ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: Vote Early, Vote Often*

One of the great things about blogging is the opportunities it creates for cross-pollination and good karma and all that class of malarkey. Last Thursday, for example, I blogged about Gerard Cappa’s debut novel, BLOOD FROM A SHADOW, and noted that it was one of a significant number of Irish crime writing debuts in 2012. Gerard was kind enough to get in touch, to say thanks, but he didn’t let it rest there: the next thing I knew, Gerard had nominated ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL for a GoodReads reading group, which was kindness above and beyond the call of duty.
  Anyway, the voting is now open on that GoodReads reading group, as they vote to decide on what they’ll be reading in July and August. If you’re a member of GoodReads, and you’ve read AZC and think it might be worth their time and effort, your vote would be most welcome here …
  And thanks very much, Mr Gerard Cappa.
  In related news, Claire McGowan - author of another debut title this year, THE FALL - was generous enough to review AZC over at her Pains, Trains and Inkstains blog, with the gist running thusly:

“It’s beautifully written and very funny in parts, stuffed with wisdom and acerbic wit. I will definitely read his other novels, hoping to admire more smooth and cutting sentences, barbed jokes like thorns around some real naked pain. It has a great twist ending, and the title is - well - absolutely cool.” - Claire McGowan, author of THE FALL

  I thank you kindly, ma’am. By the way, if you’re new to this AZC thing and you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, there are signed copies cluttering up the shelves at the Liberties Press offices, and they’d only love to get rid of them. To help them out, clickety-click here …

  *Vote early, by all means, but only once. CAP Towers can in no way countenance subverting the democratic process.

A Critical Juncture

Another day, yet another Irish crime writing debutant. CRITICAL VALUE by DC Gogan comes to my attention via the good works of Bryan Roche over at the Irish Crime Writing Facebook page, with the blurb elves wittering thusly:

A research project on homicidal fantasies ...
A murdered woman in the largest university in Ireland ...
Does a psychology student’s thesis hold the key to catching a killer?

Adam Twohig is in his final year of Psychology at University College Dublin. He never settled into the college lifestyle, never plugged into the social scene, and never excelled at his studies. Which is why he’s puzzled when Greg Taylor comes to him looking for help with his thesis.

Greg is studying the homicidal fantasies of UCD students, getting hundreds of written accounts of students’ darkest, murderous desires. When high-profile Entertainments Officer Christine Harvey is savagely murdered, the investigating detective wants access to his data. At first Adam thinks that the police are clutching at straws, but another murder on campus draws him deeper into the investigation.

The secrets buried in Greg’s data force Adam into an unlikely alliance between the Irish police and two FBI agents on the hunt for a serial killer, and put him and his friends in the sights of a murderer whose depravity seems to stand outside everything Adam knows about human psychology.

  Sounds intriguing, not least because it’s been quite a while - when Cormac Millar last deigned to grace us with his presence, basically - since we’ve had a good old-fashioned campus novel.
  What’s most interesting to me, though, is that it’s still only June and I’ve already seen or heard of eleven - now twelve - Irish crime writing debuts. Some are traditionally published, others are e-book only, one - Seamus Scanlon’s - is a collection of short stories; but regardless of format or form, 2012 marks something significant in the development of the Irish crime novel.
  To the best of my knowledge, the list of Irish crime debutants in 2012 runs as follows:

A JUNE OF ORDINARY MURDERS by Conor Brady;
BLOOD FROM A SHADOW by Gerard Cappa;
GHOST TOWN by Michael Clifford;
EL NINO by Mick Donnellan;
CRITICAL VALUE by DC Gogan;
THE FALL by Claire McGowan;
EVEN FLOW by Darragh McManus;
BLOOD RED TURNS DOLLAR GREEN by Paul O'Brien;
THE ISTANBUL PUZZLE by Laurence O’Bryan;
RED RIBBONS by Louise Phillips;
DISAPPEARED by Anthony Quinn;
AS CLOSE AS YOU’LL EVER BE by Seamus Scanlon.

  If I’ve missed out on anyone, or if you have a novel on the way later in the year, please drop me a line and I’ll include you on the list.
  Meanwhile, Louise Phillips (crimescenewriter@gmail.com) is putting together a series of features on debutant Irish crime writers for the writing.ie site. If you’re a new Irish crime writer, why not drop over to writing.ie and introduce yourself? I’m sure she’d be delighted to hear from you.