“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, April 29, 2017

Launch: THE THERAPY HOUSE by Julie Parsons

It has been far too long since Julie Parsons last published a novel, so I’m delighted to see that her latest, THE THERAPY HOUSE, will be published by New Island Books early next month. To wit:

New Island Books
requests the pleasure of your company to celebrate the launch of The Therapy House by Julie Parsons on
Tuesday, May 2nd at 7.00pm
in DLR LexIcon
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
  To mark the publication of her first novel in nearly ten years, Julie will be in conversation with fellow writer and journalist Declan Hughes.

  Please note: this is a seated event. Please arrive not later than 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Tickets are free but booking is essential via Eventbrite.

  ‘Julie Parsons takes the psychological suspense thriller to places it rarely dares to go ...’ The New York Times
On Sundays peace was restored. He would lie down, dream and remember. He would enjoy. And later on the bell would ring. He would get up and walk downstairs. He would open the front door. And his life would come to an end ...

Garda Inspector Michael McLoughlin is trying to enjoy his retirement – doing a bit of PI work on the side, meeting up with former colleagues, fixing up a grand old house in a genteel Dublin suburb near the sea.

Then he discovers the body of his neighbour, a retired judge – brutally murdered, shot through the back of the neck, his face mutilated beyond recognition. McLoughlin finds himself drawn into the murky past of the murdered judge, which leads him back to his own father’s killing, decades earlier, by the IRA. In seeking the truth behind both crimes, a web of deceit, blackmail and fragile reputations comes to light, as McLoughlin’s investigation reveals the explosive circumstances linking both crimes – and dark secrets are discovered which would destroy the judge’s legendary family name.
  Bestselling author Julie Parsons (Mary, Mary, I Saw You, The Hourglass) is back with a powerful, compelling, and darkly chilling novel of violence, shame and deceit.

Friday, April 28, 2017

News: Adrian McKinty Takes Home An Edgar

Well, he did and he didn’t – Adrian McKinty’s RAIN DOGS (Serpent’s Tail) won the Edgar for Best Original Paperback at last night’s award ceremony in New York, but McKinty himself was absent and very likely, as Sean Duffy might have it, across the sheugh. Which sounds more painful than it really is. Anyway, the heartiest of congrats to Adrian McKinty, the latest Irish winner of an Edgar award, for this fully deserved recognition of his Sean Duffy series …
  For a review of RAIN DOGS, clickety-click here