“Harry J. Rigby: A Passive Self-loathing Loser In A Violent, Unhappy World.”

As all Three Regular Readers will know, I had an article published in the Irish Times a couple of weeks ago on ebooks, which I mention again because it prompted journalist Helena Mulkerns to get in touch with me. Helena is currently writing a feature for the New York Times’ International Edition on the same subject, which is nice, but what was nicer was that Helena - way back in the day, before EIGHTBALL BOOGIE was published - put together a mock cover, blurb, etc., for the book, for an MA in Publishing she was taking at the time. The result is what you see above, and very smart it is too, and particularly the blurb, although the cover image is pretty funky too.
  Anyway, it’s been a busy old week for EIGHTBALL BOOGIE. As I mentioned last week, and as of Sunday, I increased the ebook’s price from $0.99c to $2.99 as part of an experiment, the results of which I’ll post at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Paul Brazill posted this interview with yours truly that verges on the surreal, while Michael Malone posted Part 1 of an interview I did for May Contain Nuts, both of which were huge fun to do.
  EIGHTBALL also managed to pick up two reviews in the last few days. The first, at Mystery File, comes courtesy of Michael Shonk, with the gist running thusly:

“This is not the Ireland I grew up reading about. Not a lovable cop or leprechaun in sight. Instead there is Harry J. Rigby, a passive self-loathing loser in a violent, unhappy world, a place where everyone is corrupt and soulless. Where all you can dream for is to find one part of your miserable life that will give you reason to wake up in the morning. Even the harsh ugly land is doomed from the corrupt system that sacrifices clean air, land and water for a profit. This is a land of noir where fate is the heartless father of hopelessness … There are sections of this book that are a delight to read, usually when Harry is dealing with the crimes. There are sections of this book that can be difficult to get through, usually when Harry is whining about his personal problems. But stay with it, you will be rewarded with an exceptionally intense ending.” - Michael Shonk

  It’s an interesting warts ‘n’ all review. For the rest, clickety-click here …
  Elsewhere, Tim Niland at Music and More has this to say:

“Burke writes very well, with a snarky and sardonic sense of humour, delving deep into the depths of noir that should make fans of Ken Bruen and Allan Guthrie happy. The complex and ever changing narrative is wrapped up nicely in the end and overall Burke does a fine job telling a compelling crime story.” - Tim Niland

  For more, clickety-click here. And if you’re of a mind to check out EIGHTBALL, herewith be the link …