Free The Connolly One!

There’s a very strong risk that I’m going to turn into some kind of boy who cried wolf, given that I have a tendency on these pages to describe THE LATEST NOVEL by A.N. Other Irish Author as his / her best yet. Two things about that: one, there’s not a lot else I can say if it’s the case - as I believe it is - that a goodly number of Irish crime writers are consistently upping their game with each passing book. Secondly, and with the caveat that I’m still only halfway through THE BURNING SOUL, John Connolly’s latest is an absolute stonker so far. A bittersweet paean to the state of Maine by way of an elegiac quality of poetry, flashes of Chandleresque homage, a riveting plot about child abduction against a backdrop of the murder of a young girl some two decades previously, all laced with Charlie Parker’s sulphurous wit - all of Connolly’s trademarks are here, along with a sense of coiled, tensile power bursting to escape the story’s seams. I’ve always been a fan of Connolly’s work, and made no secret of it; but this feels different, and in my (rarely) humble opinion, something of a step up onto another level.
  Of course, John Connolly was good enough to launch my own humble tome a couple of weeks back, so feel free to dismiss all of the above as log-rolling. It will be your loss, though.
  Anyway, THE BURNING SOUL will be officially launched in Eason’s, O’Connell Street in Dublin on August 29th, and all the details can be found here. Given the demand, the event is likely to be oversubscribed, but a little birdie informs me that free tickets - yep, that’s a recession-friendly free - can be booked in advance by emailing info@hbgi.ie. The evening’s entertainment will centre on a public interview with - unsurprisingly - John Connolly, conducted by our very own Arlene Hunt, which should make for a fairly lively conversation. I’m officially taking bets now as to which of the pair will manage to pack in the most indiscreet revelations …

Soul Trader

As anyone who has attended any of his events will attest, John Connolly is something of a one-man three-ring circus when it comes to his public appearances. Which makes for a refreshing change from when most writers, yours truly included, step into the limelight, and the ‘entertainment’ generally runs as follows: “Thanks for coming, cough, mumble, insert-name-of-book-here, rhubarb, the support of my wife / husband, cough, erm, ah, copies to be signed, I thank you all.” Connolly, on the other hand, looks born to a life treading the boards when he takes centre-stage, although as with most things writing-related, I’d imagine that it’s years of hard graft that makes it all look so easy and comfortable.
  Anyway, the point behind that preamble is that John Connolly will be appearing at Eason’s on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on August 29th, for a public interview, the purpose of which is to officially launch his latest Charlie Parker tome, THE BURNING SOUL. Quoth the blurb elves:

Randall Haight has a secret: when he was a teenager, he and his friend killed a 14-year-old girl. Randall did his time and built a new life in the small Maine town of Pastor’s Bay, but somebody has discovered the truth about Randall. He is being tormented by anonymous messages, haunting reminders of his past crime, and he wants private detective Charlie Parker to make it stop. But another 14-year-old girl has gone missing, this time from Pastor’s Bay, and the missing girl’s family has its own secrets to protect. Now Parker must unravel a web of deceit involving the police, the FBI, a doomed mobster named Tommy Morris, and Randall Haight himself. Because Randall Haight is telling lies . . .

  There’s no word yet as to who will be conducting the interview, by the way, although it’s probably fair to say, and with all due respect, that it doesn’t really matter. The event is free, by the way, although I’d imagine that it’ll be heavily booked in advance; my advice is to book early, and book often …

  For those of you residing in Norn Iron, by the way, John Connolly will be appearing at No Alibis a couple of days later, on September 1st, in tandem with Alan Glynn, who launches BLOODLAND later in the month, on September 13th, in the Gutter Bookshop. More of which anon, although given that I’m about 60 pages short of finishing BLOODLAND, let me just say that it’s Alan Glynn’s finest novel yet, which isn’t bad going considering his previous offerings were the excellent THE DARK FIELDS and WINTERLAND. Put it in your diary now; it should be a cracking night …
  As mentioned previously on these pages, by the way, the launch of THE BURNING SOUL kicks off a very impressive run of Irish crime offerings, from the likes of Alan Glynn, Colin Bateman, Stuart Neville and Ava McCarthy. For more, clickety-click here …