I’ve been faffing about on the fringes of the ebook revolution for a while now, and slowly realising that there are benefits to digital books that aren’t immediately apparent. One such benefit is that books that are out of print - such as a personal favourite of mine, Adrian McKinty’s DEAD I WELL MAY BE - not only come available again, but will remain published for the foreseeable future, and in theory at least, forever. The fact that the mainstream publishing industry allowed as fine a novel as DEAD I WELL MAY BE fall out of print in the first place is not only a disgrace, but something of an indictment of its shortcomings. Anyway, I thought I’d offer a quick round-up of some Irish crime titles now available on ebook. The list is by no means exhaustive, and is intended as no more than a sample: if you’re an Irish crime writer and you’d like your own (or most recent) title added to the list, just drop me a line with the link enclosed.
The list:
DEAD I WELL MAY BE, Adrian McKintyBy the way, I’ve also started a discussion group on Amazon, specialising in Irish Crime and Mystery Novels - if you’re a writer who fancies adding your own title(s) to the list, clickety-click here …
CITY OF LOST GIRLS, Declan Hughes
THE WHISPERERS, John Connolly
TIME OF DEATH, Alex Barclay
CROSS, Ken Bruen
FALLING GLASS, Adrian McKinty
LIMITLESS (aka THE DARK FIELDS), Alan Glynn
THE MIDNIGHT CHOIR, Gene Kerrigan
PEELER, Kevin McCarthy
LITTLE GIRL LOST, Brian McGilloway
THE COURIER, Ava McCarthy
PERIL, Ruby Barnes
ANOTHER LIFE, John J. Gaynard
ORCHID BLUE, Eoin McNamee
Finally, my own Kindle adventures continue, as the publication of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE as an ebook has given rise to a number of readers’ reviews on Amazon, but also reviews elsewhere.
Over at Not New For Long, Seana Graham was kind enough to say the following: “Emulating a master like Chandler is a risky thing and you not only have to have guts, you’ve got to have a gift. And Burke’s got it. Everyone’s going to have their favourite line or ten by the time they get through with this one.”Meanwhile, Glenna at Various Random Thoughts had this to say:
“Declan Burke nails it, with a sense of humour to boot. EIGHTBALL BOOGIE is dark, edgy, fast paced and funny with a protagonist that isn’t perfect, but will do anything he has to do to do what needs to be done.”I thank you kindly, ladies. Your reward will be in heaven, if not before.
13 comments:
I found and read DIWMB on Kindle last month. "Out of print" books and the numbers of new books by authors I liked that were released direct to Kindle (Tim Hallinan, JD Rhoades) was the other. (Short, inexpensive anthologies are also a bonus.)
I'm not giving up print books (two arrived from Amazon the other day), but I'm up to about half-and-half now.
Congratulations on your fine reviews!
And I agree, Kindle is a fine supplement to paper books which offers new opportunities for readers and writers.
Only two problems. These books aren't available in the US and a lot of us don't have Kindles. Hopefully someday these will be published here in ePub or PDF format.
Bill, you can get the book in a variety of ereader formats from Smashwords too. Or you can ask the author if he still has print copies, which is how I happened to be able to read it.
Seana, thanks for the idea, but I just went out to Smashwords and don't see any books by Kerrigan, McKinty, or McGilloway which are the ones I'd be interested in. It is really hard to get these authors here in the US. No book stores carry them either. I usually wait until the public library gets them, but that usually is a year or more after they are published.
Declan, thanks for the mention.
Bill, try second hand bookshops also. I've found some of both McKinty's and Macgilloway's out of print or not availible books that way.
Glenna, thanks for the suggestion. I do keep an eye open at the local used book stores, but don't find them there either usually. I have ordered some in printed format through a local mystery book store in the past, but was hoping to find them in eBook format as they are usually cheaper that way. I can usually find previous books by McKinty and McGilloway but not their most recent work. I never can find Kerrigan till my library gets it.
Hi,
I just looked up McKinty's Dead I Well May Be and Fifty Grand at two sites.
The well-known Book Depository in England ships anywhere with no shipping charges or taxes. It has both of these books at reasonable prices.
Abe Books, which is online and sells used books has these two books at very reasonable prices in the U.S., and has other books by this author.
I have used the Book Depository and that company is fast and efficient, and answers any email questions quickly.
Hi Kathi D, thanks for the names of those two stores. I've added them to my list. I've read both of those books from my local library. I'm really looking for Falling Glass, Limitless, and Little Girl Lost in eBook format if possible. If I'm unable to get them in eBook then I'll look around more for print copies. Thanks!
Bill, Falling Glass, Adrian has said probably won't be available in the U.S in ebook until next year...if or when it's published here. You'd probably be better off just getting that one in hard copy or audio unless you are prepared to really be patient.
I think Limitless is available from Amazon in ebook though. I haven't actually checked however.
Glenna, Amazon has it in Kindle format, but I don't have a Kindle. Seems like a lot of authors assume we all have Kindles. My problem with the Kindle is it doesn't work with library books. I guess I'll wait until I can get it in another eBook format or wait until my library gets it. Thanks!
Book Depository has Falling Glass.
Declan,
Thank you for mentioning my book, ANOTHER LIFE. I hope you don't mind me pointing out a small typo:
The name is JOHN J. GAYNARD (with a Galway "G" :)
Good luck with the work!
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