Blogs

A festival devoted to Irish crime fiction, featuring some seventeen or so of the most exciting Irish and Irish-American crime novelists, takes place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd November in Trinity College, Dublin. The festival concludes with the highlight event, best-selling American author Michael Connelly being interviewed by Irish crime writer John Connolly. The event marks the occasion of the Irish launch of his newest novel, 'The Gods of Guilt'. I for one have my ticket booked and I hope to get to attend most of the sessions during the festival.Irish crime authors appearing are (with links to library catalogue entries):Conor Brady. Probably best known as the former editor of The Irish Times and also a former member of the Garda Síochána (Police) Ombudsman Commission. Author of, amongst other works, two crime novels - 'A June of Ordinary Murders' and the just released 'The Eloquence of the Dead' (October 2013, not yet in stock).Declan Burke. Made his crime writing debut in 2003 with 'Eightball Boogie', his novel 'Slaughter's Hound' was shortlisted in the Crime Fiction category for the 2012 Irish Book Awards. He has edited an anthology about Irish crime writing in the 21st century plus (with John Connolly) 'Books to Die For', and maintains the ever useful 'Crime Always Pays' blog.Jane Casey. Shortlisted for this year's (Irish Book Awards) Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year for her novel 'The Stranger You Know'.Paul Charles. Northern Ireland's Paul Charles is the author of the Inspector Christy Kennedy novels set in Camden Town in London, and the Inspector Starrett novels set in Donegal. The Eurocrime blog described his Kennedy novel 'The Beautiful Sound of Silence' as "a good police procedural series which is slightly old fashioned... a satisfying and enjoyable read". Also a music promoter and agent!John Connolly. Bestselling author of the crime novel series starring private detective Charlie Parker, the 10th and most recent of which is 'The Wrath of Angels'. Edited (with Declan Burke) 'Books to Die For'.Conor Fitzgerald. Lives in Italy. 'Fitzgerald' is in fact a pseudonym for Conor Deane, the son of the renowned Irish poet and academic, Seamus Deane. His most recent novel 'The Memory Key' is the fourth in his Commissario Alec Blume series, featuring an American-born police detective living in Rome. Winner of the 2011 Irish Crime Fiction Award for his novel 'Bloodland'. 'Graveland', the third in a loose trilogy of conspiracy thrillers was published in May 2013.Declan Hughes. Author of a series of crime novels featuring Dublin-based private detective Ed Loy. Shortlisted for the 2007 CWA New Blood Fiction Dagger for his first novel, 'The Wrong Kind of Blood'.Arlene Hunt. She has written eight crime novels, her most recent, 'The Outsider', just published (October 2013, not yet in stock). Her novel 'Undertow' was shortlisted for Best Crime Novel at the 2009 Irish Book Awards.. Irish novelist and newspaper columnist Gene Kerrigan won the 2012 Crime Writers' Association's (CWA) Gold Dagger for crime novel of the year in the UK for his fourth novel, 'The Rage', which is set in the backstreets of Dublin. He also won the 2010 Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award with 'Dark Times in the City'.Kevin McCarthy. Author of 'Peeler', a novel featuring former RIC man Sean O’Keefe and set during the Irish War of Independence (c.1922). He has just been shortlisted for this year's (Irish Book Awards) Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year for his second O'Keefe novel 'Irregulars'.Brian McGilloway. Derry-born Brian's first novel, 'Borderlands', was shortlisted for the 2007 CWA New Blood Dagger. His second novel in the 4-novel Devlin series, 'Gallows Lane', was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. Also wrote 'Little Girl Lost', a stand-alone novel featuring PSNI Detective Sergeant Lucy Black.. Writes his crime novels under the pseudonym John Creed. Winner of the inaugural 2002 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for his Creed novel 'The Sirius Crossing'.Stuart Neville. Made this year's CWA Steel Dagger shortlist for best thriller with 'Ratlines'. The American edition of his 2009 novel 'The Twelve' ('The Ghosts of Belfast'), won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2010.Niamh O'Connor. True crime editor for the Sunday World newspaper, she is the author of the Dublin-based DI Jo Birmingham series of crime fiction books. 'Blink' is her latest and fourth in the series. She has also written a number of true crime books.Louise Phillips. Shortlisted for this year's Irish Book Awards Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award for 'The Doll’s House' (winner soon to be announced). This Dublin-based psychological thriller is the second novel from Phillips.Michael Russell. A regular contributor to the TV crime series 'Midsomer Murders' and recently scripted the last ever episodes of 'A Touch of Frost'. His debut novel, 'The City of Shadows' is set in Dublin in 1934 and was longlisted for the CWA John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award 2013.