“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

Monday, July 16, 2007

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 319: Allan Guthrie

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?
My next one.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
That’s tough … Has to be Heat Magazine. It’s full of people I’ve never heard of, doing things I’ve no interest in. I only read it in the hope of spotting Ken Bruen one of these days. Honest.
Most satisfying writing moment?
Probably the Edgar nomination for Kiss Her Goodbye.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
My favourite is American Skin, Ken Bruen.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Off the top of my head: Alex Barclay’s The Caller, Gene Kerrigan’s Little Criminals, Bateman’s I Predict A Riot (a looong movie) and Bruen’s Her Last Call To Louis MacNeice and London Boulevard.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst: writing. Best: rewriting. Or, possibly: Worst: writing alone. Best: co-writing.
Why does John Banville use a pseudonym for writing crime?
Presumably because the books are aimed at a different market. Or maybe he just likes the idea of following in Bernard Mara / Brian Moore’s footsteps. Or it could be a contractual nicety. I haven’t a bloody clue. Go and ask him and let me know what he says.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
The suspense is ...

Allan Guthrie’s Hard Man is out now. And if you’re feeling particularly generous today, you can vote for Allan’s Two-Way Split in the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award over here. Go on, you know you want to …

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