Imitiation is the sincerest form of flattery so I will copy Kim’s idea of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by highlighting the Irish books I have reviewed here on the blog. It’s important to note that I’m imitating the idea not the quantity as my 8 books doesn’t really stack up to Kim’s 75. But I am participating in the Irish Reading Challenge this year and have several more books on the TBR stack.
Alan Glynn’s Winterland “…one of those books that defies easy categorisation and is recommended to anyone who enjoys great writing, compelling story-telling and terrific characters”
Bateman’s Mystery Man “a loving satire on the crime fiction genre that turned me into the crazy giggling lady on public transport”
Gene Kerrigan’s The Midnight Choir “is a big novel, not in terms of length (the nine and a half hours listening time flew by) but in terms of its subject. Rather than focusing on a particular incident, investigator or criminal this book depicts a myriad of crimes perpetrated by an assortment of criminals and paints a giant canvas showing how and why crime happens.”
Ian Sansom’s Mr Dixon Disappears “if you can put aside your need for story for a couple of hours and just enjoy the beauty of funny, well constructed sentences and some charming characterisations then I highly recommend the book”
Ken Bruen’s The Dramatist “…a perfect noir tale with the best – most appropriate - ending I’ve read in forever”.
Rob Kitchin’s The Rule Book “On one level a ripping crime fiction yarn which would be pleasing enough but also made me ponder about the role we all play in making things impossible for police in with our insatiable desire for gory details and our seeming unwillingness to accept that real life is rarely, if ever, as simple as portrayed on shows like CSI” and The White Gallows “a captivating and credible reading experience, though not always a comfortable one as it raised issues that are all too real.“
Stuart Neville’s The Ghosts of Belfast “not my favourite of the bunch but a very popular (and award winning) book elsewhere, a bit too testosterone-fuelled and lacking in light and shade for me“
So, Lá ‘le Pádraig sona daoibh go léir
The Midnight Choir is a big novel. I don’t mean in terms of length (the nine and a half hours listening time flew by) but in terms of its subject. Rather than focusing on a particular incident, investigator or criminal this book depicts a myriad of crimes perpetrated by an assortment of criminals and paints a giant canvas showing how and why crime happens. There are crimes carried out due to desperation, corruption, greed and a fervent belief it is the right thing to do and they interconnect at the most unexpected points.
