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Here are some of the most popular titles borrowed by you in 2022, our book-loving Dublin City library members. It’s great to see the One Dublin One Book choice, the Dublin Literary Award winner and some short-listed titles making the list. And always great to see Irish writers featuring so strongly as well.

We are delighted to announce that Echoland by Joe Joyce, published by Liberties Press, is the Dublin: One City One Book choice for 2017. Echoland is the first novel in the Echoland series by Joe Joyce. Set in Dublin in the 1940s, with the threat of British or German invasion hanging over the country, it features young lieutenant Paul Duggan, who is tasked with investigating a suspected German spy. An addictive thriller about the double-dealing world of spies and politics, it shines a light on an exciting period in Ireland’s history.The announcement follows a highly successful Dublin: One City One Book Festival in 2016, when the book choice was Fallen by Lia Mills, and the festival became Two Cities One Book, when it twinned with Belfast for the commemorative year.Lord Mayor Brendan Carr said "I am very pleased that Echoland by Joe Joyce has been chosen for 'Dublin: One City One Book' 2017. I am sure that lovers of thrillers and of history will enjoy this book. I encourage all Dubliners to read this book and participate in the programme of events during the month of April 2017, which offers opportunities to engage with Echoland in a range of contexts.'Dublin City Librarian Margaret Hayes added “Dublin: One City One Book 2017 will be the twelfth year of this annual programme. Echoland is set in the Dublin of 1940, expertly capturing the atmosphere of the city as its citizens cope with the challenges of the Emergency. It's a brilliant opportunity for us to re-imagine our City as it was, while enjoying a thrilling read."Joe Joyce said, "I'm delighted and honoured that Echoland will be Dublin's One City One Book for 2017. The city is an integral part of the book, not just the backdrop to a spy story. As I was writing it, I was very conscious of the hardships and great dangers of the Emergency period, faced - as always by Dubliners - with resilience and wit."Since its inception in 2006, the Dublin: One City One Book Festival has encouraged everyone to read a book connected with Dublin during the month of April. The initiative is led by Dublin City Council's Public Library Service as part of Dublin's  UNESCO City of Literature designation and is supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.Check the availability of 'Echoland' in the library catalogue. | Download Echoland eBook.Listen to Joe Joyce reading from Echoland (recorded in the Central Library, 3 October 2013)A full programme of events will be announced in early 2017.About the BookJune, 1940.France is teetering on the brink of collapse. British troops are desperately fleeing Dunkirk. Germany is winning the war. Its next target is Britain . . . and Ireland? In neutral Dublin, opinions are divided. Some want Germany to win, others favour Britain, most want to stay out of the war altogether.In this atmosphere of edgy uncertainty, young lieutenant Paul Duggan is drafted into G2, the army’s intelligence division, and put on the German desk. He’s given a suspected German spy to investigate, one who doesn’t appear to do much, other than write ambiguous letters to a German intelligence post box in Copenhagen. Before Duggan can probe further, however, he is diverted by a request from his politician uncle to try and find his daughter, who’s gone missing, possibly kidnapped.Enlisting the help of witty Special Branch detective Peter Gifford, the two lines of inquiry take Duggan into the double-dealing worlds of spies and politics, and lead him back to a shocking secret that will challenge everything he has grown up believing. An addictive thriller that will keep you glued to the page, traversing the City of Dublin, right through to its heart-pounding finale.About the AuthorJoe Joyce is the author of five thrillers: Echoland, Echobeat and Echowave  (all set during the Second World War in Dublin); The Trigger Man (set during the Irish 'Troubles' in the late 1980s) and Off The Record (set in the 1970s world of Irish journalism); a history/biography of The Guinnesses and a critically acclaimed play, The Tower, about James Joyce and Oliver St John Gogarty.He is co-author with Peter Murtagh of The Boss, the classic account of Irish politician Charles Haughey in power, and Blind Justice, about a celebrated miscarriage of justice in Ireland in the 1970s.He has worked as a journalist for The Irish Times, The Guardian, and Reuters news agency. He lives in Dublin.D1C1B on Twitter | #1city1book | #Echoland

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.

I've been meaning for so long to do a post or three on Irish crime fiction, and the weight of guilt for not so doing before now has finally proved enough of a catalyst to get me across that line, thankfully.But where to start?  In light of the fact that the shortlist for the Irish Book Awards (IBA) "Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award" is to be announced on the 31st October, I thought I would start with a mention of what books published over the past year might find themselves in the running. I have to say in that regard that Declan Burke's 'Crime Always Pays' blog has been an invaluable jump-off point and is well worth a visit if you want to keep informed about the Irish crime fiction scene. Last year's IBA winner by the way ('Broken Harbour' by Tana French) was selected from a shortlist of six, and I will revisit last year's winner and shortlist on another occasion (and soon!).(Update: 'Irregulars' by McCarthy added, 30 Oct.)In examining the current state of Irish crime fiction writing you soon realise that it's in a pretty healthy state, with high profile writers such as John Connolly, Gene Kerrigan, Benjamin Black and Tana French being joined by several others pushing their claim for a position on the top table. Below (in no particular order) you will find mention of some of those, and over the next number of months I hope to touch more on these and some others not mentioned here.(note: title links are to the library catalogue records)-------------------------    'The Deal' by Michael Clifford (Publ. June 2013)Michael Clifford is a Dublin-based journalist and media commentator who writes for the Irish Examiner."Michael Clifford’s latest offering is a relentless, captivating story of greed, immorality, revenge and treachery playing out against the backdrop of an Ireland strangling in a recessionary hold.""Michael Clifford is steadily building a name for himself among the elite voices of Irish crime fiction."The Deal advances his claim for a seat at the top table."in review by Billy O’Callaghan, Irish Examiner, Saturday, August 03, 2013.-------------------------'The Stranger You Know' by Jane Casey (Publ. July 2013)This police procedural was recently longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. Jane Casey was twice shortlisted for the Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award as well as the Mary Higgins Clark Award."THE STRANGER YOU KNOW is a beautifully mature outing from Jane Casey, which builds nicely on the characters and relationships of the investigating team from earlier books... a highly absorbing read." Eurocrime blog."Gripping and hugely entertaining, The Stranger You Know is peopled with richly drawn characters and the gritty realism of contemporary London." It's a crime! (Or a mystery…) Blog.-------------------------'Graveland' by Alan Glynn (Publ. May 2013)This, the concluding chapter of a loose trilogy of conspiracy thrillers, is set in New York, the previous volumes (Winterland, Bloodland) being set partly in Dublin during and after the economic boom. Alan Glynn's first novel 'The Dark Fields' (2004) was released as the movie 'Limitless' (2011) starring Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro."a gripping and cleverly constructed thriller." - Myles McWeeney, Irish independent.-------------------------'The City of Shadows' by Michael Russell (Publ. November 2012)Michael Russell is a regular contributor to the TV crime series 'Midsomer Murders' and recently scripted the last ever episodes of 'A Touch of Frost'. This, his debut novel, is set in Dublin in 1934 and was longlisted for the CWA John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award 2013."A dark, atmospheric thriller that moves from the streets of 1930’s Dublin to the streets of Danzig as the shadow of Nazism spreads. A page-turner with a real sense of history." (CWA Judges comment)-------------------------'Screwed' by Eoin Colfer (Publ. May 2013)Eoin Colfer is best known as the author of the Artemis Fowl series of books. This novel sees the return of Irish ex-pat and ex-soldier Dan McEvoy, a New Jersey bar owner, who first appeared in his debut adult crime offering, 'Plugged' (2011)."a hugely enjoyable caper... a story that reads a lot like a Coen Brothers' take on The Sopranos." Declan Burke, Irish Times"a fast-paced, witty and gritty thriller.. (with) a welcome dose of black humour and fast action." Eurocrime Blog-------------------------    'The Twelfth Department' by William Ryan (Publ. May 2013)Set in the USSR at the height of Stalin's power (1930s), this is the third in the Captain Korolev series. Previous titles in series are 'The Holy Thief' and 'The Bloody Meadow'.William Ryan  was educated at Trinity College Dublin before becoming a corporate lawyer in London, though his career took a literary turn when he acquired an interest in Soviet history and politics."the balance of pungent period detail and increasingly tense plotting are handled with total authority and Korolev remains one of the most persuasively conflicted characters in crime fiction." William Ryan, UK Express"Ryan's achievement is to make his characters and their milieu so tangibly immediate that you feel you're actually in their presence." Irish Independent-------------------------'Cold Spring' by Patrick McGinley (Publ. March 2013)This crime novel is set in rural Donegal in 1948."Filled with elegiac prose, this shocking tale of moral decay that spreads from one black heart to claim everything in its path will keep readers turning the pages." Publishers Weekly"a revenge thriller, although it is considerably more complex than such novels tend to be.""a pleasingly intricate blend of ‘whodunit’ and ‘whydunit’." Declan Burke, Irish Independent-------------------------'Ratlines' by Stuart Neville (Publ. January 2013)In this thriller based on real-life events, Lieutenant Albert Ryan is called in to investigate the murder of Nazi collaborators who claimed asylum in Ireland after the Second World War. Set in ireland in 1963.Neville made the CWA Steel Dagger 2013 shortlist with 'Ratlines' (with winner to be announced on the night of the 24th October, tonight!)."an immersive, atmospheric book""The author's clean, direct prose, well-utilised research, intricate plotting and deep characterisation all add up to a seriously impressive piece of crime fiction, that lingers long in the memory" Doug Johnstone, UK Independent"a first-rate story that seizes the imagination, and never lets go." UK Daily Mail-------------------------'Holy Orders' by Benjamin Black (Publ. July 2013)Benjamin Black is the pen name of acclaimed author John Banville, winner of the 2005 Man Booker Prize with 'The Sea'.This is the sixth novel in Black's Quirke Dublin series and opens with the discovery of a corpse in the canal near Leeson Street Bridge in Dublin. The series, featuring Quirke, a Dublin pathologist is set in the 1950s. The first crime novel in the series, 'Christine Falls', came out in 2006. The series is about to be adapted for BBC1 and will star Gabriel Byrne."the power wielded by the Catholic Church provides a sinister undertone to Benjamin Black’s Holy Orders" Declan Burke, Irish Times"The books are dominated by Black's brilliantly convincing picture of Dublin 60 years ago. It’s all here - the smoky pubs, the seedy buildings, the rain and the muted despair of so many of the inhabitants of this tainted world.""Few crime novelists bring such a painterly attention to detail as Black does, and few write in such limpid and expressive prose." Andrew Taylor, The Spectator-------------------------'I Hear the Sirens in the Street' by Adrian McKinty (Publ. January 2013)This is the sequel to 'The Cold Cold Ground' featuring Detective Sean Duffy. The last part of the trilogy, 'And in the Morning I'll be Gone', is due in January 2014Set in and around Carrickfergus and Belfast in Northern Ireland in 1982, it begins with the discovery of a male torso, stuffed into a suitcase, and lobbed into a skip outside a warehouse on the outskirts of Belfast!"an absorbing thriller... the sense of place and the history happening around the story adds a sense of reality to Duffy's narration." Crime Fiction Lover Blog"an enjoyable read... the background of both the Troubles and the onset of the Falklands War gives the narrative a sense of anything is possible which helps the slightly OTT action, especially towards the end." Crimepieces Blog-------------------------    'The Station Sergeant' by John McAllister (Publ. May 2013)Set in the late 1950s/early 1960s in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, it tells the story of Station Sergeant John Barlow, a complicated and intelligent man, decent and honest."The Station Sergeant is a gem. Mr. McAllister is a superb storyteller whose prose is lean and realistic, a breath of fresh air in a world of bloated crime thrillers." Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books"While not a novel likely to appeal to fans of hardcore, gritty crime, this is a book that evokes a long forgotten era and way of life, cleverly combined with the classic elements of a rip-roaring, good old fashioned whodunit." Crime Fiction Lover Blog-------------------------'The Memory Key' by Conor Fitzgerald (Publ. August 2013)This, the fourth in the Commissario Alec Blume series, features an American-born police detective now living in Rome. The author Fitzgerald himself lives in Italy. 'Fitzgerald' is in fact a pseudonym. Conor Deane is the son of the renowned Irish poet and academic, Seamus Deane.The victim is Sofia Fontana, the sole witness to a previous killing. Blume's enquiries lead from a professor with a passion for the art of memory to a hospitalised ex-terrorist whose injuries have left her mind innocently blank; from present day Rome’s criminal underclass, to a murderous train station bombing in central Italy several decades ago. (from book description)Of Fitzgerald and "The Fatal Touch" (2nd is series):"Alec Blume is an inspired creation.. Fitzgerald is an elegant, visual writer... highly recommended." UK Guardian-------------------------'The Doll's House' by Louise Phillips (Publ. August 2013)This Dublin-based psychological thriller is the second novel from Phillips. It features criminal psychologist Kate Pearson and DI O’Connor."a gripping, suspenseful story peopled with well-drawn characters" (Irish Independent, 10 August 2013)"every bit as good as her debut, 'Red Ribbons'." Writing.ie-------------------------'Purgatory' by Ken Bruen (Publ. August 2013)This is the 10th in the Galway-based (Private Detective) Jack Taylor series. The series began in 2001 with the award-winning 'The Guards'. It is now also a TV series."While the plotting is not necessarily Bruen’s main concern, I was ultimately won over by his razor sharp prose and bookish, belligerent hero in this brutal yet funny state-of-the-nation noir novel." Crime Fiction Lover Blog-------------------------'Irregulars' by Kevin McCarthy (Publ. April 2013) This is the second novel featuring former RIC man Sean O’Keefe from Kevin McCarthy. Like his first, 'Peeler' (publ. 2010), this historical crime novel is set during the Irish War of Independence (circa 1922). In this, O'Keefe finds himself in Dublin looking for a missing teenager. 'Peeler' was selected by The Irish Times as one of its Top Ten Thrillers of 2010."Like George P Pelecanos with his DC Quartet, McCarthy has made Dublin his own, populating it with heroes, shooters, spies and street urchins who look good for two decades and a dozen books, all far from The Gathering crowd." RTE Ten Book ReviewOf Peelers:"Peeler is an impressive debut novel, superb at conveying a sense of place and history, and well plotted, deftly handling changes of perspective and the finer details of the whodunnit element and the crime scene, and should appeal to fans of Philip Kerr or C J Sansom." Eurocrime blog------------------------- ps. Couldn't help noticing that 8 of the 15 books mentioned above are what you might term historical crime works or historical thrillers. Made me wonder do Irish writers seem to favour giving their stories a historical setting more so than their counterparts in other countries? A question for you!

Eoin Colfer shortlisted for LA Times Literary Award!! Why the exclamation marks you may ask? Well, Eoin, so well known as the author of the famous and best selling (and borrowed!) Artemis Fowl fantasy series of books for younger readers has been nominated in the adult mystery/thriller category!Eoin's comedy crime caper 'Plugged', his first adult crime novel, was first published in May 2011 to positive reviews. It is the story of an Irish ex-army man Dan working as a bouncer in a seedy club in New Jersey, half in love with hostess Connie. When Connie is murdered on the premises, a vengeful Dan finds himself embroiled in an increasingly deadly sequence of events in which his doctor friend Zeb goes mysteriously missing and a cop-killing female cop becomes his only ally.The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been awarded annually since 1980. There are ten categories in total, and works are eligible during the year of their first US publication in English.But of course I must also mention that there is another title by an Irish author on the list of nominations, a certain 'Ghost Light' by Joseph O'Connor, the selected title for the 2011 Dublin: One City, One Book initiative and the most borrowed title in Irish libraries in 2011.Speaking of ghosts, I note that the last book by an Irish author to win a category was 'The Twelve' (also known as 'The Ghosts of Belfast') by Northern Ireland writer Stuart Neville, which won in the Mystery/Thriller category in 2009. This is a crime novel set against the backdrop of a post-conflict Northern Ireland struggling with its past. Prior to 2009, the last Irish winner had been Colm Tóibín in 2004 in the Fiction category with 'The Master', while Sebastian Barry was runner up in 2008 with 'The Secret Scripture'.Best of luck this year to both books! The prizes will be awarded on April 20th, so I will keep you posted.