“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: John McAllister

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?

THE REDEMPTION FACTORY by Sam Millar. Not only is it a great story, the book taught me how to depict life in the raw.



What fictional character would you most like to have been?

All fictional characters are screwed up in some way, which is what makes them human and interesting. I like my own screw-ups. A friend wanted to cure one of them once and I told him to mind his own business, that that screw up was part of me. But if you insist, the main character in the Dick Francis novel, TO THE HILT. I can’t find the book to give you the character’s name.



Who do you read for guilty pleasures?

Mostly I read thrillers but sometimes I get what I can only describe as a dry feeling in my soul. Then I tend to read something really literary. Quite often it’s a book by Jennifer Johnston.



Most satisfying writing moment?

I think whey you push yourself away from the desk and know you’ve done a satisfying amount of creative work that day.



The best Irish crime novel is …?

That’s not a fair question. I’d have trouble deciding who is my favourite Irish crime novelist, let alone novel. The best thing to do is to take the anthology REQUIEMS FOR THE DEPARTED (Morrigan Books, 2010). Open it at the list of contributors and throw a dart. You could hardly go wrong.



What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?

What about John Banville’s THE BOOK OF EVIDENCE? The book has a great atmospheric feel about it that could be easily transferred onto the screen.



Worst / best thing about being a writer?

The worst thing is probably six o’clock in the morning when I am crawling out of bed to get the day started. The best thing is when a story or novel is published. You are standing in front of a crowd reading an excerpt and suddenly you know the listeners are so enthralled you could literally hear a pin drop. Unless my late mother in law was there. Then all I could hear was her saying to her neighbour, ‘I can’t hear him? Can you hear him?’ And there’s me wanting to shout, ‘Would you wear your bloody hearing aid?’



The pitch for your next book is …?

My novels are usually thrillers but my short stories are based on social issues. One such story has evolved into a novel, which is due out next year. Title still to be firmed up. However, the book is about a Catholic priest who turns up at his new parish with his (female) partner. I’ve just got back the reader’s report so things are at an early stage at this point.



Who are you reading right now?

I’ve just finished Glenn Meade’s latest novel THE SECOND MESSIAH. It’s a good chase / shoot them up read, and the shenanigans of cardinals at the Vatican are very believable. I’ve just started a first novel, THE SURVIVOR by Sean Slater. Sean is a Vancouver police officer. It has started very well



God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?

Write. I could do a memoir slagging off God for being so unreasonable, then he might reconsider.



The three best words to describe your own writing are …?

Enjoyable, literate (as opposed to literature) educational (no big drums).



John McAllister’s LINE OF FLIGHT has just been re-issued on Kindle.

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Jim Thompson

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?
THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth. The best procedural ever.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Belbo, from FOUCAULT’S PENDULUM. He experienced it all. Re-wrote history to his own liking, took part in a grand conspiracy surrounding the Holy Grail, even had a great unrequited love with the beautiful Lorenza Pellegrini. And ultimately failed at everything. I can’t picture myself as a winner take all as fictional character.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I re-read old Graham Greene novels and occasionally weep from frustration because I’ll never write anything to compare to the best of them.

Most satisfying writing moment?
When writing my first published novel, ACROSS THE GREEN LINE, and the second act climax came to me. In my head, I watched the bomb explode, saw the front of the Dome of the Rock burst into flame, watched holy men disintegrate, their eyes melt, their limbs blasted from their bodies, and shed tears of satisfaction.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
ON THE BRINKS by Sam Millar. Actually an autobiography, but a crime story just the same. I’ve never read anything else like it. Most of the Irish literature I read is poetry.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
As above. BRINKS deserves to made into a film as a matter of cultural importance.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst: public speaking. Best: getting paid to do what I love.

The pitch for your next book is …?
LUCIFER’S TEARS. It’s been a year since the Sufia Elmi case, but Inspector Kari Vaara’s scarred face, chronic migraines, and head full of ghosts serve as daily reminders of that dark Christmas. Vaara has relocated to Helsinki, at the urging of his beautiful American wife, Kate, and now spends sleepless, anxious nights working the graveyard shift in Helsinki homicide, protecting a city that brings him nothing but bad memories. When the gorgeous Iisa Filippov is found tortured to death in the bed of her lover, Vaara and his rookie partner—the brilliant but slightly deranged Milo—are assigned to the case. It’s obvious that Iisa’s lover is being framed for the murder, and her husband, a powerful Russian businessman, seems the most likely suspect. But Mr. Fillipov is being protected from above, and as Vaara follows the trail of evidence—fueled by a good deal of vodka and very little sleep, in the typical Vaara fashion—he is led deep into a realm of political corruption, twisted obsessions, and deeply buried family secrets. At the same time, Kari is assigned to investigate Arvid Lahtinen, a ninety-year-old national hero now being accused of war crimes during World War II. Vaara learns that, contrary to the accepted historical record, Finland actually colluded with the Germans in the extermination of Communists and Jews—and Arvid is the last living soldier to have served in a secret POW camp on Finnish soil. The Interior Minister demands that Kari—whose late, beloved grandfather, Ukki, is also implicated in the crimes—prove Arvid innocent, and preserve Finland’s heroic image of itself and its role in the war. But that may turn out to be easier said than done. As the two investigations begin to boil over, an extended visit from Kate’s dour sister and degenerate brother cause uneasiness at home. Pressure is mounting on all sides, and Vaara isn’t at all sure he’s going to come out on top—or in one piece—this time. Set against the chilling atmosphere of the coldest winter to hit Finland in over 40 years, LUCIFER’S TEARS is at once a gripping page-turner and a captivating snapshot of a unique culture and its conflicted history. With the tough but troubled Inspector Vaara at its crux, LUCIFER’S TEARS is suspenseful, full-throttle mystery full of thrilling plot twists and intriguing revelations.

Who are you reading right now?
BANDWIDTH by Angus Morrison.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Write, without doubt.

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

James Thompson’s SNOW ANGELS is published by Putnam.

Origins: Sam Millar

Being the latest in what will probably be yet another short-lived series, in which yours truly reclines on a hammock by the pool with a jeroboam of Elf-Wonking Juice™ and lets a proper writer talk about the origins of his or her characters and stories. This week: Sam Millar (right), author of THE DARK PLACE. To wit:

“Write what you know, some old sage once wrote, many centuries ago. So mostly, that’s what I do: write what I know.
  “Karl Kane, my Belfast PI, always up to his neck in debt, shit and blood, is not unlike me – especially the debt bit. Although I would love to say he’s my alter ego, unfortunately – or fortunately, depending how you look upon him – he’s a hybrid of two other men, one fictional and the other real. I don’t even make it into the equation.
  “One part of Kane is based on James Scott Rockford, usually called Jim, sometimes Jimmy, or if you’re feeling really courageous, Jimbo. Mostly people will recognise Jim from the Rockford Files.
  “Still, despite not being me, there are some uncanny familiarities between myself and Jim Rockford.
  “Rockford served time in San Quentin Prison, not the most hospital of places at the best of times.
  “I served time in quite a few American prisons, even less hospitable, at any given time.
  “Rockford received five years for armed robbery. Later he received a pardon.
  “I received five years for an armed robbery. Later I received a pardon from President Bill Clinton.
  “He lives in a dilapidated home on the beach, 29 Cove Road, Paradise Cove.
  “I live in a dilapidated home, minus the beach, and I sure as hell ain’t giving my home address!
  “Just like Rockford, Karl Kane would sooner duck a fight than swing his fists, and rarely carries a gun, unless his life – or the life of those he loves –is in danger.
  “Kane also has the same dress sense as Rockford, which is pretty depressing, to say the least. He’ll wear anything provided it’s always within easy reach. He wore a pink bathrobe, for fuck sake, in the opening page of his latest adventure!
  “Now, that’s the fictional part of Kane.
  “The other man who gets the dubious honour of influencing my take on Kane was my father, one of the true ‘tough guys’ with a heart bigger than his punch. Big Sam, as he was affectionately known throughout Belfast, was a gentleman to a fault. Always a lover of the underdog, he was a socialist when it wasn’t fashionable to be one, a pugilist and a writer of millions of unpublished stories (a bit like Kane). He loved women, good brandy and gambling. A trinity that probably sent him to an early grave, but at least a happy one. I remember one day as a kid telling him I was going to be a writer, just like him. He smiled proudly (I think. I hope.) and patted me on the head. Years later, in the penitentiary, I decided to immortalise Big Sam, in a way he would love. And so the genesis of Karl Kane came eventually about.
  “Sadly, Big Sam never got to see Kane, or the way I saw him in Kane. I think he’d be very happy with the depiction. Just one thing, though: Big Sam would never wear a pink bathrobe. Me? Well, that’s telling, and writers never tell. They only show ...” - Sam Millar

  THE DARK PLACE is published by Brandon Books. Sam Millar is a judge of the Aeon Awards.

Norn Irons

Yon Brian McGilloway has more than a few irons in the fire these days. Not only is he going to be yakking and yukking with one Lee Child over in Belfast’s No Alibis on Wednesday evening, the 24th, he’s also releasing THE RISING, the fourth in the Inspector Devlin series. the following week, Wednesday 31st, this time in Derry, at the Verbal Arts Centre. Quoth the blurb elves:

When Garda Inspector Benedict Devlin is summoned to a burning barn, he finds inside the charred remains of a man who is quickly identified as a local drug dealer, Martin Kielty. It soon becomes clear that Kielty’s death was no accident, and suspicion falls on a local vigilante group. Former paramilitaries, the men call themselves The Rising. Meanwhile, a former colleague’s teenage son has gone missing during a seaside camping trip. Devlin is relieved when the boy’s mother, Caroline Williams, receives a text message from her son’s phone, and so when a body is reported, washed up on a nearby beach, the inspector is baffled. When another drug dealer is killed, Devlin realises that the spate of deaths is more complex than mere vigilantism. But just as it seems he is close to understanding the case, a personal crisis will strike at the heart of Ben’s own family, and he will be forced to confront the compromises his career has forced upon him. With his fourth novel, McGilloway announces himself as one of the most exciting crime novelists around: gripping, heartbreaking and always surprising, THE RISING is a tour de force – McGilloway’s most personal novel so far.

  For more details on both gigs, clickety-click here …
  Meanwhile, and staying oop North, the firm-but-fair guardian of Crime Scene Norn Iron, Gerard Brennan, announces the publication of REQUIEMS FOR THE DEPARTED, a rather intriguing collection of crime short stories adapted from Irish mythology. Gerard was kind enough to ask me if I wanted to submit an offering to the anthology, which generosity I was stupid enough to decline, and I’ve already dislocated one hip trying to kick my sorry ass. Anyway, the line-up of contributors includes Ken Bruen, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, Garbhan Downey, Arlene Hunt, Maxim Jakubowski, Sam Millar, Tony Black and – oh yes! – Brian McGilloway, among others. Gerard and Mike Stone are on editing duties, and it sounds like an absolute cracker, chaps. Come the launch party, the dry Pimms are on me …

Nobody Move, This Is A Review: THE DARK PLACE By Sam Millar

Garbhan Downey gets in touch, not to promote his current tome, THE WAR OF THE BLUE ROSES, as you might expect, but to ask if I’d be interested in running a review of fellow Norn Ironer Sam Millar’s THE DARK PLACE. The answer is yes, and thank you kindly, sir, and the review runneth thusly:

THE DARK PLACE by Sam Millar (Brandon Press)

Little children look away now.
  There’s a tagline running across the back of Belfast writer Sam Millar’s new crime novel, THE DARK PLACE, which I really hope isn’t true. It reads: “While most writers sit in their study and make it up, Sam Millar has lived it ...” For no-one, but no-one, deserves the type of punishment Sam metes out to his detective hero Karl Kane in this darkest of tales.
  Kane is beaten to near-death twice, force-fed narcotics, raped by a crazed (and possibly venereal) vamp, cuckolded by at least one partner, and then blown up in an underground tunnel.
  The people around him don’t fare much better either – his daughter is kidnapped by a particularly monstrous serial killer, his father develops late-onset Alzheimer’s and his best friend gets his throat slit helping our man track down the villain ...
  But for all the gore, Millar is a riveting story-teller, leading the reader from crisis to catastrophe at a frenetic pace. And he skilfully punctures the darkness with moments of sharp humour too, getting great mileage out of Kane’s bawdy relationship with his new girlfriend. Indeed, the sarcastically suggestive pre-coital interchanges between Kane and Naomi are as highly charged as anything Chandler or Hammett ever scripted.
  Like Marlowe, Kane has a touch of the white knight about him, and his idealism – and refusal to do the wrong thing – saves the book from its occasional lurches into horror-schlock. Indeed, if the book has a failing, it is that Millar has an inclination to lay it on too thick.
  But then, what do I know? I sit in the study and make it up. Sam, I suspect, while he mightn’t have lived all of it, certainly has spent a lot more time in dark places than me.
  If ever a novel were aptly named. - Garbhan Downey

Jack Taylor: West Goes West, Sadly

Hmmm, just as I suspected … Crimespree Cinema brings us the news (via CSNI’s Gerard Brennan) that Dominic West won’t, in fact, be playing Jack Taylor in the TV series of Ken Bruen’s inimitable private eye. Apparently, Iain Glen has stepped up to the mark, and filming began yesterday, under the watchful eye of director Stuart Orme, who has previously directed episodes of Inspector Morse. With all due respect to the craggily handsome Glen, he looks a bit too young and craggily handsome to be playing the Jack Taylor we all know and love. Sounds promising, though …
  Meanwhile, the equally inimitable (?) Critical Mick continues to champion Irish crime writing above and beyond the call of duty, focusing most recently on Paul Charles and Sam Millar. There’s a review of Paul Charles’ latest offering, FAMILY LIFE, here, and an interview with said Paul Charles here (you can find other reviews of FAMILY LIFE here and here). For Sam Millar material, the Mickster has reviewed THE DARK PLACE here, and interviewed Sam here. And if that isn’t enough for you, Brian McGilloway’s BLEED A RIVER DEEP gets nominated for the prestigious ‘Best Book Critical Mick Read in 2009’ award here.
  Crikey. When Yon Mickster hits his stride, he’s wearing seven-league boots …

All Aboard The Brandwagon

Brandon Books delivered a rather tasty package late last week, which contained the latest offerings from Sam Millar and Paul Charles. First up, Sam Millar’s sequel to BLOODSTORM, which rejoices in the title THE DARK PLACE and is set in Northern Ireland:

Young homeless women and drug addicts are being abducted before being brutally mutilated and murdered and the city is held in a grip of unspeakable terror. The police are unable - or unwilling - to apprehend the elusive serial killer and corrupt politicians turn a seemingly blind eye to the catalogue of murders. But by abducting Katie, the young daughter of legendary private investigator Karl Kane, the killer has just made his first mistake - and one which may well be his last.

Nice. Incidentally, Sam recently carved himself a weblington out of cyberspace; drop on over and say hello …
  Paul Charles, meanwhile, is generally to be found writing about DI Christy Kennedy, who pounds the Camden Town beat over in London Town. FAMILY LIFE, the follow-up to THE DUST OF DEATH, is the second in the Inspector Starrett series, which is set in north Donegal, and precariously close to Brian McGilloway’s turf. To wit:

In ones and twos, the Sweeney clan arrive at Liam Sweeney’s farm on the outskirts of Ramelton, County Donegal, to celebrate Liam’s birthday. The banter and storytelling is great as they await the arrival of the single missing family member. But when Inspector Starrett arrives unexpectedly at the farm it becomes clear that all is not well. The body of a Sweeney family member has just been discovered in the courtyard of a waterfront warehouse in the nearby town and the circumstances are suspicious to say the least …

  Incidentally, if we take Donegal to be a part of Northern Ireland – which it is, culturally and geographically, if not politically – then the last couple of months have seen novels from Norn Iron crime writers such as – obviously – Millar and Charles, Garbhan Downey, Adrian McKinty, Brian McGilloway, The Artist Formerly Known as Colin Bateman and Stuart Neville. What is it, exactly, they’re putting in the water up there? And can I have some?

Kane And Able: Sam Millar Returneth

The follow-up to Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM is in the works, as flagged by the tireless Gerard Brennan over at CSNI (terrific cover, right). THE DARK PLACE: A KARL KANE NOVEL is due in October, with the blurb elves wittering thusly:

“Young homeless women and drug addicts are being abducted before being brutally mutilated and murdered, and a city is held in grip of unspeakable terror. The cops are unable – or unwilling – to apprehend the elusive killer, and corrupt politicians turn a seemingly blind and almost approving eye to the catalogue of murders. The perpetrator is cunning, wealthy and influential. More importantly, he has never once made a mistake in his grisly calling – until now. By abducting Katie, the young daughter of legendary private investigator, Karl Kane, the killer has just made his first mistake, which could well turn out to be his last.”

  Not that I’m in any position to throw stones after the Hernandez / Mercado debacle in the Adrian McKinty review below, but over at Amazon UK, they’re touting it as ‘A KARL LANE NOVEL’. Which suggests that Amazon has just made its first mistake … which could well turn out to be its last. Sam? My advice is to sic Karl on their case …

Git Along, Lil’ Dogie: Lawks, ’Tis The Friday Round-Up

It’s Friday, so we’ll have an end-of-week round-up thingy. Any objections? No? Then read on …
  I met the radiant Arlene Hunt (right) for a cwaffee during the week, to have a chat about this project here, during which Arlene came up with an idea for a terrific chapter. During the course of the chat, we talked about ‘Kennedy’ moments in Irish crime, such as the murder of investigative reporter Veronica Guerin in 1996, and the murder of Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
  Another of those moments that had seismic consequences for Ireland, the Omagh bombing, gets the Ruth Dudley-Edwards treatment in AFTERMATH, due this April from Harvill Secker. To wit:

The Omagh bomb was the worst massacre in Northern Ireland’s modern history - yet from it came a most extraordinary tale of human resilience, as families of murdered people channelled their grief into action. As the bombers congratulated themselves on escaping justice, the families determined on a civil case against them and their organisation. No one had ever done this before: many are likely to do it in the future. It was a very domestic atrocity. In Omagh, on Saturday, 15 August, 1998, a 500lb bomb placed by the Real IRA, murdered twenty-nine shoppers - five men, fourteen women and nine children, of whom two were Spanish and one English: the dead included Protestants, Catholics and a Mormon. Although the police believed they knew the identities of the killers, there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. Taking as their motto ‘For evil to triumph, all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing’, families of ten of the dead decided to go after these men through the civil courts, where the burden of proof is lower. These were ordinary people who knew little of the world - they included a factory worker, a mechanic and a cleaner; they had no money, no lawyers, and there was no legal precedent for such an action. This is the story of how - with the help of a small group of London sympathisers that included a viscount and two ex-terrorists - these Omagh families surmounted all the obstacles to launch a civil case against RIRA and five named individuals, developed with reference to recent European legislation by one of the world’s leading human rights lawyers. Along the way the families became formidable campaigners who won the backing of Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush as well as of Bob Geldof and Bono. How these relatives turned themselves into the scourge of RIRA is not just an astonishing story in itself. It is also a universal story of David challenging Goliath, as well as an inspiration to ordinary people anywhere devastated by terrorism. RIRA today: ETA tomorrow: the Mafia, perhaps, the day after.

  If there’s any justice, it’ll be a smash best-seller.
  Meanwhile, the boys from Norn Iron are coming on strong. Here’s Stuart Neville on ‘How I got Published’, while Sam Millar (right) has just declared himself open for business over at his shiny new interweb lair, MillarCrime. Drop on over and tell him a joke.
  Elsewhere, a Gallic-shaped birdie tells me that Tana French is working away on her third novel, which currently rejoices in the working title FAITHFUL PLACE, and which will continue the trend of IN THE WOODS and THE LIKENESS in that it features a character from the latter novel as its main protagonist. “Frank Mackey, Cassie Maddox’s old boss from THE LIKENESS, is the narrator this time,” says Tana. “He’s spent his whole adult life thinking that his first love Rosie dumped him and ran off to England, and he hasn’t spoken to his family since that night. Then Rosie’s suitcase shows up, hidden in the wall of a house on their old road ...”
  If we’re all very good, Tana will have it ready for us by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I’m not being at all good over at John McFetridge’s place, although I am becoming cooler by the day, and through no great effort of my own. Fetch’s metafiction Baltimore Bouchercon crime spree continues apace … while Peter Rozovsky, in a Tana French-like twist, has leaped from a minor character in McFetridge’s story to become the author of a parallel tale of murder and mayhem in ‘The Baltimore Drive-By’. I can’t keep up …
  Finally, can it be true that J.D. Salinger (right) has turned 90?

The Sunday Review

Being a cornucopia of reviews of Irish crime writing wot have popped into my inbox this week. To wit:

Cora Harrison, MICHAELMAS TRIBUTE (Monsters and Critics)

Eoin Colfer, ARTEMIS FOWL AND THE TIME PARADOX (Inquirer.net)

Benjamin Black, THE LEMUR (Sunday Telegraph)

Benjamin Black, THE LEMUR (Courier Mail)

Tana French, THE LIKENESS (Sunday Independent)

Andrew Nugent, SOUL MURDER (Shots Magazine)

Philip Bray, INSIDE MAN (RTE Arts)

Brian McGilloway, BORDERLANDS (Mystery Scene Magazine)

Sam Millar, BLOODSTORM (Mystery Scene Magazine)

Ken Bruen, AMERICAN SKIN; Arlene Hunt, UNDERTOW; Andrew Nugent, SOUL MURDER (Irish Times)

The Beautiful Sound Of Bloodstorm

It’s high-ho for the Irish Writers’ Centre on Parnell Square in Dublin on Thursday, October 30, where Paul Charles (left) and Sam Millar (right) get together for a reading, talk and Q&A to celebrate the launches of THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND OF SILENCE and BLOODSTORM, respectively. The gig is being organised by Brandon Books, and nice it is to see them getting behind their scribes and working ye olde promo circuit. No doubt the ‘talk’ element of the evening will prove intriguing, as both men have, as the Chinese proverb has it, lived through interesting times, Paul as a music promoter and Sam – before he was pardoned by Bill Clinton – as a reluctant guest of Uncle Sam’s hospitality. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it along myself, as I’m due to go out live on radio around 6.45pm that evening, but if either or both of Sam and Paul are reading this, and fancy a pre-gig cuppa joe, the coffees are on me … Oh, and did I mention that admission to the Writers’ Centre gig is free? No? Silly moi …

Around The Web In 80 Seconds*

Crumbs! There’s nothing like eBay to give you a sense of perspective. An ARC of THE BIG O just went over there for $3, which is a long, long way from the heady heights of the $195.36 it was selling for on Amazon not so long ago. Talk about a credit crunch …
  Anyhoos, on with the more interesting stuff. Over at The Blog of Revelations, Peter Murphy reports that David Simon will be in Dublin on September 19 for a special screening of The Wire, which will be followed by a public interview. Jump on this for all the details …
  Brian McGilloway’s BORDERLANDS hits the U.S. shelves this week, and Brian’s blogging his heart out over at Moments in Crime all week, with today’s instalment concerning itself with why he picked up the quill in the first place. To wit:

“It was as a fan of these series that, four or five years ago, I had a strong sense that many of them were nearing an end: Rebus was reaching retirement; Morse had died; Robicheaux thought he was taking a heart attack in LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS. I decided that, in case these series should stop, I would need a new book to read, featuring that sense of place and central character linked. And so I wrote BORDERLANDS …”

  Which is nice. Meanwhile, over at the Book Witch’s impossibly glamorous lair, the Witch is talking up Oisín McGann’s SMALL-MINDED GIANTS, which Eoin Colfer recommended to her. Quoth la Witch:

“The cover of SMALL-MINDED GIANTS says this is a book for older readers, and there may be some truth in this. It’s a violent story, in a way, and the future looks bleak. Oisín has written a thriller with lots of action, and none of the clever gadgets or the backup that Alex Rider enjoys.”

  If it’s good enough for Eoin Colfer and the Witch, it’s good enough for us. Finally, Sam Millar gets in touch to let us all know that BLOODSTORM has reached American shores, complete with a funky new cover, and that the early reviews have been very positive indeed. First our good friends at Publishers Weekly:

“BLOODSTORM is the first in a powerful new crime series from Irish author Millar. Extremely original, it is a chillingly gripping book, and the consistently tough prose should help gain Millar more fans in the U.S. with a taste for the hard-boiled.”

  Nice. And then there’s the folk at Booklist:

“Irish crime writer, Sam Millar (THE REDEMPTION FACTORY) is back with a brand new anti-hero, Karl Kane … crime noir doesn’t get much darker or grittier than this shocking tale of corruption and revenge …”

  Nicer still. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – it’s always Millar time at Crime Always Pays.

* Providing you don’t click any of the links, of course

On Politics In The Irish Crime Novel, Or Lack Thereof

Our German friend Bernd Kochanowski from International Crime adds an interesting coda to the comment he left on the post On Publishing and Being Damned, to wit:

BTW: He (the reviewer) is also unhappy that the new Irish crime fiction is almost apolitical and doesn’t reflect the events that shook Ireland for years.

  The reviewer in question was casting a cold eye over Tana French’s IN THE WOODS, and is presumably referring to what we in Ireland like to euphemistically refer to as ‘the Troubles’.
  In other words – and we’re taking Bernd’s word for this – said reviewer is disappointed that Irish crime writers aren’t dealing with the consequences of the 30-year conflict that involved the Provisional IRA, the INLA, the British Army, the RUC (latterly the PSNI), the Gardai, and more Loyalist paramilitary armies than you could shake a cat-o’-nine-tails at.
  To which we reply, ‘Tosh, piffle and balderdash, sirrah!’
  Case for the Defence # 1: Adrian McKinty’s protagonist Michael Forsythe is an ex-British Army soldier. In THE DEAD YARD, he goes undercover to break up a gang of renegade Republicans. In THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD he engages with (and generally vaporises) any number of ex-paramilitaries on his return to Belfast.
  Case for the Defence # 2: Sylvester Young’s SLEEPING DOGS LIE, in which ex-IRA men travel to the U.S. and become embroiled in a complex plot involving a number of security agencies.
  Case for the Defence # 3: Ken Bruen’s AMERICAN SKIN, in which an ex-IRA man wreaks mayhem in the U.S.
  Case for the Defence # 4: Declan Burke’s EIGHT BALL BOOGIE, in which former paramilitaries diversify into more prosaic criminality, specifically coke-trafficking.
  Case for the Defence # 5: David Park’s THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER, in which former paramilitaries and an ex-RUC officer find themselves called to account for their actions twenty years previously.
  Case for the Defence # 6: Colin Bateman.
  Case for the Defence # 7: Sam Millar.
  Case for the Defence # 8: Authors such as Peter Cunningham, Jack Holland and S.J. Michaels, who were writing about ‘the Troubles’ as far back as the late ’80s and early ’90s.
  I could go on, but hopefully the point is made. Besides, and pertinently in the context of the reviewer’s comments being made during a review of IN THE WOODS, Tana French’s novel had a political subtext that perhaps was too subtle for the reviewer to pick up on. The novel opens on an archaeological dig, where the body of a young girl has been found, said dig being conducted hastily on the basis that the bulldozers of the property developers are due in the very near future.
  In Ireland, many such developments are highly controversial and politically charged, the most obvious example being that of the M3 motorway, currently planned to run through the Tara Valley (right), an archaeological complex dating back to 2,000 BC.
  Furthermore, the ongoing tribunals of investigation were initially set up to investigate the links – if such could be proved – between property developers and politicians, specifically to discover if politicians had been bribed to facilitate the rezoning of land in favour of property speculators. Among the many politicians to find themselves under serious scrutiny at these tribunals, to put it mildly, were two former taoisigh, or Irish prime ministers, Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern.
  To suggest that IN THE WOODS is an apolitical novel is to deliberately ignore, or be utterly ignorant of, recent Irish history. Here endeth the lesson. Peace, out.

The Neville Has All The Best Tunes # 2: THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST

Truth be told, we don’t know a hell of a lot about Stuart Neville (right), other than he’s a handsome cove and his forthcoming novel, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, has been described as “The best first novel I’ve read in years ... It’s a flat out terror trip” by no less a luminary than James Ellroy. Hmmmm, nice. Quoth the blurb elves:

Sooner or later, everybody pays - and the dead will set the price ...
  Former paramilitary killer Gerry Fegan is haunted by his victims, twelve souls who shadow his every waking day and scream through every drunken night. Just as he reaches the edge of sanity they reveal their desire: vengeance on those who engineered their deaths. From the greedy politicians to the corrupt security forces, the street thugs to the complacent bystanders who let it happen, all must pay the price.
  When Fegan’s vendetta threatens to derail Northern Ireland’s peace process and destabilise its fledgling government, old comrades and enemies alike want him gone. David Campbell, a double agent lost between the forces of law and terror, takes the job. But he has his own reasons for eliminating Fegan; the secrets of a dirty war should stay buried, even if its ghosts do not.  Set against the backdrop of a post-conflict Northern Ireland struggling with its past, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST takes the reader from the back streets of the city, where violence and politics go hand-in-hand, to the country’s darkest heart. Often brutal, sometimes tender, the journey will see one man find his humanity while the other loses his.

Colour us intrigued. Meanwhile, there’s quite the Semtex blast of post-Troubles Norn Iron crime fiction coming to light these days. David Park’s THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER, Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM, Garbhan Downey’s YOURS CONFIDENTIALLY, Adrian McKinty’s THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD, John McAllister’s LINE OF FLIGHT and – whisper it – CSNI’s own Gerard Brennan’s PIRHANAS. Will any of them rise to take the crown of El Maestro himself, Colin ‘Master’ Bateman? Only time, that notoriously doity rat, will tell …

The Song Remains The Sam

Yon big-ups are still trundling in for Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM, people, and everyone seems to be singing from the same – albeit unusually blackly comic – hymn-sheet. To wit:

“BLOODSTORM is a dark, edgy thriller, introducing Karl Kane as the first genuine anti-hero private detective – a man not afraid to bend the rules to straighten the law, and loves nothing better than to get down and dirty for the underdogs of society. Millar has created a brilliant warts-and-all anti-hero for us all to cheer on.” – Hooker Magazine

“BLOODSTORM is a classy, on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller. Relentlessly violent it may be, but nevertheless delivers - in bloody spades - what it tells you on the cover. A sure-shot hit from Belfast’s most controversial writer …” – Sunday Life

“Sam Millar’s latest book BLOODSTORM is a gripping, disturbing read shot through with elements of dark humour. You will find yourself still reading at three in the morning not wanting to put the book down except to go and check that the doors and windows are
really secure. What Millar is clearly very good at is telling a story and in doing so he creates set piece scenes which will stay in your head for years to come.” – Ulla’s Nib

All we want to know is, how the hell do get ourselves reviewed in Hooker Magazine? Meanwhile, the effortlessly cool Albedo One – Ireland’s Magazine of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror – has an in-depth interview with our Sam, according to our Sam, but we’re in no position to verify or deny that information, since it costs a whopping €2 – yes, that’s €2! – to download the pdf version and we’re more tight-fisted than a guy who had just balled his fist to punch a nun collecting for charity when he got struck by lightning, and shrivelled up, thus rendering his fist tightly fisted for all eternity, or until we reach the end of this (fac)simile, whichever comes sooner. The bottom line? Never punch nuns during adverse weather conditions, or even try to, and buy Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM. Did we mention we’re giving this advice away for free?

“Doh! A Deer!” Yep, ’Tis The Funky Friday Round-Up

“There was a time long, long ago in a galaxy not too far from here when we called the Friday Round-Up ‘Funky Friday’s Freaky-Deak’, the ‘freaky-deak’ bit being our little homage to El Maestro, Elmore Leonard. Unfortunately, we’ve subsequently discovered – naïve souls that we are – that ‘freaky-deak’ has a particular connotation in the world of interweb pornography (not pictured, right), and that a number of one-handed surfers were landing at Crime Always Pays to find themselves very disappointed indeed. Apologies, chaps – from here on in, the deak goes unfreaked at CAP Towers.
  “Anyhoo, onwards with the round-up. First off comes the belated news that Liam Durcan won the CWA’s Arthur Ellis ‘Best First Novel’ prize for GARCIA’S HEART, and a hat-tip to Durcan’s fellow Canadian-Irish scribe John McFetridge for giving us the nod as early as a week ago, at which point we were scraping the bottom of a barrel of Patented Elf-Wonking Juice™ over in Bristol. Still, it’s the thought that counts, right?
  “Over now to the lovely people at Fish Publishing in Cork, who have announced that this year’s Fish Knife Award for crime fiction short stories is now taking submissions. “5,000 words on any kind of crime, from piracy to petty larceny, from murder to misdemeanour,” say they, with the winner receiving €1,000, and engraved silver fish-knife, and publication in the 2000 Fish Anthology. The closing date is August 31, and all the details can be found here …
  “An old friend of CAP, Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM was published last month to something of a baloohaha, and it looks like the novel is going to have legs. The good folk over at U.TV are currently perusing it for an online book group review, and so far the buzz has been very positive indeed. Is it Millar time? It’s always Millar time, people …
  “Finally, another old friend of CAP, Mr American Hell himself, has been busy a-doodling and has come up with another crime fiction cartoon classic. We likey. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of cartoons and animation – if anyone knows of anyone working in animation who might be interested getting on board with making a 30-second short movie designed to promote our humble offering THE BIG O on the occasion of its US release, please let them know that we have plenty of ideas but damn-all cash. Yep, that should get ’em battering our door down …
  “And that’s about it for another week, folks. Enjoy the weekend and don’t forget to come back, y’all. Peace, out.”

Funky Friday’s Freaky-Deak

It’s Friday, it’s funky, to wit: a few interviews to kick off, first with CONFESSIONS OF A FALLEN ANGEL’s Ronan O’Brien (right) at his interweb thingagummy, and also with PROCESSION OF THE DEAD scribe DB Shan over at Indie London. Oh, and Declan Hughes is yakking it up with Dana King at the New Mystery Reader: “THE GALTON CASE stands out for me,” says Dec, “it’s about patrimony and personal reinvention and the American dream: it’s THE GREAT GATSBY of crime fiction.” A certain J. Kingston Pierce might well agree … Staying with Dec Hughes: he and John Connolly are appearing at Belfast’s premier crime fiction outlet, No Alibis, on May 9, if Gerard Brennan at CSNI is to be believed – which isn’t always the case, sadly. Meanwhile, and still riffing on a Norn Iron theme, Verbal Magazine is giving away free copies of Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM, while Irish crime fiction’s newest very best friend, Alex Meehan of the Sunday Business Post, interviews The Artist Formerly Known As Colin Bateman ... Garbhan Downey gets interviewed on BBC Norn Iron about his new book, CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS, three signed copies of which we’ve already got our grubby little mitts on and will be releasing into the wild via a giveaway comp in the very near future … Via Detectives Beyond Borders comes the news that the doyenne of the Carnival of the Criminal Minds, Barbara Fister, has deigned to offer her favourite crime fiction blogs for your perusal … Some spoofing chancer called Declan Burke talks about the writing life he used to have before the arrival of Princess Lilyput over At Central Booking … Over in Berkshire, some speccy pipsqueak called Potter narrowly pipsqueaked Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT in the Berkshire Children’s Book Award. If you ask us, yon Potter is 'playing with fire'. See what we just did there? … Brian McGilloway used to write guest blogs for Crime Always Pays, but he’s gone upmarket now and is currently guesting on It’s A Crime, the cad. Was it us, Brian? Was it something we said, or didn’t say? Just give us one more opportunity to put things right, we can change … David Thompson of Busted Flush very kindly gets in touch to let us know there’s a free download of Bill Crider’s Edgar Award-nominated short story, ‘Crank’, taken from BF’s DAMN NEAR DEAD compilation, available just about here … Finally, Andrew Taylor did more than enough to convince us of his Irish connections to qualify for Crime Always Pays: here (or just below, to be pedantic about it) be the booktrailer for his latest novel, BLEEDING HEART SQUARE, which may or may not be about some geeky pinko commie liberal. Not, probably. Roll it there, Collette …

Funky Friday’s Freaky-Deak

Being a weekly cornucopia of Irish crime fiction-related interweb baloohaha, to wit: Gerard Brennan interviews Adrian McKinty over at CSNI, with McKinty offering the following sage advice to future writers: “The lesson is you can’t rely on the publisher, you have to work all the angles. Writing the book is only half the story, you have to go out there and sell the bloody thing with or without the help of your publisher.” Amen, brother … Meanwhile, Gerard Brennan is subjected to the rubber hose treatment over at Critical Mick, in which he chats about his current writing projects, PIRHANAS and FIREPROOF … John Boyne’s THE MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is sailing your way soon, but over at Inspired Minds he’s talking to Breandáin O’Shea about THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, which is being turned into a movie as you read … Writing in the Sunday Indo, Celia Keenan casts her eye over the Irish Children’s Book of the Year shortlist, but somehow manages to totally overlook The Artist Formerly Known As Colin Bateman (sob) … Yet another competition giving away copies of DB Shan’s PROCESSION OF THE DEAD can be found at SFX, while over at Crime Time UK, Barry Forshaw chats with DB about making the jump from the young adult market to the adult market … Oh, and while you’re faffing about over at Crime Time UK, check out Barry’s interview with GALLOWS LANE author Brian McGilloway … Visit Dublin has all the info for the Dublin Writers Festival, which takes place from June 11 to 15, although the only crime writer we can see on the slate is John Boyne … Via Abe Books comes a decent piece on John Banville turning all Benny Blanco … Congratulations to Catherine O’Flynn, who won the Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year gong for her novel WHAT WAS LOST in the Nibbies … There’s a cracking interview with BLOODSTORM author Sam Millar (hat-tip to CSNI for the nod) in the current issue of the always brilliant Verbal Magazine … And while we’re on the subject: Verbal Mag mainstay, author and bon viveur about town Garbhan Downey launches his latest offering, YOURS CONFIDENTIALLY: LETTERS OF A WOULD-BE MP, at 7.30pm in St. Columb’s Hall in Derry / Londonderry / Slash City tonight. If you get along, give Garbhan a good tickling for us, we hear he likes a good chuckle … Finally, here’s a book-trailer for Sir Kenneth of Bruen’s CROSS, which is worth checking out for the music alone. All together now: “Here come old flattop / He come groovin’ up slowly / He got juju eyeball / He one holy roller …”

BLOODSTORM Und Drang

Yon Sam Millar’s (right) BLOODSTORM has been making a commotion of late, with the elves eager to point out that for once they’ve been off the Elf-Wonking Juice and on the case (see here and here). The Village Voice in particular caught the eye this week by describing Sam’s writing as “cheerful as a Leonard Cohen song on a wet night,” that being the kind of praise the Grand Vizier would gladly give his left kidney for, especially as he has booked front-row seats for Laughing Lenny’s giggle-fest in Dublin this coming June. Anyhoo, less of that and more of this:

“Irish author Sam Millar’s writing has been compared to Nick Cave’s. His books are as cheerful as a Leonard Cohen song on a wet night. It is easy to see why. Millar is prime-placed to write the dark and disturbing crime novels that he does because in his past he has visited some very dark places indeed. His latest tome, BLOODSTORM, keeps well within that dark tradition with a heart-stopping thriller … a relentlessly dark, page-turner of a book …” – The Village Voice, New York

“Belfast crime-writing giant Sam Millar’s controversial new book, BLOODSTORM, is the first in a new series of crime novels. This is not a novel for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach, but those with a strong stomach and a penchant for crime novels are advised to pick it up, for a taste of a true, Belfast original. BLOODSTORM opens cinematically, pulling no punches, warning of the darkness that lies in wait for the reader who carries on from here … this is an ambitious and gripping piece of work and Millar lays the groundwork here for a series which looks set to be addictive. Roll on the sequel.” – Verbal Magazine

“BLOODSTORM is a disturbing, page-turner of a book, keeping you on the edge of your seat right to the very end. Highly recommended for those with a strong stomach …” – Belfast Telegraph

“From the very first line to the last, BLOODSTORM grips your hands and refuses to let go, taking you on the darkest, scariest ride of your life. This is a compelling story of revenge and murder with an original voice worth dying for. Those with high blood pressure should avoid BLOODSTORM – and indeed all of Millar’s books. The rest of us can only wait for the next one to arrive …” – Irish Herald, San Francisco

Hmmm. Sounds like Sam’s just chucked down the gauntlet at Ken Bruen’s feet for the title of Prince of Darkness. Ding-ding, seconds out …

The Monday Review

It’s Monday, they’re reviews, to wit: “Bateman is one of those writers with a deliciously oblique view of life; he can sucker-punch us with hilarious comic jabs without letting the narrative sink into triviality … It puts him in the same enviable category as Christopher Brookmyre and Carl Hiaasen,” says Martin Lewin at The Guardian of ORPHEUS RISING. Over at Crime Scene Northern Ireland, Gerard Brennan agrees: “I was very surprised by the supernatural content in ORPHEUS RISING … Just trust me when I say he does it with the aptitude of the likes of Stephen King or John Connolly … He sets up a powerful world and sticks rigidly to his own rules, and the transition into suspension of disbelief is an easy one for the reader as a result.” A tardy one for Declan Hughes’ THE COLOUR OF BLOOD from Bruce Grossman at Bookgasm: “Even though the climax is disturbing, I was still drawn into the dense, complex story, which plays like a post-modern version of Archer, but never settling for the quick out.” Geraldine Brennan at The Guardian loves Siobhan Dowd’s BOG CHILD: “A captivating first love affair, a hilarious red herring and profound truths about politics and family add up to a novel set to win awards in the coming year.” Tony Bailie’s THE LOST CHORD is a new one on us, but the folks at The Irish Emigrant liked it: “A remarkable debut novel by Tony Bailie … THE LOST CHORD is a well-written and seemingly authentic take on the rollercoaster life of the rock musician interspersed with a tale of mystery that adds a new dimension to a well-worn theme.” They keep on coming for Benny Blanco’s THE SILVER SWAN: “There is a sedate, lugubrious quality to the writing, but it never becomes tiresome, mostly because of the quality of Black’s prose,” says Barbara Tom at MBTB’s Mystery Book Blog. “Banville mixes the best of literary description and atmosphere with the mystery plotting to create a memorable character,” reckons Bibliomane at A Reader’s Year. Martin Rubin at the San Francisco Chronicle can hardly contain himself: “CHRISTINE FALLS is rawer, more searingly, devastatingly powerful in its crushing impact. But THE SILVER SWAN, while still delivering many a staggering narrative or stylistic punch, is for the most part written in a more minor key, with a deeper, more profound, almost elegiac tone about it. There is a palpable sense of Banville as Black liberating himself, hitting his stride grandly and more comfortably, a realization that Quirke is a perfect vehicle for exploring Dublin as it was a half century ago.” Hell, even the Christian Science Monitor is impressed: “The author knows 1950s Dublin inside and out and the narrative drives onward with pitch-perfect passages, reminding the reader of the capable hands steering him toward resolution … Black never lets ornate stage-setting overshadow a lean plot free of any excess fat,” says Erik Spanberg. Elsewhere, the audio version of Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT is getting hup-yas, first from Darla at Books and Other Thoughts: “This is one of the best audio productions I’ve ever heard. From the jazzy, creepy introduction music to Rupert Degas’ amazing reading, I had a grin on my face from beginning to end … This is one of my favourite books of the year, and I am waiting very anxiously for the second book to be published.” The good folk at Sonderbooks agree: “The magic world Derek Landy creates is much darker and more sinister than Harry Potter’s … this is a fun and captivating adventure yarn.” Ian Sansom’s THE DELEGATE’S CHOICE tickled Sarah Hunter’s funny-bone over at The Skinny: “This novel is incredibly funny … Snorting with laughter is a habitual hazard with this novel … It’s a clever book, and an easy, enjoyable read.” Meanwhile, over at RTE (no, not Reviewing the Evidence – the Irish RTE), Linda McGee likes MISSING PRESUMED DEAD: “Arlene Hunt takes us on a gripping journey … Hunt has a great ability to inject suspense into her writing [but] while MISSING PRESUMED DEAD is action-packed, it manages to successfully combine a gritty crime storyline with a softer human story.” Bruce at Gonzo Geek likes the Ken Bruen / Jason Starr collaboration SLIDE: “It’s a tale of violence, sex, and double-crosses. Everything good noir should be.” Back to the feverishly reading Gerard Brennan of CSNI for his take on Sam Millar’s BLOODSTORM: “I enjoyed Mr Millar’s crisp and unrelenting style … most impressive is the story’s structure and how Millar chooses to reveal the final twists, catching the reader with a few surprises right up to the epilogue. So stay alert right up to the end, champ. There’s always one more body-shot coming.” A couple of big-ups for Tana French’s IN THE WOODS: “This gets 4 stars for being not only quite well written, but completely page turning. It’s like an Irish Law and Order SVU but with some really excellent prose. Tana French is indeed a very good writer,” reckons Sarah at Books Galore. Pat at Mysterious Yarns agrees: “IN THE WOODS is Tana French’s first novel and it really surprised me. I was expecting a competent mystery with good characters but this one got right under the skin of Rob Ryan and it totally hooked me. I read it in a weekend and could barely put it down.” Nice … Finally, David Park’s THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER is making waves: “Park’s soulful story about buried secrets, tangled lies and manipulated memories may be a little abstract for readers who didn’t follow the Troubles, but this powerful fiction both humanizes and universalizes the civil war that gripped Ireland for so long,” reckon the good folk at Publishers Weekly (via Powell’s), while Joseph O’Neill, writing in the New York Times, just about stops short of nominating Park for a Pulitzer: “It’s an ambitious premise that’s almost intolerably weighty; but with guile and wonderful imaginative sympathy, Park stays afloat on the most treacherous of thematic currents: the inhumanity of violence, the vulnerability of the individual before history, truth’s inextricability from power, the elusive nature of redemption … The central attribute of the writing — and it’s one of the things that make this novel of Ireland of more than parochial interest — is its conscientiousness. We’re reminded that with writers like David Park, the novel can itself be a kind of truth commission.” Ah, Norn Iron – if only they could have decommissioned the truth along with all those nasty bombs and bullets, they could all have lived happily and untruthfully after …