“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

Saturday, February 15, 2014

The Bryce Is Right

I’ve hugely enjoyed Alex Barclay’s Ren Bryce novels to date, so I’m very much looking forward to HARM’S REACH (HarperCollins), the latest in the Colorado-set books to feature the bi-polar FBI agent. To wit:
FBI Agent Ren Bryce finds herself entangled in two seemingly unrelated mysteries. But the past has a way of echoing down the years and finding its way into the present...
  When Special Agent Ren Bryce discovers the body of a young woman in an abandoned car, solving the case quickly becomes personal. But the more she uncovers about the victim’s last movements, the more questions are raised.
  Why was Laura Finn driving towards a ranch for troubled teens in the middle of Colorado when her employers thought she was headed to Chicago? And what did she know about a case from fifty years ago, which her death dramatically reopens?
  As Ren and cold case investigator Janine Hooks slowly weave the threads together, a picture emerges of a privileged family determined to hide some very dark secrets – whatever the cost.
  If you love HOMELAND, you’ll love the Ren Bryce series, featuring an unforgettable FBI agent heroine whose bi-polar disorder is at times her greatest asset, and at others her downfall.
  HARM’S REACH will be published on February 27th. For all the details, clickety-click here

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Crime Always Pays: Advance Review Copies

As all three regular readers of this blog will know, I have a new book on the way – CRIME ALWAYS PAYS (Severn House), which will be published in the UK on March 27th. It’s a comedy crime caper, with the gist running a lot like this:
Karen and Ray are on their way to the Greek islands to rendezvous with Madge and split the fat bag of cash they conned from Karen’s ex, Rossi, when they kidnapped, well, Madge. But they’ve reckoned without Doyle, the cop who can’t decide if she wants to arrest Madge, shoot Rossi, or ride off into the sunset with Ray …
  For a flavour of the book, clickety-click here for Chapter One.
  I’d like to get the word out about the book, as you might imagine, so I’d be very grateful indeed if you feel moved to share this post with anyone you think might enjoy a crime caper comedy.
  And if you’re a book blogger or website editor based in Ireland or the UK, and you’d like to receive an e-book advance review copy, just drop me a line at dbrodb[at]gmail.com, letting me know who you write for. If I haven’t come across your blog / website before, I’d be delighted to add your link to my blog-roll.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Sound Of Silence

Stuart Neville publishes THE FINAL SILENCE (Harvill Secker) in July, the third of Stuart’s novels – after COLLUSION (2010) and STOLEN SOULS (2011) – to feature DI Jack Lennon. Quoth the blurb elves:
Rea Carlisle has inherited a house from an uncle she never knew. It doesn’t take her long to clear out the dead man’s remaining possessions, but one room remains stubbornly locked. When Rea finally forces it open she discovers inside a chair, a table – and a leather-bound book. Inside its pages are locks of hair, fingernails: a catalogue of victims.
  Horrified, Rea wants to go straight to the police but when her family intervene, fearing the damage it could cause to her father’s political career, Rea turns to the only person she can think of: DI Jack Lennon. But Lennon is facing his own problems. Suspended from the force and hounded by DCI Serena Flanagan, the toughest cop he’s ever faced, Lennon must unlock the secrets of a dead man’s horrifying journal.
  For all the details, clickety-click here

Monday, February 10, 2014

The Dark Side Of Kilmoon

There’s a goodly number of Irish crime writers who have been influenced by Californian authors – yours truly among them – but here’s a novel twist: a Californian writer setting her crime debut in Ireland. Lisa Alber – for lo! It is she, etc. – will publish KILMOON (Muskrat Press) next month. To wit:
Californian Merrit Chase doesn’t know what she’s in for when she travels to an Irish village famous for its matchmaking festival. She simply wants to meet her father, a celebrated matchmaker, in hopes that she can mend her troubled past. Instead, her arrival triggers a rising tide of violence, and Merrit finds herself both suspect and victim, accomplice and pawn, in a manipulative game that began thirty years previously.
  When she discovers that the matchmaker’s treacherous past is at the heart of the chaos, she must decide how far she will go to save him from himself and to get what she wants, a family.
  Lisa Alber evokes a world in which ancient tradition collides with modern village life and ageless motivators such as greed and love still wield their power. KILMOON captures the moodiness of the Irish landscape in a brooding mystery that explores family secrets, betrayal, vengeance, and murder.
  For more on Lisa Alber, clickety-click here