“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, October 15, 2009

What Do You Call A Man With A Sheet Of Paper For A Head?

Russell. Or, if you wanted to be particularly cruel, Jack Russell. All of which is a non-sequiturish way of announcing (trumpets there, please, maestro) that The Artist Formerly Known as Colin Bateman releases his sequel to MYSTERY MAN on November 12th, said offering being THE DAY OF THE JACK RUSSELL, a title so tongue-in-cheek we’re afraid that said cheek might in fact be a buttock. Quoth the blurb elves:
The Small Shopkeeper With No Name is back. Hired to find the vandals responsible for spraying graffiti on an aspiring insurance magnate's advertising hoarding, he soon finds himself up to his ears in intrigue and battling to solve murders which echo in the corridors of power. With MI5 getting involved and everyone on the hunt for a missing Jack Russell, can Our Man Behind the Counter stay alive as well as keep his world renowned but criminally ignored No Alibis mystery bookshop afloat?
  I finally made it as far as the ‘world renowned but criminally ignored No Alibis mystery bookstore’ last weekend, but it was a Sunday morning and the place was locked up tight. There I stood, criminally ignored and not even the crumb of being world renowned to comfort me. Mind you, I only discovered it when I nipped out mid-breakfast for a sly smoke from the cafĂ© next door, so I suppose I shouldn’t take it personally. Oh, and did I mention that No Alibis is hosting James Ellroy at Belfast’s Waterfront on November 7th, with Stuart Neville providing the Qs in a Q&A? No? Well, maybe I’ll give that a plug tomorrow, then …

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