“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

Thursday, June 11, 2009

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Peter James

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
BRIGHTON ROCK [by Graham Greene] it is my all time favourite novel and has, I think, one of the psychologically darkest and most satisfying endings ever written.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Sherlock Holmes. He had such style, such amazing powers of observation, yet, like me, was flawed.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Jeremy Clarkson - a fellow petrol head!

Most satisfying writing moment?
After winning Le Prix Polar Noir in France, giving my acceptance speech in French and managing to get a laugh out of the audience!

The best Irish crime novel is …?
LIES OF SILENCE by Brian Moore. But I think young Brian McGilloway is going to be a big new star. I loved his GALLOWS LANE.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
LIES OF SILENCE - I don’t understand why it has never been filmed, it is an extraordinary book.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The worst is that I live in fear that my next book will be a disaster! The best is the freedom to write what I want and where I want.

The pitch for your next book is …?
A serial rapist who takes his victims’ shoes is on the prowl in Brighton. Is it the same man who last offended twelve years ago, or a copycat?

Who are you reading right now?
Several reference books: One on shoe fetishists, two on the psychology of stranger rapists, and a book of true life accounts of rape victims and how their lives have subsequently been affected.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
If God appeared I would realize I had an awful lot of reading to do. Starting with the Bible, all the way through …

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Fascinated by crime.

Peter James’ DEAD TOMORROW is published by Macmillan.

2 comments:

Colm Keegan said...

'next book will be a disaster' with me it's first book will never be written.

critical mick said...

Lies of Silence should never be made into a film. Brian Moore's books are amazing. I can only say the opposite about the movies based on them.

That Michael Caine version of The Statement? 'Nuf said.