“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, October 22, 2013

Dead Men Tell More Tales

I thoroughly enjoyed Conor Brady’s debut novel, the historical crime title A JUNE OF ORDINARY MURDERS, and I’m pleased to see that that novel’s protagonist, Joe Swallow, returns in Brady’s sophomore offering, THE ELOQUENCE OF THE DEAD (New Island). Quoth the blurb elves:
“Bodies can tell you a lot. There can be an eloquence about the dead. But you have to be able to interpret what they are telling you …”
  When a Dublin Pawnbroker is found murdered and the lead suspect goes missing, Sergeant Joe Swallow is handed the poisoned chalice of the investigation.   With authorities pressing for a quick resolution, the public living in fear of attack and the newspapers happy to point to the police’s every mistake, Swallow must use every trick in his arsenal to crack the case.
  On the way he uncovers deep-rooted corruption, discovers the power of new, scientific detection techniques and encounters a ruthless adversary.
  Following leads from Trim to the Tower of London, THE ELOQUENCE OF THE DEAD is the second of the Joe Swallow books and is a fast-paced and gripping crime thriller from the pen of a truly talented writer.
  THE ELOQUENCE OF THE DEAD by Conor Brady will be launched by Donal Ryan on Thursday, 24 October at the Irish Writers’ Centre at 6pm.

No comments: