The Embiggened O # 9,012: Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

Yep, it’s feast or famine here at the coal-face of independent publishing, folks. Not only did Reed Farrel Coleman give us a serious hup-ya yesterday, but Bill Crider has been kind enough to plug us on his blog – we’ll bring you the gory details when modesty prevails – AND the latest issue of Crime Spree Magazine has weighed in with a review, courtesy of uber-fox Jennifer Jordan (right). The juicy bits runneth thusly:

“It takes some big cojones for a writer to slap a title like [THE BIG O] on a piece of crime fiction. With Declan Burke, there is no lack in the cojones department. For those that have partaken in Burke’s EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, this book is utterly different. Burke has grown as a writer and THE BIG O is everything fans of dark, fast, tightly woven crime fiction could want … What could be an overly complicated and confusing book is well structured and well paced. By using clearly marked narrative separation, Burke skilfully lets the reader know what is going on with the entire cast, event by event. He does this seamlessly and with mordant humour. As each scene unfolds, tension mounts and hilarity ensues. And guess as the reader might, there is no way to predict how the finale will unfold.”

Jen? If we weren’t already married, you’d be applying for a restraining order right about now. Meanwhile, two of the generous souls over at Shots Mag – aka Ali Karim and Tony Black – have seen fit to post up a feature about our humble offering over at their interweb page thingagummy, lobbing us into the middle of some distinctly dubious-looking company that includes Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Cathi Unsworth and Robert Ferrigno. Consider our gob well and truly smacked. As for our gast, well, it’s never had a flabbering quite like it …

The Crime Spree Round-Up: Because You’re Worth It

Three cheers, two stools and a small but handy table - the latest Crime Spree magazine is on the shelves courtesy of the Jordan mob, which is as good a reason as any to run some hup-yas from the book review section of the previous issue, to wit: “Adrian McKinty has garnered nothing but praise for his first two books. This third in the trilogy, The Bloomsday Dead, should leave no doubt that he is a true star. Fast moving and highly engaging, this is a great book. McKinty just gets better and better, a true star of crime fiction,” says Jon in Crime Spree 18, where you’ll also find Ruth bigging-up Declan Hughes’s latest: “The decidedly Irish Hughes allows us a glimpse of country whose new-found prosperity cannot erase the sins of the often self-righteous and blind religious fanaticism that was its past … For those who read The Colour of Blood it’s an opportunity to look at where we’ve come and where we’re going, wrapped in satisfying crime fiction and a well told fable.” Which is nice … Meanwhile, Jennifer likes The Unquiet: “As with all of [John] Connolly’s books, The Unquiet is meticulous and darkly vivid. While the beautiful prose style remains, the story itself moves more quickly and the story’s hero, Charlie Parker, is more accessible to readers than ever before. Dare I say, this is the most human of Connolly’s books so far and is well worth the wait.” Shall we dip into Crime Spree 19? Oh yes, we shall … “The novel is amusing until near the end, when lengthy expositions – sort of long-winded summaries to bring things up to date – cloud the light-hearted criticisms and observations and the reading becomes bogged down,” reckons Theodore Feit of Ruth Dudley Edwards’ Murdering Americans, while Ruth is more enamoured of Ken Bruen’s Cross, to wit: “Underneath Bruen’s stylistic prowess there is also always a poet’s look at Ireland and all its fallibility … A pivotal outing in one of mystery’s finest series, Cross will make you rethink your definitions of both life and living.” Lovely, lovely, lovely …