A Peck Of Pykled Pepper

Andrew Pepper isn’t Irish, nor does he set his novels in Ireland, but he does live in Belfast, and he’s a nice bloke, which is more than enough to qualify him for inclusion on these pages. The latest in his series of Pyke novels (which are set in historical London, and feature the Bow Street Runners, et al) is THE DETECTIVE BRANCH, which will be appearing on bookshelves near you next February. Quoth the blurb elves:

A robbery at a pawnbroker’s. Three people murdered. A headache for the new head of the Detective Branch ... Now part of the Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch, Pyke must find the culprit and quickly, especially as the identity of one of the victims threatens to expose his own criminal past. A valuable religious artefact appears to have motivated the robbery but when the main suspect commits suicide in police custody, the investigation falters. A few months later, the rector of a wealthy parish is brutally murdered and the manhunt that follows seems to implicate an former prisoner, now looking for redemption. But Pyke’s suspicions take him in another direction and lead him to a dissolute former Catholic priest and rumours of Devil worshipping. And when a City Alderman dies in suspicious circumstances, the trail of blood leads first to a charismatic mesmerist and an alluring painter and then to the murders of two boys five years earlier. With time running out and the murderer threatening to kill again, Pyke must face up to forces within the police and the church who would rather the secrets of the past remained buried forever.

  So there you have it: an ambiguous noir anti-hero, a goodly chunk of history, some devil-worshipping priests and more murders than you could shake a thurible at. What’s not to like?

Burke’s A Rover

Off with me yesterday to Belfast to interview James Ellroy, who’s on the circuit promoting BLOOD’S A ROVER, and a marvellous day it was too. Mr James Ellroy was charm personified, an elegant, erudite and self-effacing interviewee who also understands the worth of a mutually beneficial stand-out quote or ten. I liked him a lot, which was nice, because it’s not always a good thing to meet your heroes, and I think Ellroy is one of the best writers on the planet. Hence the irrepressibly smug demeanour of yours truly above, although Mr James Ellroy doesn’t seem to be enjoying the occasion anywhere as much, despite his protests of ‘Man, I’m digging it,’ to the contrary. Oh, and I probably shouldn’t have worn my favourite shirt, the one with the hole in the elbow …
  Anyway, I bumped into Gerard Brennan of CSNI going into the Waterfront gig where Ellroy was appearing, and he seems a pretty nice bloke too. He’s less evil-looking in person than he is in his blog pic, which was a relief. He had some bad news during the week, by the way, so pop over to CSNI and cheer him up.
  Afterwards I met Andrew Pepper. I’d met Andrew earlier in the year, at the Bristol CrimeFest, and a nicer guy to while away a couple of coffees you won’t meet in a country mile. He has a new novel coming out next February, the fourth in the Pyke series, called THE DETECTIVE BRANCH. I’ll keep you posted …
  In between, Stuart Neville interviewed James Ellroy, and did a very fine job (kudos to Dave Torrans of No Alibis, who not only arranged the gig, but provided yours truly with a couple of free tickets). Ellroy did a reading dedicated to (I paraphrase) ‘all you perverts, peepers, panty-sniffers and pimps’ in the audience. I’m pretty sure he uses the same dedication every time he does a reading, and that his performance is similar wherever he goes, because there’s an compelling sense of theatre to what Ellroy does in a live context. He does perform, and he just about stops short of howling at the moon in the process. It’s all very polished and effective and damn near electrifying. Having said all that, it’s worth bearing in mind that the most important part of the performance are the words themselves. What Saturday night taught me is (1) it’s no harm for a writer to get in touch with ancient tradition of bardic poetry when performing a reading; and (2) it’s no harm for a writer to make sure his words are worth hearing out loud if he’s going to stand up on a stage and start reciting them.
  Off with us then (I was with an old college mate, Big Joe Lindsay, who works for BBC NI, and whom every second person in Belfast seems to know) for a Pimms or two, fetching up in the wee hours in a beautifully ramshackle club run by David Holmes, whom one or two of you might remember as the man on soundtrack duties for Steven Soderbergh’s movie Out of Sight. Given that that soundtrack is one of my all-time faves, it was nice that Big Joe (naturally) knew David Holmes, and made the intros. Big Joe plays some tunes on BBC NI himself, by the way, which is well worth checking out ...
  The evening ended shortly after I started waving my mobile phone around and showing pictures of the Princess Lilyput, which is always a sign that I’ve had one Pimms too many.
  Sunday morning I got up and read my review of James Ellroy’s BLOOD’S A ROVER, which I loved (the novel, not the review). I wrote the review two days after finishing the novel, though, and at this stage (three weeks on) I think it’s an even better novel than I gave it credit for – more subtle than I appreciated at the time, I think, and a more elegant, enduring work than either of the ‘Underworld USA’ books that preceded it. Anyway, for what it’s worth, here’s my two cents …
  Finally, here’s David Holmes’ ‘Rip Rip’ from the Out of Sight soundtrack. “Tighten up yo panties, boy …” Roll it there, Collette …

Watchmen: Who Reviews The Reviewers # 2

I don’t want to get into the habit of reviewing reviews, but Nick Hay’s review of Andrew Pepper’s KILL-DEVIL AND WATER over at Reviewing the Evidence popped out at me. Hay quite liked Pepper’s third novel in the Pike series, finishing up thusly:

“Despite this reservation KILL-DEVIL AND WATER deserves two very hearty cheers. The plot is excellent, the writing good, the historical and political observation both gripping and committed. And it is real value for money; this is a lot of book in terms of weight of plot, detail, and seriousness of purpose.”

  Pepper doesn’t get a third hearty cheer because of Pike himself, whom Hay believes is hamstrung in the context of the book because of his role as a ‘noir anti-hero’. Which is fair enough, and fair comment, but then Hay nutshells things thusly:

“All this makes KILL-DEVIL AND WATER a very male book.”

  Now, I’m not quibbling with Hay’s review in general, because it’s a very good example of a thoughtful, considered critique. But is it really valid to offer an even partially negative take on a book on the basis that it’s ‘male’, or ‘very male’?
  Ladies? I’m particularly interested in your take on this …

The Monday Review

It’s Monday, they’re reviews, to wit: “PRIEST, the fifth of Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor novels, [is] as perfect a merging of the protagonist’s personality with the book’s mystery and subplots as any I have ever seen in a just about any novel, crime or otherwise … an immensely affecting, sad and funny story, one of the outstanding experiences I have ever had in reading. This book deserves any award it wins,” says Peter Rozovsky at Detectives Beyond Borders. Over at International Noir, meanwhile, Glenn Harper cast his eye over Benny Blanco’s THE SILVER SWAN: “Like the first ‘Benjamin Black’ novel by John Banville (CHRISTINE FALLS), THE SILVER SWAN is beautifully written, and is fully realized in its details. The characters are interesting and believable, the setting meticulously rendered, and the language evocative. But where CHRISTINE FALLS had, if anything, too much plot, THE SILVER SWAN doesn’t have quite enough … for me, the atmosphere is not quite enough to hold together a story whose various elements are linked by strands of coincidence, but are at the same time never quite cohere into a whole story.” Fruits De Mare liked Andrew Pepper’s debut: “For a debut, it’s quite impressive. Pepper creates a fair antihero in the singularly-named Pyke … THE LAST DAYS OF NEWGATE was a compelling read, satisfying and simultaneously disturbing.” They’re still coming in for Derek Landy’s sequel to SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT: “Landy is a talented writer and has managed to create characters we care about. The relationship between Skulduggery and Stephanie is comic, yes, but also extremely touching. It’s a rare and talented author that can make us laugh in one sentence and then pull our heartstrings in another. PLAYING WITH FIRE is an incredible, amazing treat and one hell of a read,” reckons Jamieson Villeneuve at American Chronicle. But what of Aifric Campbell’s debut offering, we hear you cry. “I expected a highbrow literary affair with lots of subtle nuances, subtext, dense prose, long-long paragraphs and a distinct lack of dialogue and action. And that’s what I got. But here’s the thing – I truly enjoyed it … THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER is not exactly a light read for the beach, but an excellent novel if you fancy an intellectual workout,” says Gerard Brennan at Crime Scene Northern Ireland. Over at the Sunday Independent, Áine O’Connor concurs: “THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER is undeniably clever and original … A first novel for Aifric Campbell, it is brave and ambitious, its way paved and its form crafted by her own studies in semantics, psychotherapy, logic and creative writing. An impressive piece of work, it is erudite, interesting, thought-provoking and challenging.” Back to CSNI for Gerard Brennan’s verdict on Garbhan Downey’s latest, YOURS CONFIDENTIALLY: “It’s the funniest book I’ve read this year. And I read a lot … a laugh-out-loud-funny, fast-paced story and an entertaining education in the climate of Northern Ireland’s politics as at April 2008. A brilliant way to mark the tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.” Lyzzybee’s Live Journal likes Catherine O’Flynn’s WHAT WAS LOST: “A wonderful book – even though it had a mystery part to the story … But overall fantastic, and greatly deserved the nominations and prizes it has picked up.” Tripp at the rather poignantly titled Books Are My Only Friends likes Tana French’s IN THE WOODS: “Tana French’s IN THE WOODS will appeal to readers who crave well-written, suspenseful, character driven police procedurals … And despite it being a debut novel, French is comfortable enough to put aside some of the genre rules.” Finally, Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright gives Declan Hughes’ THE DYING BREED some serious hup-ya over at The Guardian: “There is quite a roll to Loy’s patter, a mordant rhetorical flourish … The book’s conclusion owes as much to Greek tragedy as to Chandler – ‘loy’ is an Irish word for ‘spade’, don’t you know. Hughes is not afraid to take his references and run with them, he is not afraid to have a good time. Above all, he is not afraid of writing well.” And that, ladeez ‘n’ gennulmen, is the very definition of a non sequitur …

The Monday Review

It’s Monday, they’re reviews, to wit: “IN THE WOODS by Tana French complements an evening by the fire perfectly. Irish author French expertly walks the line between police procedural and psychological thriller in her brilliant debut,” reckon the folk at Amazon’s Kindle Blog. “French does a great job of ramping up the tension … I had seriously mixed feelings about the ending (though it was entirely suitable), but I read the whole thing in one sitting so it gets a B+,” says Word Nerdy. Meanwhile, Sarah Weinman confers her not-inconsiderable imprimatur thusly: “It could stand to be cut by 100 pages, yes, but it’s clear to me [Tana French] has plenty of talent to burn and refine in subsequent novels.” Onward to Claire Kilroy’s TENDERWIRE: “Claire Kilroy’s writing is dramatic and lyrical by turns and the exotic features are just colourful background for a good and substantial yarn,” says Alice Fordham at The Times … Staying with The Times: “It is the rich characterisation that makes [I PREDICT A RIOT] worthwhile, in particular a litigious prostitute and a carrot-cake-induced coma victim,” says John Cooper … “Another new series of note comes from Brian McGilloway, the first novel being the wonderful BORDERLANDS. How good to have a setting with a difference and a policeman whose major priority in his personal life is his family and not seeing the bottom of a bottle of spirits,” reckons Crime Fic at It’s A Crime! … Shadrach Anki likes Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT: “The title character is a walking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton. You don’t get much spiffier than that, seriously. When you throw in snappy dialogue, fast-paced action, and more magic than you can shake a stick at, it only gets better.” Lovely … “The fact that everything is just slightly over the top, and the cast of characters are all such complete losers, is what makes this book so darkly funny … The body count is reminiscent of HAMLET, but the plot twists are more like a Coen brothers movie. Not for the squeamish, the sensitive or the literal, this book would be great for fans of Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino,” says Rainbird at Ketchikan Public Library of the Ken Bruen /Jason Starr collaboration SLIDE … Ready for the obligatory John Connolly hup-yas? “THE UNQUIET is so literary in themes it cries for the author to be the next Jonathan Lethem inductee into the hallowed halls of literature that appeals to the masses,” says Ruth Jordan at Central Crime Zone. “There is something about the way that Connolly writes without giving way to the usual horrors. His stories are undeniably dark but he has created a brooding darkness implicated more by what his characters represent than what they actually do,” reckons Adam Shardlow at A Walk in the Dark Woods. Meanwhile, Sally Roddom at Reviewer’s Choice like’s Andrew Pepper’s THE LAST DAYS OF NEWGATE: “He has succeeded in conjuring up in my mind the time, place and history of the story. If you like historical mysteries, and don’t mind gore, then this book is worth a read.” Bicko at the Review Column goes for an overview of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series, to wit: “As with the Harry Potter series, one thing I noticed was that as the series progressed, the themes of the books become more and more mature. Having read the entire series, I can safely say that the unique setting would draw the interests of both the young and old into the very possible scenario that we are not the smartest beings on this planet.” Donna Mansfield at Living With Books includes Adrian McKinty’s THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD in her 2007 Top 10: “McKinty is an extraordinary writer mixing scenes of violence, keen observation of Ireland today and lyrical soul-searching as Michael questions his life and years in exile.” Back to Sarah Weinman, via the ECW Press, for her verdict on John McFetridge’s DIRTY SWEET: “McFetridge describes a Toronto of opportunists, seedy deals, and double-crosses not unlike Elmore Leonard’s Detroit of James Ellroy’s Los Angeles, but his books are distinctly rooted in his home city’s rhythms and flavours.” Finally, they’re still coming in for Benny Blanco, aka Benjamin Black. First, CHRISTINE FALLS, via Faith McLellan: “A broodingly atmospheric period piece and a credit to its author, John Banville, who needn’t have used a pseudonym,” snooty-snoots William Grimes at the New York Times. “Quirke … is an endearing sleuth, not least because of his jaded eye and damaged soul. His struggles … are particularly poignant. Unique and deeply atmospheric,” says Cath Staincliffe at Tangled Web Reviews of THE SILVER SWAN. And Tom Adair of The Scotsman comes down on the side of big-up, just about, thusly: “You sense that Banville / Black found it easy and wrote it quickly, wrote it with relish – one of the reasons you enjoy it, despite a nagging feeling of hunger for something meatier on the inside.” Nothing worse than a heap of relish and no meat to spread it on, eh?

The Monday Review. But Lawks! ’Tis A Tuesday!

It’s Monday, they’re reviews, to wit: “[Ken] Bruen’s brilliant, machine-gun quick dialogue and furious pacing makes him one of my all-time favourites and a perennial pick for the Notable list,” reckons Seth Marko of AMMUNITION at The Book Catapult’s End-of-Year Notable list. Over at Spinetingler Magazine, Sandra Ruttan agrees: “Far too many authors mistake volume for detail, and waste a lot of words never saying what Bruen can nail in a single sentence. He’s taken the lesson of writing short stories – that every single word must count – applied it to writing novels, and the result is stories that pull you into them and refuse to let you go until you’ve finished the last page. Somehow, Bruen also manages to pull off the difficult task of having an ensemble cast that never feels too large, weaves several storylines together in a way that seems effortless, and makes his lead a character who is completely unlikeable, and yet somehow endearing.” Brant endearing? Criminy … Onward to The Saturday Review, and Dan’s take on Andrew Pepper’s THE LAST DAYS OF NEWGATE: “Pyke is the very definition of anti-hero. Normally I am not attracted to amoral protagonists, preferring my heroes to be a little cleaner cut, but for some reason I really took to Pyke, and will certainly attempt to follow him on any subsequent adventures.” Which is nice … “The original characters (mainly Skulduggery and Stephanie but also the secondary characters) and the witty dialogue between them strengthen the basic good-triumphs-over-evil plot,” says Laura Baas at the Library and Literary Miscellany of Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT … They’re starting to trickle in for Julie Parson’s latest, I SAW YOU: “Madness, revenge and atonement all intermingle, as the pace of the novel increases towards a violent and bloody climax. Julie Parsons has written a page-turner that will keep the reader fascinated right to the very end,” says Vincent Banville at the Irish Times. Staying with Fab Vinnie, this time on Ruth Dudley Edwards’ latest: “MURDERING AMERICANS, as well as being a mystery thriller, casts a bleary satiric eye on the institutionalised correctness of American academia. Lovely stuff.” And now for something completely ZUGZWANG: “Bennett deftly evokes the atmosphere of a society in which an international chess tournament can seize the attention of the local populace while terrorist bombs are exploding around the city … ZUGZWANG moves quickly – there is not a moment when history gets in the way of the plot [take that, Marx!] – and yet the underlying message comes through quite clearly: The real madness in St. Petersburg is not in Dr. Spethmann’s office,” says Michael Wade at Execupundit. Over at Wynne’s World of Books, Wynne – for lo! It is he! – agrees: “The plot is convoluted with lots of twists and turns involving revolutionary and counter-revolutionary plots – all great fun but infused with political and ethical dilemmas … A really great read – highly recommended.” The Sunday Tribune carried a yearly round-up of best books which included Gerard Donovan’s JULIUS WINSOME: “A dark, vivid, and gently powerful novel about revenge and loneliness … delivered in precise prose as cold, sharp, and evocative as the shot described ringing out in the cold Maine October afternoon at the beginning of the book. O’Donovan’s narrator … is much more complicated than the normal run of the mill vengeful protagonist … and this is a book about the nature of revenge which is satisfyingly complex.” The Trib also liked Tana French’s IN THE WOODS, to wit: “The prose manages to be smart and satisfying without falling into the easy trap of being overly literary, making this the perfect antidote to the more pedestrian efforts which clog up the market. A very satisfying debut with a rich feel for character.” Sean Moncrieff’s THE HISTORY OF THINGS also went down a treat with the Trib: “A novel which is fully rounded and imbued with a sense of imminent doom … The various miseries inflicted upon Dalton are described with the kind of subtle detail that makes your skin crawl, and Moncrieff has a pitch-perfect feel for describing the aftermath of a broken marriage, and the slow steady disintegration of a mind under stress.” As for Declan Hughes’ THE COLOUR OF BLOOD, don’t get them Trib-types started. Ooops, too late: “This is a book that could so easily have become an unconvincing pastiche, maybe two parts Chinatown to one part Jim Rockford; but Hughes’s writing has the intelligence and integrity to allow him to create something which stands assuredly on its own two feet. If you like your detective fiction written with smarts, and a meaty, mature, and satisfying edge to it, then this book is for you.” Finally, Benny Blanco’s THE SILVER SWAN is still hauling in the big-ups, starting with Tom Adair in The Scotsman: “You sense that Banville / Black found it easy and wrote it quickly, wrote it with relish – one of the reasons you enjoy it, despite a nagging feeling of hunger for something meatier on the inside. Its descriptive power is delicious … all in all it’s a romp of a read, a compelling fix.” Over at The Telegraph, Tom Fleming is largely in agreement: “The writing and characterisation are enough to sustain the attention when the plot occasionally stalls. This is a literary thriller that merits the name.” And that, we’re almost entirely certain, is a very good thing …

The Monday Review

The Crime Always Pays elves are still a little wonky from celebrating Derek Landy’s win at the Richard and Judy Kids’ Books bunfight with their patented Elf-Wonking Juice, so what better way to kick off the review than with a few big-ups for SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT, to wit: “This novel is funny, action-packed, sarcastic, and impressive in the way the story unfolds. Reminds me of Harry Potter in many aspects,” says Mordistheve over ye olde Live Journal. There’s a certain Reading Fool who agrees: “What a thoroughly fun read this book is! And I do believe there’ll be more where this one came from, which is truly cause for cheering.” Huzzah, indeed. “As a novel JULIUS WINSOME is constructed and written extremely well, with each chapter journeying you through Julius’s mental states which alternate from grief to anger to detached madness … The story ends like it begins, mysterious and quaint. It really is a lovely piece of writing,” reckons Brienne Burnett of Gerard Donovan’s mini-epic at The Program … It’s not due until next month but they’re already starting to filter in for Benny Blanco’s THE SILVER SWAN, to wit: “Sadly this year Michael Dibdin, the creator of the wonderful Aurelio Zen and that tantalising blend of Italian society, crime and politics, died leaving a huge hole in crime fiction. I think that Black and Quirke are filling that gap with this wholly gripping account of the shady, priest-ridden and blithely corrupt society of mid- 20th century Dublin,” says Tom Rosenthal at the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun Times likes the audio of CHRISTINE FALLS: “This is one of those rare occurrences when actor/narrator and prose suit each other so perfectly that the CD’s cost seems a small price to pay for the value of the performance.” Coolio. Onward to the inevitable John Connolly hup-yas: “Connolly writes convincingly of thugs, criminals and the supernatural, and Parker is a classic character who walks straight and tall like someone from the old west, and the reader knows all will be well once he arrives in town. THE UNQUIET just won’t let you put it down as the plot careers across the pages like a runaway train. Excellent!” burbles Mark Timlin of the Independent on Sunday, via Waterstones, where you'll also find that the Independent is no less impressed: “Connolly’s books are shot through with bitter poetry, and couched in prose as elegant as most literary fiction ... there’s the sweeping canvas, more ambitious than most British-set crime thrillers. However, all of this is not the overriding reason why Connolly has risen above most of his peers. It’s because Connolly’s work has raised the stakes, beyond the quotidian concerns of most crime novels, into a grandiose conflict between the forces of good and evil, with religion and the paranormal stirred into the heady brew.” Mmmm, gorgeous. A hop, skip and jump across the electronic highway to Amazon for Laura Mullen’s big-up for Sean Moncrieff’s THE HISTORY OF THINGS, the gist of which runneth thusly: “This book is a complete revelation to me … The description of his father’s death was really beautiful – it brought tears to my eyes – and his various relationships were really well handled. I hope he writes much, much more.” As for Andrew Pepper, he’s got a brand new VBF in Skelde at Book Crossing: “THE LAST DAYS OF NEWGATE is a gripping, darkly atmospheric story with a fantastic, pragmatic – and reluctantly heroic – hero.” Over at the Mail on Sunday, Geoffrey Wansell assesses the nine millionth Jack Higgins offering, THE KILLING GROUND: “Dillon remains as cynical, dangerous and ferocious as he always was, but with a trace of Irish philosophy and wry humour that made him one of the most interesting action-heroes of the 1990s … The only flaw is that sometimes the action is so breathless, with the characters appearing so quickly, that it can take a little time to catch up.” Finally, a flurry of Ken Bruen, whose AMMUNITION is still garnering serious big-ups, to wit: “Fast-paced, short, sharp sentences, brutally funny, brutally violent, noir that is pitch black, a sheer ride that thrills. Inspector Brant scares the bejeezus outta me,” quavers Bob the Wordless at Why Can’t I Write?, while Harriet Klausner pitches in with “The seventh Brant police procedural is a terrific action-packed thriller, but even with the return of Vixen, it is the avenging inspector who makes the mean streets of London meaner and more fun for fans of Mr Bruen, the heir to Mr McBain’s police station tales.” Lovely. But we’ll leave the last word this week to Bill Crider: “Some people prefer Ken Bruen’s novels about Jack Taylor, nothing wrong with that, but for me it’s Brant and his mates of the Southeast London Police Squad … I find them fast, furious, and hilarious.” And yon Bill, he knows of what he speaks …

The Monday Review

Salacious title, groovy gal, to wit: “Baroness Jack is a delightful character and with Robert at her side they make a perfect duo in this entertaining and witty book,” says Mystery Book Reviews of Ruth Dudley Edwards’ MURDERING AMERICANS. Over at Euro Crime, Mike Ripley agrees: “Good comedy thrillers with outrageous comic detectives are few and far between … It is therefore a pure pleasure to welcome back the eccentric Baroness “Jack” Troutbeck, that most unsubtle of sleuths.” Elsewhere, Jen Robinson isn’t impressed the audio book of Benjamin Black’s CHRISTINE FALLS: “Well-written, very detailed characterization, but a bit slow-paced for listening on audio. I think I would have preferred it in print.” Over at Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker gives SLIDE an A-, to wit: “A loose follow-up to Ken Bruen and Jason Starr’s superb 2006 Bust (with a couple of the same characters), SLIDE is all genially ferocious menace.” A hop, skip and a quantum leap away from SLIDE is Cora Harrison’s MY LADY JUDGE, which Harriet Klausner likes quite a lot over at Genre Go Round: “Cora Harrison writes an enjoyable historical whodunit starring a wonderful protagonist who understands no one is above Brehon law.” And what of Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT, eh? “This is a true good vs evil type of book with a large dollop of wit and humour … It is a well crafted tale which reminds me of Ghost Rider meets Harry Dresden,” reckons Kamannix at Books4Ever … They’re still coming in for Tana French’s IN THE WOODS: “This book is more interesting than your average police procedural, and far more realistic (if unsatisfying) in the ending,” vouches the 50 Book Challenge … Recent Shamus winner Declan Hughes has Ibjana purring at the San Diego County Library over THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD, to wit: “This was a really good book … I was shocked at the ending, I never once predicted the villain, or a few other twists to the story. I’ll be waiting patiently for his next book.” One of Crime Always Pays novels of the year, JULIUS WINSOME, has them creaming out yonder at the Western People thusly: “His writing has been compared to Beckett and Kafka, uniting satire and tragedy, pain and hilarity. JULIUS WINSOME is a provocative and deeply poignant novel by a writer with an undoubted talent for creativity and black humour. Perhaps it is the originality of JULIUS WINSOME that is most impressive. This is a narrative like no other - a strange, deeply disturbing tale that is utterly compelling from start to finish.” Yup, we couldn’t agree more … John Burke at the Sunday Business Post isn’t crazy about Frances Cahill’s biographical MARTIN CAHILL, MY FATHER: “It is likely this book will sell well, but many will find it difficult to accommodate the comparable lack of balance by the author in her depiction of her father, a career criminal, and the Gardai and justice system that justifiably sought to end his reign of violent crime.” Another true crime showing, THE MIAMI SHOWBAND MASSACRE by Steven Travers and Neil Featherstonehaugh, fares rather better with Tom Widger at the Sunday Tribune: “This is a chilling read, culminating in a chilling encounter with a UVF man who regrets that he and his fellow butchers “didn’t do more”.” Meanwhile, Mary Rose Callaghan’s BILLY, COME HOME went down a treat with Mr and Mrs Publishers Weekly, to wit: “Without becoming mawkish or preachy, Callaghan delivers an effective indictment of society’s failure to care for a vulnerable minority.” The late, lamented Siobhan Dowd’s THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY is still wowing ’em over at the Irish Times: “Everything about this book – the perky tone, the subtlety of characterisation and the cleverness of the plotting – is absolutely right,” reckons Robert Dunbar, and we’re not about to argue … A rare review for Andrew Pepper’s THE REVENGE OF CAPTAIN PAINE, courtesy of Tangled Web, suggests there should be more: “There is much to recommend THE REVENGE OF CAPTAIN PAINE, although many readers will find Pyke too unsympathetic a character to follow to the end. This is history with no holds barred, a step into the violent and visceral world that civilisation has tried so hard to leave behind … for those who aren’t squeamish, this is not to be missed,” says Rafe McGregor … Finally, Ronan Bennett’s ZUGWANG has been rocking them in the aisles all over. “The racier elements are less subtle than the author’s early masterpiece, The Catastrophist, but somehow that seems appropriate to the noir-ish atmosphere of the proceedings,” says Val Nolan at the Sunday Business Post, while the Sunday Tribune is equally effusive: “This thriller by Ronan Bennett was first published in serial form, and the brilliant set-up is deceptively deadpan … one needs to know nothing of “mysterious rook moves” or the Maroczy Bind to enjoy this atmospheric, ingenious and perfectly paced novel.” Lastly but by no means leastly, Anne Fogarty’s Irish Times two cents runneth thusly: “In Zugswang, Bennett with characteristic finesse supplies us at once with an engrossing thriller and a historical romance that suggestively examines the workings of power and the utopian desire for justice and equality.” And if it’s good enough for the Old Lady – the Irish Times, that is, not Anne – then it’s good enough for us …

Dear Andrew Pepper – Do You Have Any Idea Of How Hard It Is To Write A Header About You That Doesn’t Contain The Word ‘Salt’?

The ongoing argy-bargy at Crime Always Pays Towers about what constitutes an Irish crime writer degenerated into switchblades at dawn when Andrew Pepper's (right) name reared its metaphorical head. “Yay!” bellowed the belly-dancing dwarves; “Nay!” screeched the pox-ridden crones from below stairs. Anyhoo, a vote was taken and it was decided that perfidious Albionite Andrew Pepper doesn’t qualify for inclusion on CAP, even though he lives and writes in Ireland, has been nominated for a CWA / Duncan Lawrie New Blood Dagger yokey-bus (in opposition to – oh yes! – bona fide Hiberno-scribblers Brian McGilloway and Declan Hughes), and sees his Last Days of Newgate go paperback in July and then its follow-up, The Revenge of Captain Paine, appear in hardback in August. Sorry, Andrew, but the pox-ridden crones have spoken, sorry, screeched. You know the way it is, man.

The Monday Review: Yet More Baloohaha For Your Buck

Declan Hughes’ The Colour of Blood – discuss. “There’s the tortured, embittered, lost, hard-drinking PI in Ed but for many reasons he may teeter on the edge of the cliché, but he never quite tips over,” says Karen Chisholm at Crime Space. “The book roars along at a rapid pace with revelation and resolution overlapping themselves at every twist.” Meanwhile, Marcel Berlins is impressed at The Times: “Corpses pile up so fast in this tale about a severely dysfunctional Irish family that I began to wonder whether anyone would be alive at the end to pay Loy’s bill, but Hughes writes well and he has created a memorable character.” … The Book Bag compares Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: “It’s beautifully written in Ted’s inimitable deadpan style, which is both unintentionally funny and tremendously touching. Although it is suited more to slightly younger readers than Curious Incident … [it] should nevertheless while away a few happy hours for all readers, aged eight to eighty-eight. I loved it,” says Jill Murphy … Over at Obscurorama, the Silver Fox is bigging up Gerard Donovan: “Julius Winsome is a short, sharp novel about love, loss, grief, and man’s cruelty to his fellow man. If this sounds boring, ponderous or pretentious, let me point out that Julius Winsome is also a novel about a man who, when his beloved dog is murdered, picks up a rifle and takes his own revenge. This may just be my favourite read of 2007.” And it’s still only June … “Andrew Nugent, who was formerly a missionary in Africa, brings the inhabitants of Little Africa to life in this highly recommended mystery,” says Karen Spengler about Second Burial over at Book Sense … “Bateman writes with sympathy and humour about how people cope with finding themselves stuck in humdrum lives as they slide into middle age,” says Jake Kerridge at The Telegraph, further noting that, “the co-dedicatee of this novel is ‘my Christian name, gone but not forgotten’” … The Irish American magazine doesn’t seem entirely sure of what it wants to say about Patrick McCabe’s Winterwood, to wit: “If McCabe’s plot seems straight out of a B horror movie, the way he unspools this story is a bit more complicated. The chronology is jumbled, even confusing, creating an impressionistic effect, one which seems to mirror Redmond’s befogged mind. Winterwood is not for everyone, but then again, you could say that about McCabe’s entire body of challenging work.” … No such bush-beating for Paige Lovitt of Readers' Views when it comes to Ruth Dudley Edwards’ latest: “Murdering Americans is a fun book to read … In spite of the humour, the plot is also suspenseful. This is the first book that I have read in this series … I enjoyed it so much, I plan on going back to read the other ones in the series.” Insert your own ‘Lovingitt’ punchline here … Back to The Irish American magazine for Benjamin Black’s Christine Falls: “The prose is lush and poetic, and the pacing is excellent, as the book moves from Ireland to the U.S. (Banville fans will recall that several of his earlier literary novels such as The Book of Evidence had many elements of crime or detective stories.)” Banville? Writing crime stories? Tosh and piffle, sir … Meanwhile, Dispatches From Down Under is less impressed: “I loved other Banville works, and like mysteries, so thought I’d check it out. It was good, but I missed the fabulous literary style of his other works. Don’t know that I'll read another Black novel.” Hmmm, a backhanded compliment, wethinks … “KT McCaffrey’s Bishop’s Pawn [is] a traditional mystery novel … the melodramatic, over-the-top writing actually helps to lend the book authenticity and entertainment value,” says The Irish Times … “The characterisation in this work is well done,” says Reviewing the Evidence of Alex Barclay’s The Caller. “The atmosphere evoked is suitably grisly and the worries of both detectives made convincingly real. The motivation driving the killer is perhaps not quite as believable.” Boo, etc. … Marcus Gipps' Books Wot I Have Read previews Andrew Pepper’s The Revenge of Captain Paine, albeit stingily: “I still enjoyed the book overall – and the last pages, as everything comes together, were hard to put down – I just would have liked the whole experience to have been a bit smoother.” Finally, Ken Bruen had a good weekend – The Irish Times wafted some serious smoke up the nether regions of Cross, thusly: “The strength of Bruen’s work lies in the language and the characterisation. This is noir literature at its best. Bruen is an Irish treasure as a thriller writer, and his international reputation is blossoming also – as it should.” Which is beautiful … but then the Aussie Sunday Times went and printed this: “He brings Galway alive in the same sort of way that James Lee Burke immerses us in the bayous and mean back streets of Louisiana … [Taylor] is one of the most engaging and deeply rendered characters to leap from the pages of a crime novel in recent years … Cross is replete with guilt and redemption, and rich in fatally flawed, realistic characters … [It] moves at a cracking pace, daring you to second-guess why seemingly unrelated events unfold as they do. It is one of the most rewarding reads of the year.” Damn it all, that’s our ‘Ne’er a Cross word spoken’ header gone for a Burton.