickety-click here …

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” Alan Croghan

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
God, there is so many. I think A SEASON IN HELL by Jack Higgins, cracking book and like THE GODFATHER I read it five times.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
It used to be Luca Brasi (from the book of THE GODFATHER, as I had my own vision of him in my head and plus he was a lot more involved in the book than in the film. He was kinda my hero in the book – but when I saw him in the film I instantly changed my mind, as I was really disappointed) but ‘Jago’ has always being my favourite; the ex-SAS martial arts expert, sniper turned contractual professional killer/protector in Jack Higgins’ book A SEASON IN HELL – a real super-cool dude, he was the business. He took no shit and was very professional.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
For obvious reasons, when I was in prison I used to read a lot of Sidney Sheldon, Harold Robbins and Jackie Collins. Today I don’t bother with it – there’s only so many hours in the day (smile).

Most satisfying writing moment?
Oh it has to be a toss-up between two; one was when the late John B Keane awarded me second place in the Drama Section of Listowel Writers week back in 1985, after I had written a short play. I was only 17 (some 29 years ago now – how time flies, eh?) and was in St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders at the time. And I had only recently learned how to read and write whilst in prison. I won a Gold Cross pen and a cheque for £20. I just couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. The second was getting the phone call from Penguin with an offer to publish WILD CHILD – it was like getting a belt of a hammer in the face!

If you could recommend one Irish crime novel, what would it be?
Has to be THE TWELVE by Stuart Neville. What a great book

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Tana French’s novels on the Dublin Murder Squad. They should have never been disbanded.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The worst is ‘Resistance’, preferring or choosing to do a hundred and one other insignificant things rather than do the most important thing that I really should be doing, like pressing the ‘power on’ button on my computer and bringing up my Word page – for me that can be the hardest thing in the world to do. The Best? That’s being in there, in my scene, in the story, being that invisible third party sitting in the car or at the bar table or in the bedroom – just waiting and wondering what each character is going to say or do to the other. They tell me what they’re going to do or say; I just write the words and describe their actions whilst my second brain scribbles like mad little notes and ideas that pop into my head as I work. I’m in that world, that time, that place and I love it because I know, at the end of the day, no matter where I go or what I do I am completely safe and I can bring my reader anywhere.

The pitch for your next book is …?
The working title is ‘Lord of the Underworld’. It’s a period ‘Faction’ book set in Ireland during 1834/35. During that time there was a forgotten but terrible growth in one of the darkest aspects of Irish history – the brutal, bloody and merciless period of Clan shillelagh fighting. Many factions formed to protect themselves not just from the British but from each other.

Who are you reading right now?
James Bland’s TRUE CRIME DIARY.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Write – without a shadow of a doubt. Not being able to write … I’d go insane.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Honest, realistic and methodical.

Alan Croghan’s WILD CHILD is published by Penguin Ireland.

Fertile Ground

Claire McGowan publishes her third novel, and the second in her Northern Ireland-set Paula Maguire series, when THE DEAD GROUND (Headline) arrives on April 10th. To wit:

A stolen baby. A murdered woman. A decades-old atrocity. Something connects them all ...
  A month before Christmas, and Ballyterrin on the Irish border lies under a thick pall of snow. When a newborn baby goes missing from hospital, it’s all too close to home for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, who’s wrestling with the hardest decision of her life.
  Then a woman is found in a stone circle with her stomach cut open and it’s clear a brutal killer is on the loose.
  As another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula is caught up in the hunt for a killer no one can trace, who will stop at nothing to get what they want.
  THE DEAD GROUND will leave you gasping for breath as Paula discovers every decision she makes really is a matter of life and death ...

  For all the details, clickety-click here …

All The Rage

It’s a hearty congratulations to Gene Kerrigan from all here at CAP Towers, on the news that THE RAGE has been shortlisted for a Los Angeles Times Crime / Mystery award. THE RAGE, of course, won the CWA Gold Dagger, way back in 2012. I thought the novel was terrific when I first read it; for that review, clickety-click here.
  The line-up for the Mystery / Thriller category runs as follows:

Richard Crompton, “Hour of the Red God,” Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Robert Galbraith, “The Cuckoo's Calling,” Mulholland Books/Little, Brown & Co.
John Grisham, “Sycamore Row,” Doubleday Books
Gene Kerrigan, “The Rage,” Europa Editions
Ferdinand von Schirach, “The Collini Case,” Viking

  For the full list of all nominees in the LA Times Book Awards, clickety-click here …

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” Frances di Plino

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Can I choose a series of them? The Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro novels of Dennis Lehane. They have everything – dark, gritty crimes and some wry humour to lighten the read.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Miss Marple. I can just see myself pottering about those lovely villages as I unearth the dark secrets of seemingly innocent residents who turn out to be the murderer next door.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
It isn’t so much who I read, but what I read. Although I am a diehard crime fan – from cosy crime to hardboiled – my secret shame is an enjoyment of the occasional chick lit novel. There, now you’ve made me confess to something that should be between me and my literary conscience!

Most satisfying writing moment?
Writing ‘The End’ on CALL IT PRETENDING, the third D.I. Paolo Storey novel. I only ever intended to write one crime novel and was convinced I didn’t have another one in me. SOMEDAY NEVER COMES, the second in the series, was aptly named. It was like running uphill carrying a ton of rocks. Every step hurt, but I forced myself to keep going. Then, as I completed CALL IT PRETENDING, I found already had the plot for book four in mind. I knew then I could trust in myself to write more.

If you could recommend one Irish crime novel, what would it be?
Sheila Bugler’s HUNTING SHADOWS – a fabulous book which I can guarantee will keep you turning the pages even when your brain is screaming out for sleep.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
My vote would go to BROKEN HARBOUR by Tana French. It’s a great storyline that would translate well onto the screen.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The damned voices in my head! They never stop. I’ve no sooner finished with one lot of characters than the next lot turn up and start having conversations.

The pitch for your next book is …?
Starved of light, food and water, how many young men will pay the ultimate price for their sins?

Who are you reading right now?
Nearly finished the latest Harlan Coben – I’m having a thing about American crime writers at the moment. I love Michael Connelly, John Lescroat and Dennis Lehane, so I devour their books as soon as they hit the shelves.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
No God would be that cruel. I’d go insane without both in my life.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Dark, devious and disturbing.

CALL IT PRETENDING by Frances di Plino is published by Crooked Cat.

A Dash Of Bitters

Darren Shan is a runaway bestseller when writing for young adults (25 million copies sold, and counting), and while he has written adult crime novels under that name in the past, THE EVIL AND THE PURE (Home of the Damned) is published under the name Darren Dash. To wit:

Big Sandy is an enforcer.
  Clint Smith is a dealer.
  Kevin Tyne is a pimp.
  Gawl McCaskey is a thug.
  Four men of violence, whose lives are about to intersect. It is London, the tail-end of the year 2000. A crime lord is trying to go legit. A chemical genius is working on his illegal masterpiece. A football club is up for sale. Savagely bred hounds are baying for blood. A depraved priest is preying on his flock. An abused young woman is praying for salvation.
  On the harsh, unforgiving streets of the city, not everyone is going to make it to the new year.

  For all the details, clickety-click here …

The Bryce Is Right

I’ve hugely enjoyed Alex Barclay’s Ren Bryce novels to date, so I’m very much looking forward to HARM’S REACH (HarperCollins), the latest in the Colorado-set books to feature the bi-polar FBI agent. To wit:

FBI Agent Ren Bryce finds herself entangled in two seemingly unrelated mysteries. But the past has a way of echoing down the years and finding its way into the present...
  When Special Agent Ren Bryce discovers the body of a young woman in an abandoned car, solving the case quickly becomes personal. But the more she uncovers about the victim’s last movements, the more questions are raised.
  Why was Laura Finn driving towards a ranch for troubled teens in the middle of Colorado when her employers thought she was headed to Chicago? And what did she know about a case from fifty years ago, which her death dramatically reopens?
  As Ren and cold case investigator Janine Hooks slowly weave the threads together, a picture emerges of a privileged family determined to hide some very dark secrets – whatever the cost.
  If you love HOMELAND, you’ll love the Ren Bryce series, featuring an unforgettable FBI agent heroine whose bi-polar disorder is at times her greatest asset, and at others her downfall.

  HARM’S REACH will be published on February 27th. For all the details, clickety-click here …

Crime Always Pays: Advance Review Copies

As all three regular readers of this blog will know, I have a new book on the way – CRIME ALWAYS PAYS (Severn House), which will be published in the UK on March 27th. It’s a comedy crime caper, with the gist running a lot like this:

Karen and Ray are on their way to the Greek islands to rendezvous with Madge and split the fat bag of cash they conned from Karen’s ex, Rossi, when they kidnapped, well, Madge. But they’ve reckoned without Doyle, the cop who can’t decide if she wants to arrest Madge, shoot Rossi, or ride off into the sunset with Ray …

  For a flavour of the book, clickety-click here for Chapter One.
  I’d like to get the word out about the book, as you might imagine, so I’d be very grateful indeed if you feel moved to share this post with anyone you think might enjoy a crime caper comedy.
  And if you’re a book blogger or website editor based in Ireland or the UK, and you’d like to receive an e-book advance review copy, just drop me a line at dbrodb[at]gmail.com, letting me know who you write for. If I haven’t come across your blog / website before, I’d be delighted to add your link to my blog-roll.

The Sound Of Silence

Stuart Neville publishes THE FINAL SILENCE (Harvill Secker) in July, the third of Stuart’s novels – after COLLUSION (2010) and STOLEN SOULS (2011) – to feature DI Jack Lennon. Quoth the blurb elves:

Rea Carlisle has inherited a house from an uncle she never knew. It doesn’t take her long to clear out the dead man’s remaining possessions, but one room remains stubbornly locked. When Rea finally forces it open she discovers inside a chair, a table – and a leather-bound book. Inside its pages are locks of hair, fingernails: a catalogue of victims.
  Horrified, Rea wants to go straight to the police but when her family intervene, fearing the damage it could cause to her father’s political career, Rea turns to the only person she can think of: DI Jack Lennon. But Lennon is facing his own problems. Suspended from the force and hounded by DCI Serena Flanagan, the toughest cop he’s ever faced, Lennon must unlock the secrets of a dead man’s horrifying journal.

  For all the details, clickety-click here …

The Dark Side Of Kilmoon

There’s a goodly number of Irish crime writers who have been influenced by Californian authors – yours truly among them – but here’s a novel twist: a Californian writer setting her crime debut in Ireland. Lisa Alber – for lo! It is she, etc. – will publish KILMOON (Muskrat Press) next month. To wit:

Californian Merrit Chase doesn’t know what she’s in for when she travels to an Irish village famous for its matchmaking festival. She simply wants to meet her father, a celebrated matchmaker, in hopes that she can mend her troubled past. Instead, her arrival triggers a rising tide of violence, and Merrit finds herself both suspect and victim, accomplice and pawn, in a manipulative game that began thirty years previously.
  When she discovers that the matchmaker’s treacherous past is at the heart of the chaos, she must decide how far she will go to save him from himself and to get what she wants, a family.
  Lisa Alber evokes a world in which ancient tradition collides with modern village life and ageless motivators such as greed and love still wield their power. KILMOON captures the moodiness of the Irish landscape in a brooding mystery that explores family secrets, betrayal, vengeance, and murder.

  For more on Lisa Alber, clickety-click here …

A Place Of Her Own

There’s a new Tana French (right) novel on the way, although the bad news is that we’ll have to wait until August to see THE SECRET PLACE (Hodder & Stoughton). What’s it all about? Quoth Tana:

Q: What are you working on now?

A: “I’m partway through my fifth book, which is currently called The Secret Place. The narrator this time is Stephen Moran, Frank’s young sidekick from Faithful Place. Frank’s daughter, Holly, now sixteen, shows up at Stephen’s work with a postcard she found on the noticeboard where girls in her school can post their secrets anonymously —a postcard with a photo of a murdered teenage boy, and the caption ‘I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.’ And this time Frank does come back …”

  For the rest of the interview, clickety-click here …

One To Watch: Anna Sweeney

It’s looking like it’s going to be a very interesting year for debutant Irish crime fiction in 2014, with Liz Nugent, Siobhan MacDonald and Sinéad Crowley already lined up to publish. Another name to conjure with is Anna Sweeney, who publishes DEADLY INTENT (Severn House) later this month. Quoth the blurb elves:

Maureen lies unconscious on a lonely track. Her husband blames a fellow holidaymaker at Nessa McDermott’s country house on Ireland’s enchanting Beara peninsula. Two days later, a man's body is found, strangled and dumped. Amid a frenzy of police, media and family pressures, former journalist Nessa has to find her own answers - but meanwhile, ambitious young policeman Redmond Joyce is also hellbent on identifying the murderer, and conflict between them grows as they close in on the horrifying truth. Translated from the Gaelic, this novel introduces a talented author with keen observation and detail, and marks the beginning of a series with Nessa and her ambitious policeman acquaintance.

  To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had an Irish crime novel translated from Irish into English. Of course, ‘the best of my knowledge’ isn’t exactly encyclopaedic … If anyone can set me straight as to previous examples, I’m all ears.

Hungry Like The Wolf

A new novel from John Connolly is always a treat around these here parts, and something we missed out on in 2013, so there’s an added anticipation to THE WOLF IN WINTER (Hodder & Stoughton), the latest Charlie Parker story. To wit:

The next pulse-pounding thriller in John Connolly’s internationally bestselling Charlie Parker series.
  The community of Prosperous, Maine has always thrived when others have suffered. Its inhabitants are wealthy, its children’s future secure. It shuns outsiders. It guards its own. And at the heart of the Prosperous lie the ruins of an ancient church, transported stone by stone from England centuries earlier by the founders of the town …
  But the death of a homeless man and the disappearance of his daughter draw the haunted, lethal private investigator Charlie Parker to Prosperous. Parker is a dangerous man, driven by compassion, by rage, and by the desire for vengeance. In him the town and its protectors sense a threat graver than any they have faced in their long history, and in the comfortable, sheltered inhabitants of a small Maine town, Parker will encounter his most vicious opponents yet.
  Charlie Parker has been marked to die so that Prosperous may survive.
  Prosperous, and the secret that it hides beneath its ruins …

  THE WOLF IN WINTER will be published in April. For all the details, clickety-click here …