There’s a very timely offering on the way from New Island Books next month, when they publish Patrick McGinley’s
BOGMAIL, one of the great Irish crime novels. First published in 1978, it’s being reissued as part of the
Modern Irish Classics series. To wit:
A truly funny and stunningly well-told tale of murder in a small Irish village near Donegal, BOGMAIL is a classic of modern Irish literature. Set in a remote village in the west of Ireland, the action begins with a murder when Roarty, a publican and former priest, kills his bartender then buries his body in a bog. It’s not long before Roarty starts getting blackmail letters, and matters quickly spiral out of his control. Twisty, turny and enlivened with colour that echoes the landscape and surroundings, BOGMAIL was Patrick McGinley’s first novel, yet it remains just as fresh today as the day it first appeared. BOGMAIL got the five-star treatment from Time magazine and The New York Times, and it was nominated for Best Novel in the 1981 Edgars.
So there you have it. It’s donkey’s years since I first read BOGMAIL, so I’ll be giving it a whirl again in the very near future, just as soon (koff) as my fabulous new copy arrives from New Island Books …
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