Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A Psycho Is A Person In Your Neighbourhood: American Skin, Ken Bruen

Ken Bruen's American Skin is getting the kind of reviews that tend to give writers moist nether garments ("the scariest damn book I've read all year" ... "a dark, hilarious nightmare of a book that stretches genres and concepts" ... "an instant noir cult classic" - and there's plenty more where they came from). It's also on Barnes and Noble's Best of 2006 crime list. So WHY THE HELL HASN'T IT BEEN RELEASED THIS SIDE OF THE POND? EH? And who the hell do we have to blow to get a review copy? Sheesh ...
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 26, 2007 at 2:43 AM

    Forgive my ignorance as I'm pretty new to this crime novel lark, but what's Ken Bruen's best work to start off with?
    Bobby the Rookie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Declan BurkeApril 26, 2007 at 3:21 AM

    Bob the Rookie ... try The Guards, it's the first of Bruen's Jack Taylor series ... or Rilke on Black, if you can get your hands on it ... or A White Arrest. Cheers, DB

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 26, 2007 at 5:57 AM

    I'll check him out.
    Bobby the Rookie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Critical MickApril 26, 2007 at 9:44 AM

    My fave Bruen is actually London Boulevard, though Dec is right to call for The Guards. Here's an unruly review: http://www.criticalmick.com/criticalmick_the_guards.htm

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 2, 2007 at 3:25 PM

    Good review, Critical Mick. Thanks for that. I'll give it a go.
    Bobby the Rookie.

    ReplyDelete

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Declan Burke has published a number of novels, the most recent of which is ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. As a journalist and critic, he writes and broadcasts on books and film for a variety of media outlets, including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Examiner and the Sunday Independent. He has an unfortunate habit of speaking about himself in the third person. All views expressed here are his own and are very likely to be contrary.