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.

The Embiggened O # 4,067: Whatever Happened To Hot-Shot Hamish?

It’s self-aggrandizing Sunday, folks, and there’s a rather nice review of our humble tome THE BIG O over at Crime Scene Scotland. Be warned, however – this one is compromised to hell and back, in a handbasket, as Donna Moore would have it, given that I met the very personable author and CSS supremo Russel McLean at the Baltimore Bouchercon, and I’m hoping to feature him in the Q&A section of CAP in the very near future, and that the reviewer, Tony Black, featured heavily on these very pages last year, on the occasion of the arrival of his debut novel, PAYING FOR IT.
  With that in mind, read on, or don’t. The gist of the review runneth thusly:

“THE BIG O is one big-old crazy caper with an eerie hint of Elmore Leonard and a brash, bold, ball-bustin’ tempo … As a stylist, Burke is as kick-ass Irish as the great Ken Bruen … The really big appeal of THE BIG O, however, is that there is simply nothing like it – nothing close – on the bookshelves today.” – Crime Scene Scotland

  For more in a similar vein, clickety-click here …