“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, February 11, 2016

Publication: PAPER CUTS by Colin Bateman

Colin Bateman’s latest, PAPER CUTS (Head of Zeus), is not – repeat, not – a crime novel. Once you’ve picked yourself up off the fainting couch, though, you’ll discover that PAPER CUTS is a wonderfully cynical love letter to the qualified joys of local journalism. To wit:
Through world wars and civil strife, the Bangor Express has never missed an issue, but now it is losing money hand-over-fist and Rob Cullen, fresh off the plane from his London news desk, has absolutely no idea that he’s the man to save it.
  Rob’s back in Northern Ireland for the first time in 20 years for the funeral of his one-time mentor, the late editor of the aforementioned Express. Tomorrow morning the Guardian reporter intends to be on the first plane back to London, but that’s before an exceptionally good night out and the promise of £1,500 for just one day’s work lures him into the Express offices.
  It’s been a long time since Rob had a real story to get his teeth into ... and with the Bangor Express, that’s just what he’s going to get. From armed robberies to arson attacks there is no shortage of front-page news. Just as well Rob can rely on the Express crew to back him up. They’re like a family. A dysfunctional, highly unpopular and poverty-stricken family …
  PAPER CUTS is published today, February 11. For more, clickety-click here

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Publication: BURIED by Graham Masterton

Graham Masterton is easily the most prolific author publishing in Irish crime fiction right now. WHITE BONES, the first in the DS Katie Maguire series of police procedurals, was published in 2013; BURIED (Head of Zeus) is the sixth in the series. To wit:
Katie Maguire knows that in this part of Ireland, the past can never stay buried ...
  In Blarney, Cork, an old millworker’s cottage guards its secrets. In 1921, a mother, father and their two young children disappeared from this house. And now, ninety-five years later, their mummified bodies have been discovered under the floorboards.
  The neighbours cannot imagine who would have killed such a harmless family all those years ago. But as DS Katie Maguire investigates, the flames of old family rivalries flare up once more ... and Katie is caught in the crossfire.
  BURIED is published on February 11. For more on Graham’s Katie Maguire series, clickety-click here