“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, March 12, 2009

A RIVER Runs Through It

Brian McGilloway’s BLEED A RIVER DEEP isn’t actually out until April 3rd, but Crime Scene Scotland is out of the traps early with a rather nice review, with the gist running thusly:
“The character of Devlin himself is a fine creation and singles himself out from the herd of series characters constantly jostling for attention on the Crime Fiction scene. He’s a damn fine copper. Headstrong, sure, but balanced and professional. Maybe he doesn’t see eye to eye with his bosses, but he’s a family man with a strong moral streak in him. Don’t mistake any of this for dullness or weakness, however. When his moral code is challenged, Devlin rises to the challenge and pays the price professionally and sometimes personally for his dedication to the meaning of the job over the procedure of it all.
  “BLEED A RIVER DEEP was Crime Scene Scotland’s first exposure to the work of McGilloway, and given this tight, smartly written and gripping third novel, it won’t be our last.” – Russel McLean
  Nice. For your humble host’s take on said tome, clickety-click here
  Meanwhile, the shy and retiring Brian will be appearing at Bristol’s CrimeFest and Harrogate this year, as will the equally reclusive Declan ‘Howard’ Hughes. The reticent duo will also be doing a joint reading in Waterstone’s, Dublin, at 6.30pm on Tuesday, April 14th, after which the pair will then hotfoot-ish North to Belfast, and No Alibis, for another gig, this time on Thursday 16th, at 7pm.
  Make the most of it, folks. You never know when, or even if, you’ll see the fawn-like pair peering doe-eyed out of the undergrowth again.

2 comments:

Peter Rozovsky said...

Aye, he's a reticent one, all right. Turn your hearing aids down, gents, Hughes is coming.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

crimeficreader said...

Still to read this, but coming up soon on the TBR pile. Loved the opening paras when I read them!

Incidentally, why has no one yet grounded that one down to "TBRP"?