“In his use of humour with the grim realities of Belfast in 1984, coupled with a wonderfully constructed locked room mystery, McKinty has produced something really quite extraordinary. There’s a fine line between social commentary and compelling mystery and not many writers, crime or literary, can do both.”For more, including the full list of nominees, clickety-click here …
Huzzah! Critical Mick (right) is back-back-BACK! From his Uncle Travelling Critical Mick travels!! With a newly updated and much expanded Irish crime section on his not just essential but damn vital interweb page thingy!!! But Mr Critical Mick Ambassador sir, with all this extra info, you are surely spoiling us … Declan Hughes fans should scoot on over to Mystery File, where the hottest Declan since modesty forbids is currently being profiled … Via the ever-brilliant Rap Sheet comes the tip-off that Pulp Pusher is carrying an interview with last week’s Theakston’s Old Peculier winner, Allan Guthrie, where they ask the really hard questions – i.e., what does a non-boozer do with a barrel of free grog? Do we hear the words 'party house'? … The latest edition of Thuglit is on the electronic streets since last week, boasting some rather intriguing titles: Amphetamine Logic by Nathan Cain, Death Don’t Have No Mercy by William Boyle, and – our favourite – We All Come From Splattertown by Hugh Lessig … The superb Aussie crime fiction site After Dark My Sweet has the short-list for the Ned Kelly Awards. Richard Flanagan’s The Unknown Terrorist is probably best known of the list up topside, but keep an eye on Barry Maitland’s Spider Trap. The results will be announced on August 29 at the Melbourne Writers Festival … Via the very fine Detectives Beyond Borders comes a question from Dave’s Fiction Warehouse, to wit: “Can you think of anybody writing crime fiction today who might still be in print 165 years from now?” Our money is on John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things, given its capacity to effortlessly rejuvenate timeless folktales, myths and legends … Speaking of whom, the vid below is one John Connolly, terrorising a group of innocent readers at a meet-‘n’-greet and wibbling on about blackening pages courtesy of www.BookVideos.tv … And that’s it for another week, folks. Thanks for dropping by and see y’all next time around, y’hear? 
‘The Case for Raymond Chandler’? “The creator of Philip Marlowe has been called an imitator and a hack, but he deserves his lonely, disillusioned corner in the American literary canon,” says Allen Barra over at The Salon … As far as we’re concerned, that case is closed, gone and very probably lurking at the back of the lost-luggage rack in Brazzaville: Chandler was Hemingway with a sense of humour, end of story … The rather nifty Aussie crime blog After Dark My Sweet has the long-list for the 2007 CWAA Ned Kelly Awards, the results of which will be announced at The Age Melbourne Writers’ Festival in September … Update-Update-Update … Benjamin Black, aka Vincent Banville’s brother, didn’t scoop the €10,000 
Irish Fiction Award at the 37th Listowel Writers’ Festival for Christine Falls, the gong and substantial cheque going instead to Roddy Doyle (right) for his novel Paula Spencer. And there was us thinking a crime novel actually had a chance of winning. We are such silly spoons … Sorry about the short notice, folks, but Belfast’s cracking crime bookstore No Alibis hosts an intriguing night’s writerly wibbling tonight, when Christopher Phillips holds forth on philosophy and love in the 'Socrates Café' in order to plug his new book, Socrates In Love. This coming after the (ooo-er, missus) monthly Candle and Mirror poetry evening … Finally, the news that 
Jason Starr and Ken Bruen are releasing Slide, another collaborative effort, through Hard Case Crime this coming October sent us scurrying to YouTube to track down Bernard and Manny’s attempt (below) to co-write a children’s book, The Elephant and The Monkey, about a liquorice-eating, trombone-playing, bottle bank-dwelling (erm) mouse. Sure, ’tis genius, to be sure. That’s all for this week, folks – enjoy the weekend and y’all come back now, y’hear?
