On Politics In The Irish Crime Novel, Or Lack Thereof

Our German friend Bernd Kochanowski from International Crime adds an interesting coda to the comment he left on the post On Publishing and Being Damned, to wit:

BTW: He (the reviewer) is also unhappy that the new Irish crime fiction is almost apolitical and doesn’t reflect the events that shook Ireland for years.

  The reviewer in question was casting a cold eye over Tana French’s IN THE WOODS, and is presumably referring to what we in Ireland like to euphemistically refer to as ‘the Troubles’.
  In other words – and we’re taking Bernd’s word for this – said reviewer is disappointed that Irish crime writers aren’t dealing with the consequences of the 30-year conflict that involved the Provisional IRA, the INLA, the British Army, the RUC (latterly the PSNI), the Gardai, and more Loyalist paramilitary armies than you could shake a cat-o’-nine-tails at.
  To which we reply, ‘Tosh, piffle and balderdash, sirrah!’
  Case for the Defence # 1: Adrian McKinty’s protagonist Michael Forsythe is an ex-British Army soldier. In THE DEAD YARD, he goes undercover to break up a gang of renegade Republicans. In THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD he engages with (and generally vaporises) any number of ex-paramilitaries on his return to Belfast.
  Case for the Defence # 2: Sylvester Young’s SLEEPING DOGS LIE, in which ex-IRA men travel to the U.S. and become embroiled in a complex plot involving a number of security agencies.
  Case for the Defence # 3: Ken Bruen’s AMERICAN SKIN, in which an ex-IRA man wreaks mayhem in the U.S.
  Case for the Defence # 4: Declan Burke’s EIGHT BALL BOOGIE, in which former paramilitaries diversify into more prosaic criminality, specifically coke-trafficking.
  Case for the Defence # 5: David Park’s THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER, in which former paramilitaries and an ex-RUC officer find themselves called to account for their actions twenty years previously.
  Case for the Defence # 6: Colin Bateman.
  Case for the Defence # 7: Sam Millar.
  Case for the Defence # 8: Authors such as Peter Cunningham, Jack Holland and S.J. Michaels, who were writing about ‘the Troubles’ as far back as the late ’80s and early ’90s.
  I could go on, but hopefully the point is made. Besides, and pertinently in the context of the reviewer’s comments being made during a review of IN THE WOODS, Tana French’s novel had a political subtext that perhaps was too subtle for the reviewer to pick up on. The novel opens on an archaeological dig, where the body of a young girl has been found, said dig being conducted hastily on the basis that the bulldozers of the property developers are due in the very near future.
  In Ireland, many such developments are highly controversial and politically charged, the most obvious example being that of the M3 motorway, currently planned to run through the Tara Valley (right), an archaeological complex dating back to 2,000 BC.
  Furthermore, the ongoing tribunals of investigation were initially set up to investigate the links – if such could be proved – between property developers and politicians, specifically to discover if politicians had been bribed to facilitate the rezoning of land in favour of property speculators. Among the many politicians to find themselves under serious scrutiny at these tribunals, to put it mildly, were two former taoisigh, or Irish prime ministers, Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern.
  To suggest that IN THE WOODS is an apolitical novel is to deliberately ignore, or be utterly ignorant of, recent Irish history. Here endeth the lesson. Peace, out.

Nobody Move, This Is A Review: Sleeping Dogs Lie by Sylvester Young

“So this thing involved a lotta people who work for different government agencies? Man, Oliver Stone would have a field day.”
Sylvester Young, Sleeping Dogs Lie

Ne’er a truer word was ever spoken: Sleeping Dogs Lie will surely become a byword for paranoid conspiracy thrillers. Very much a novel of its time, the tale follows the fortunes of Robbie Walker as he departs New York in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, headed for Georgia with his fellow fugitive from justice and long-term friend, the ex-IRA man and cold-blooded killer Danny Maguire. Hiding out in the rural township of Petra, Robbie – English-born, to Jamaican parents – wonders why Danny has taken them to such a Godforsaken place, only to discover that Danny’s motives have been less than pure when a murderous plot concocted by rogue elements of the Colombian paramilitary group FARC collides with an investigation by a shadowy anti-terrorist American secret agency, ‘the Seventeenth’. Young’s first-person narrative is delivered in a beguiling patois that reeks of authenticity, the voice luring you down into the complex workings of a mind struggling to forge a path through the disintegrating remnants of what is quickly becoming a wasted life. Squeezed on one side by government-sponsored threats, on the other by loyalty to his old comrade, and coping with the casual violence of overt racism while trying to bail a new friend out of a murder frame-up, Walker is run ragged by the excess of adrenaline coursing through his system as he battles, above all else, the will-sapping paranoia that wafts up out of every line. A punchy, cynical and relentlessly political novel, Sleeping Dogs Lie is as courageous a statement of intent as it is a gripping thriller.- Declan Burke

This review is republished by the kind permission of Euro Crime. Sleeping Dogs Lie is published by Raldon Books.

The Monday Review

Some tasty thriller action to whet your appetite, folks: “Scott Mariani’s debut novel The Fulcanelli Manuscript turns out to be a sprightly little thriller with action on every page … a brisk and enjoyable enough read and suggests that Scott Mariani might well be an author to watch out for,” says Sharon Wheeler over at Reviewing the Evidence … We haven’t mentioned Eoin Colfer for a week or two, but blog-title-of-the-week Stardust Asylum remedies that with a big-up for Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony: “This book was superbly written. Artemis has grown into a charming mixture of criminal mastermind and teenager with a heart of gold.” Meanwhile, some inky-fingered chancer called Declan Burke has inveigled his way into the Euro Crime reviewing list, and likes Sylvester Young’s up-coming Sleeping Dogs Lie, to wit: “A punchy, cynical and relentlessly political novel, Sleeping Dogs Lie is as courageous a statement of intent as it is a gripping thriller.” Couldn’t have put it better ourselves … The TLS is always a model of restraint, even when reviewing Eoin McNamee’s stonking thriller 12:23: “As people who stand to profit by witnessing a death, McNamee’s characters surpass the traditional villains of the piece, the paparazzi, in moral sordidness,” proclaims Nicholas Cullen through stiff upper and lower lips … Over at Fantasy Book Spot, Brian Lindenmuth is a tad more expressive about Ken Bruen’s American Skin, to wit: “It’s quite likely that no one, God, the fates and Bruen included are harder on his characters then they are themselves. They are the wardens of their own Hell.” Blimey! The Barnes & Noble review, via Amazon.com, is no less impressed: “Bruen’s latest is a visceral, visionary masterwork; underneath all the graphic bloodshed and drug-induced chaos, however, are deeply profound, darkly poetic themes … that will surely affect everyone who reads this extraordinary and truly unforgettable book. An instant noir cult classic – bottle of Jameson not included,” says Paul Goat Allen … As for Sir Kenneth of Bruen’s Ammunition, Libre-Muncher at Book Crossing gives it four thumbs aloft: “If you liked any of Mr. Bruen’s previous books, you will like this one as well. I know that I am addicted to these books myself.” … Walter Keady’s The Dowry belatedly beeped Gail’s jeep over at the Daily Dose on Powell’s Books, to wit: “Written with an obvious delight in the many twists and turns of life and of human nature, reading this ‘novel of Ireland’ is like a cosy gossip with an old friend.” Which is nice … Back to Amazon.com for the Bookmarks Magazine review of Benjamin Black’s Christine Falls: “Readers expecting a fast-paced crime novel may initially be surprised by Banville’s slow, deliberate rendering of the plot and the complex characters – but they will certainly look forward to the next novel in this projected series.” Hurrah! And what did you think of Christine Falls, O Meen of Meen’s Reading Journal fame? “The idea for the story was very good, but the writing too bland, distant and analyzing to truly grab me.” Boo … Finally, Troy Taylor sends up more than a few balloons on behalf of John Connolly over at his MySpace Blog, concluding thusly: “If you have never read any of Connolly’s books, you are missing on a rare talent. Connolly is an Irish writer who somehow manages to capture Maine and New England like a native, which enhances the books rather than detracts from them. You can feel the cool, crisp air of the region as you turn the pages … In closing, all that I can say is you don’t want to miss out on some of the best books that I have ever had the privilege to read. I don’t make recommendations lightly and if you want to read something truly unique and really immerse yourself into a weird and violent world, don’t miss out on John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series.” And there you have it, folks – conclusive proof, as if it were needed, that John Connolly is now blogging under the nom-de-plume ‘Troy Taylor’. For shame, sir ...

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 649: Sylvester Young

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...
What crime novel would you most like to have written?
Love, Lies and Bleeding. It brought back many memories of growing up in Wolves.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Four kids, a demanding wife, full-time job plus my own writing – for guilty pleasure I only have time for reading the best, the daily tabloids. A great source for plots.
Most satisfying writing moment?
After years of rejection, acceptance of my first book.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
Ronan Bennett, The Second Prison.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Love, Lies and Bleeding. I wish I had the know-how to make it into a screenplay.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst: constant rejection of a script. Best: holding for the first time your book fresh off the press.
Why does John Banville use a pseudonym for writing crime?
To switch personality as well as style - switching names can help in that process.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Entertaining, thought provoking.

Sylvester Young’s Sleeping Dogs Lie is published in September by Raldon Books.

The Lies That Bind

A house of lies, yon Raldon Books. The Cork-based publishing house release Sylvester Young’s rather brilliant conspiracy thriller Sleeping Dogs Lie in September, but they’re not stopping there, no sirree Bob. They’ve also got the rather intriguingly titled Love, Lies and Bleeding by the even more intriguing J.S. Noon on the slate. A former cop with the Ontario Provincial Police, Justine Manley finds herself sucked into an international prostitution racket when the Canadian secret service, CSIS, force her to travel to London to liaise with MI5. Quoth Siobhan Blaney at Raldon:

“As for Love, Lies and Bleeding, it was Sylvester who put the book our way. During his research for a book in Ontario, he got talking to someone who works in the police / security fields, and who admitted to the odd scribble. Sylvester had a look at it, gave some advice and asked us to look at it and we were impressed. The one drawback is that the author’s background precludes public appearances and the like – which makes things difficult for us in these days of media-accessible novelists-cum-celebrities! Although, had circumstances for the author been different, I’m sure that a much bigger publisher would have taken it on. What impressed us about Love, Lies and Bleeding is that it brings to the reader a series of questions about love, friendship and inter-cultural relationships without ever impinging on what is a fast-paced, whodunnit, thought-provoking and sometimes funny crime story.”

Consider us intriguingly intrigued, folks. If you're interested in reading an excerpt, you can slide on over here for Chapter One ...

Sleeping Dogs Lie: A Little Bit Of Bark, A Little Bit Of Bite

Here’s one Sleeping Dog that won’t lie doggo. Ontario-based Sylvester Young, born in England of Jamaican parents, wrote What Goes Around after one of his regular trips to Ireland.

“There weren’t many black people in Ireland back then,” says Sylvester, “and someone asked me if I was related to a black man who had been a member of the IRA in County Tipperary. I’m not sure if the story was true but it gave me an idea for a novel.”

So far, so good. Except the sequel, Sleeping Dogs Lie, in which fugitive from justice Robbie Walker and his ex-IRA friend Danny make their way to the States and get embroiled in a FBI plot, pushed all the wrong buttons in all the wrong places. Unable to get published in America, Young sent his m/s to Ireland. Cue chaos. According to the Sleeping Dogs Lie press release, the m/s was confiscated and his editor was arrested and questioned for three days.

“I was troubled by the news,” says Young, “but I can understand in the climate created since 9/11 how the references to the IRA, the FARC and a bomb plot on American soil within the manuscript would have aroused the police’s interest.”

Very magnanimous, sir. Two years after being confiscated, Sleeping Dogs Lie is finally published in September by those stoic souls at Raldon. If freebie reads are your thing, jump over here for the first chapter.