“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, April 8, 2014

SLAUGHTER’S HOUND: Now 99p, Apparently

You’ll forgive me, I hope, for pointing you in the direction of the Kindle-friendly edition of SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, which is currently retailing at 99p, or roughly one-third of what I last paid for a creamy coffee. What the price of coffee has to do with it I’m not entirely sure, but everyone seems to equate the price of books with that of coffee these days, and I’d hate to be the one marching to a different drum (because, perhaps, of an over-indulgence in coffee).
  Anyway, you’ll find the 99p Kindle-friendly SLAUGHTER’S HOUND here, where you’ll also find some big-ups that read a lot like this:
“Everything you could want - action, suspense, character and setting, all floating on the easy lyricism of a fine writer at the top of his game.” – Lee Child

“Slaughter's Hound has everything you want from noir but what makes it special is the writing: taut, honed and vivid . . . a sheer pleasure.” – Tana French

“Declan Burke sets the scene for the most perfect noir novel ... The only way Harry Rigby could be more like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe would be if he rode around in a 1930s Chrysler and called all the women dames ... In the very American realm of hard-boiled crime fiction ... few of his peers over the Atlantic can hold a candle to him.” – Sunday Times

“Many writers of crime fiction are drawn to the streetwise narrator with the wisecracking voice Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett have a lot to answer for but only a handful can make it credible and funny. Irish writer Burke is one who has succeeded spectacularly well ... From the arresting opening image to the unexpected twist at the end, this is a hardboiled delight.” – The Guardian
  As always, if you feel moved to share this news by clicking on one of the tiny buttons below, I will be very grateful indeed …

Monday, April 7, 2014

How To Write A Novel: Louise Phillips

The NOIR-WEST Passage

Editor James Martyn Joyce gets in touch to tell us about NOIR BY NOIR-WEST (Arlen House), a collection of short stories out of the West of Ireland that has already staked a strong claim to title of the year. To wit:
NOIR BY NOIR-WEST presents new short fiction by 30 of Ireland’s best established and emerging writers; stories filled with menace and intrigue, with wit, wind and rain.
  From small town streets in millennium Ireland to the frontline trenches of World War 1, these stories represent a new departure in Irish literature, with contributions by Galway writers including: Mike McCormack, Órfhlaith Foyle, Ken Bruen, Geraldine Mills, Kernan Andrews, Cristina Galvin, Des Kenny and Celia de Fréine.
  For all the details, clickety-click here

Sunday, April 6, 2014

The Verdict Is In

The latest in Cora Harrison’s ‘Burren Mystery’ series, VERDICT OF THE COURT (Severn House), came across my desk last week. It features, as they all do, the 16th century Brehon judge Mara, a woman who is, to paraphrase Edgar Quinet, as tough and fair as time itself. To wit:
A festive celebration turns into a fight for survival when Mara and her clan come under attack ...
  Christmas 1519: in the midst of celebrations, the Brehon of Thomond is found dead and it is Mara’s difficult task to investigate the murder. Then suddenly the castle is attacked: how will Mara’s husband answer the call for surrender?
  I reviewed Cora’s previous novel, CROSS OF VENGEANCE, last year, and enjoyed it very much. For more, clickety-click here