That’ll be the X chromosome, folks, rather than the happy tabs that makes you want to dance your small but perfectly formed ass off, not that I’d know anything about the latter, mainly because I like my small but perfectly formed ass exactly where it is. Anyhoo, here’s a couple of pieces I had published recently, the first being a Sunday Indo piece covering some Irish crime fiction novels coming your way from Arlene Hunt, Tana French, Niamh O’Connor, Ellen McCarthy, Alex Barclay, Cora Harrison and Ava McCarthy. To wit: Last year was something of an annus mirabilis for Irish crime writing, with superb novels on offer from John Connolly, Declan Hughes, Gene Kerrigan, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty and Brian McGilloway, among others. It was also a year, as that list suggests, that... Similar posts

Yes, yes, 2009 was a terrific year for the Irish crime novel, blah-de-blah. But it was all a bit, well … blokey. Next year, the ladies are back with a vengeance – literally, in some cases. Arlene Hunt has just posted the very snazzy cover to her latest tome, BLOOD MONEY, in which Sarah Kenny and John Quigley of QuicK Investigations are back in business – albeit without the missing Sarah. Can John cope? Given the man’s previous form, I have my doubts, but all will be revealed on March 4th …  Tana French is also back in the game next year, after a year out, with FAITHFUL PLACE. This one features Frank Mackey, the handler who ‘ran’ Cassie Maddox in THE LIKENESS, and is another sequel-of-sorts in the sense that it develops a relatively minor character from a previous novel... Similar posts

It’s been a terrific year for Stuart Neville. Superb reviews of his debut novel, THE TWELVE (aka THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST); interviewing James Ellroy at the Belfast Waterfront; and last weekend – in case you missed it – a lovely write up from Marilyn Stasio in the New York Times, in which TGOB was the lead review. All of which is very nice indeed, but then Stuart is a very nice bloke indeed, as you’ll see for yourself in this video interview with Keith Rawson. Roll it there, Collette …   And while we’re on the subject of nice blokes, there was a marvellous turn-out for Alan Glynn’s WINTERLAND launch at Dubray Books last Tuesday night, which was cunningly timed to coincide with the official turning on of the Christmas lights on Grafton Street. Among the writerly types in... Similar posts

It’s getting to that time of the year again, when the ‘Best-of-Year’ selections are made, and Crime Always Pays has never been backward about clambering aboard a bandwagon. Yep, it’s the ‘Crime Always Pays’ Irish Novel of the Year Award, that somewhat-less-than-prestigious gong coveted by the very few and the ludicrously self-deluded.   The usual hyperbole aside, 2009 was a terrific year for the Irish crime novel, and will, I’m pretty certain, be seen in retrospect as a watershed year in terms of quality. Everyone seemed to up their game, in some cases to a frighteningly good level (if you happen to be an aspiring Irish writer yourself), and the result was some excellent novels across the entire spectrum of the crime writing genre.   What I’m doing today is... Similar posts

I’m only grumbling because I wasn’t invited, of course, but there’s a touch of the tired old blarney about ‘Emerald Noir’, next Saturday morning’s panel on Irish crime writing at Harrogate, which will be moderated by Ruth ‘Cuddly’ Dudley Edwards (right). Quoth the Harrogate interweb malarkey: Crime fiction is for many identified with big, brash urban landscapes, but some of the hottest properties in contemporary crime fiction come from and write about the greenest of all lands, Ireland. But what is it about the Emerald Isle that makes it the perfect place for crime of all types? Four top names – Declan Hughes, Gene Kerrigan, Ava McCarthy and Brian McGilloway – talk about their influences and background, the importance of landscape and history, and the place of... Similar posts

Y’know, sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the detail and lose sight of the Big Picture (detail pictured, right). Forget to remember what’s really important. I mean, sure, books are important, and well written books are even more important, and it’s nice that there’s so many terrific Irish crime writers out there these days that you’d need at least two adjoining phone boxes for the AGM, if such a happening were ever to come to pass.   But waffling on about such obscure minutiae blinds us to the really important questions, and the kind of tough questions this blog isn’t afraid to ask. To wit: Who Is The Sexiest Irish Crime Writer?   Some names for your consideration: (The Artist Formerly Known as Colin) BatemanAlex BarclayAdrian McKintyJohn ConnollyArlene... Similar posts

I’ve mentioned before how the Irish Times has been bucking the global trend by increasing its books coverage, with a ‘Book of the Day’ review on the Op-Ed pages supplementing its traditional coverage in Saturday’s Review section. It’s a ballsy move, and they’re not above getting down ‘n’ dirty with the crime fic crew either. Ava McCarthy’s debut THE INSIDER got a rave two weeks ago, and this week it was Gene Kerrigan’s turn, with Kevin Power reviewing DARK TIMES IN THE CITY. To wit: “Kerrigan, no slouch, is alert to the possibilities of the thriller form. This is a novel that uses a beautifully spun crime narrative to say something interesting about Ireland in the here and now. (It’s strikingly up to date: Kerrigan has, I think, written the first Irish novel that... Similar posts

All three regular readers of CAP will know that I think Adrian McKinty is a terrific writer, and that his latest, FIFTY GRAND, is probably his finest. Publishers Weekly is the latest to weigh in with a nice pre-pub review, with the gist running thusly: “Irish crime writer McKinty delivers an intelligent novel of suspense about cultural identity … in trademark fashion, McKinty winds up his provocative tale with a violent and memorable final act.”   The cover on the right, by the way, is the U.K. paperback. Tasty, no?  Meanwhile, Ava McCarthy’s THE INSIDER continues to garner ye olde rave plaudits, with the latest coming courtesy of the Op-Ed pages of the Irish Times, no less. Quoth the Old Lady: “This a storming debut thriller with a central character who is a... Similar posts

Actually, for all I know Ava McCarthy does drive a Jag. That’d certainly make the whole writing-in-the-car malarkey a little more comfortable. To wit: Ava’s unorthodox approach to writing knocks JK Rowling’s tale of writing her first novel in a café into a cocked hat: “I was determined not to impact on family life, so I used to get up really early in the morning, drive into work and sit outside my office for two hours in the car with the laptop on my knees and the heater blowing.  “The car is a super place to work. There’s no fridge, no kettle, no housework ... you just focus. For book two, I’ve been trying to work in the house, but I find myself being drawn to the car. The neighbours think I’m mad.”   For the rest, clickety-click here ...   Over to you,... Similar posts

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 POET, by Michael Connelly. I enjoy Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, but for me THE POET has an extra pull. There was a page-turning quality about it that had me riveted, and the twists and surprises were hard to second guess. What fictional character would you most like to have been?Kinsey Millhone, from Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series (A IS FOR ALIBI, B IS FOR BURGLAR, etc.). She’s a feisty, prickly, no-nonsense kind of gal, with an admirable capacity to be true to herself at all times. Plus, she has some really snappy one-liners … Who do you read for guilty pleasures?I associate guilt with many things, but never with... Similar posts

Following on from Thursday’s ‘negative and/or crap reviews’ storm in a teacup, Ava McCarthy’s debut, THE INSIDER, isn’t really my cup of Darjeeling. Which is a shame, because I really wanted to like it – the protag, Harry Martinez, is a likeable minx, what with her wilful computer hackery and poker-playing wiles. Anyway, what the blummery do I know, I can’t even snag myself a book deal with Lulu these days …   Anyhoos, and as always, my opinion is utterly moot, because THE INSIDER is moving through the publishing world like the proverbial dose of salts, with a little birdie telling me that the novel is selling into so many territories they’re thinking of terra-forming Mars just to accommodate the overspill. First, however – drum roll there, maestro – the novel... Similar posts

Trust me, for the next five years or so the hot topic in thrillers will be people trying their damnedest to break out of banks, rather than into them. Meanwhile, set in the world of dubious high finance, Dubliner Ava McCarthy’s debut, THE INSIDER (due in April), couldn’t be more timely. Quoth the blurb elves: A cutting-edge international debut thriller set in the world of hackers, techno-thieves and inside traders, for fans of John Grisham. Henrietta ‘Harry’ Martinez lost her investment banker father, Sal, at a young age. He taught her everything he knew -- about taking risks and calculating odds. But Sal made a bad gamble when he went into business with ‘The Prophet’, an anonymous trader who claims Harry owes him, now her father’s jailed for fraud. It’s twelve million... Similar posts