Gerard Brennan over at CSNI gave us the first look at Stuart Neville’s cover for THE TWELVE this week (rather fetching artwork, right), and also Stuart’s depressing reasons for why the previously monikered THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST will be called THE TWELVE for it’s UK release. Buggery, scooped again. Oi, Neville – that’s you and me finito, squire. Anyhoo, the reason I bring up THE TWELVE is that John Connolly was among those great-n-good the Irish Times asked for their ‘Books of the Year’ selections for 2008, the full list of which was published yesterday. Quoth JC:
“Meanwhile, this was a good year for Irish crime fiction, with strong additions from Declan Hughes, Tana French, Paul Charles and Brian McGilloway, among others. I suspect, though, that one of the crime novels of the year in 2009 will be Stuart Neville’s stunning debut, THE TWELVE (Harvill Secker, £12.99), which is, I think, the best mystery to have emerged so far from the aftermath of the Troubles. I read it in a single sitting, and it marks a major step forward for the genre in this country.”So there you have it. Stuart Neville. THE TWELVE. Remember, folks, you heard it here second.
Well, you got the scoop on this one, Dec - I didn't know a thing about it until a few minutes ago!
ReplyDeleteI had thought I owed John Connolly a pint. It's looking more like I'll owe him a brewery!
Hmmm,
ReplyDeleteI like Ghosts of Belfast better but I'm going to jump over and see what the man says for himself.
Kind of like THE TWELVE myself ... Sorta apostle-y spooky. Of course, they could have gone the extra mile and just called it THE TWELFTH ...
ReplyDeleteCheers, Dec
That's a great write up, Stuart. Any word yet on when this might be published in the U.S.?
ReplyDeleteReally? My worst pun ever? Gee, shucks ...
ReplyDeleteSeanag - Soho Press haven't given me a publication date yet, but I'm thinking it'll be 2010 or late 2009 at the earliest.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's a wait for us then, but on the other hand, Soho seems to be a great press to be associated with. They've been putting out a very strong line of international crime fiction, both new and old, these last few years. So we can hope the company you'll be keeping will boost your name recognition even further.
ReplyDelete