“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A Name To Be Reckoned With

There’s been some very nice reviews of Jane Casey’s THE RECKONING over the last couple of weekends, which have only served to whet my appetite. I’ve been looking forward to THE RECKONING ever since I finished THE BURNING, Jane’s second novel, with which I was mightily impressed when I read it late last year. And Jane’s debut novel, THE MISSING, was shortlisted for the Irish Crime Fiction Novel of the Year.
  Anyway, first out of the traps was Kevin Sweeney in the Irish Times, who - after a very odd preamble designed to establish his ‘credentials’ (i.e., crime fiction is virtually all schlock writing) - had this to say two weeks ago:
“THE RECKONING, the third novel in a series about a rookie female Irish homicide detective in London, stands out from the pack as both a twisty, well-crafted mystery and as a humanistic portrait of an ambitious professional with a strong moral centre.” - Kevin Sweeney
  For the rest, clickety-click here
  Meanwhile, over at the Irish Independent last weekend, Irish crime fiction’s best friend, aka Myles McWeeney, pitched up with this two cents:
“How Maeve [Kerrigan] faces these challenges makes for a satisfyingly tension-filled, page-rifling read that comes with the added bonus of beautifully realised characters and elegant prose. THE RECKONING is Jane Casey’s third Maeve Kerrigan novel in less than two years, and with it she moves effortlessly into the pantheon of top Irish female crime writers, a list that includes Tana French, Alex Barclay, Arlene Hunt and Niamh O’Connor.” - Myles McWeeney
  For the rest, you know what to do
  So there you have it. Jane Casey’s THE RECKONING. Another major Irish talent to be - oh yes! - reckoned with …

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