brian mcgilloway is the author of the critically acclaimed inspector benedict devlin series. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974, where he currently combines his writing career with his job as Head of English at St Columbus College.
Her first novel, Borderlands, was shortlisted for the new Cwa Blood Dagger, and was followed in 2008 by Gallows Lane. Macmillan has just published his third Benedict Devlin novel, Bleed a River Deep.
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“crime fiction has taken off in ireland in recent years with several of our best writers winning awards and making an impact on the international scene. if anything stands out the movement is the sheer diversity of subgenres, from pi novels to police procedurals , through political satire and wacky comedy. And that doesn’t include john connolly’s charlie parker series, which is absent here only because it’s set in the usa. many of the recent bunch of irish crime writers (including me himself) I cite Connolly as the inspiration that got them writing. As an introduction to this recent growth and variety in the genre, here are 10 of my favorites from the last decade.”
1. the wrong kind of blood by declan hughes
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declan hughes has created an excellent series based on his pi, ed loy, winning the shamus award and being shortlisted for this year’s edgar in the us. The debut novel in the series, The Wrong Kind of Blood, has, among many other things, a corked opening line and an unforgettable scene involving a shed, some gardening implements, and a psychotic thug named Podge who displays Hughes’ skill. to handle the dialog.
2. the guards by ken bruen
ken bruen needs little introduction. This novel, the first in the Jack Taylor series, proved that it was possible to successfully set a whodunit in modern Ireland. All trademarks of Bruen’s future work are here; Sparse and brutal poetic prose, black humor, and a sense of grim desperation in the narrator’s voice.
3. mystery man by bateman
He may have lost his first name, but bateman’s sense of humor remains intact. His most recent book, Man of Mystery, stands out for the setting: No Alibis, a specialist crime bookstore in Belfast that has been supporting Irish crime literature for over a decade. there is a great deal of pleasure to be enjoyed in spotting the author in the book, particularly a certain literary novelist who attempts to commit a crime while grossly disdaining the genre. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments too, including the mention of a fictional, albeit oddly believable, Northern Irish book title: He Was Alright When He Left Us: The Building of the Titantic.
4. alex barclay’s dark house
His most recent book, blood runs cold, continues to garner rave reviews, but there’s no better place to start than with darkhouse. Fusing plots on both sides of the Atlantic, it brought a distinctly American plot to Irish soil, while offering dramatic insight into the minds of the detective and, more importantly, the killer as well. dark, disturbing and compulsive.
5. gene kerrigan’s midnight choir
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gene kerrigan’s novels have a weight and depth of knowledge that few crime writers can match, born from his work as a journalist. there are no simple answers in his work, no easy demarcations between good and evil. his prose is superb, his understanding of the characters and the desires that drive them terribly realistic.
6. the great o by declan burke
declan burke single-handedly supports Irish crime fiction on his site www.crimealwayspays.blogspot.com, but he’s also a fantastic writer. The Big O traces the relationship of armed robber Karen and Ella’s new lover Ray. He throws in an ex-prisoner looking to establish a support group and a wolf named Anna and he has an idea for a novel that recalls Elmore Leonard at his best.
7. might as well be dead by adrian mckinty
the first in the michael forsythe series also features one of my favorite book titles, taken from the song, danny boy. Adrian McKinty establishes Forstythe from the start as a troubled character, struggling to find revenge and redemption in equal measure. surprisingly violent but with dark humor, this is the best hard-core Irish noir.
8. arlene hunt hangover
Arlene Hunt’s novels, based on quick research, examine the darker side of modern Ireland. in this, the fourth in the series, the treatment of immigrants, the fate of women forced to work in the new ireland and the personal implications of the death of an ex-partner intersect. remembering gennaro & From the Dennis Lehane Kenzie series, Hunt’s novels offer a hugely readable glimpse into the underbelly of Irish society.
9. the anglo-irish murders of ruth dudley edwards
ruth dudley edwards’ satires have hit many targets: the academy, the art world, and here, in possibly her best novel, local politics. With a happy disregard for political correctness in any sense of the word, and a keen sense of irony in so many aspects of Northern Irish life, his depiction of, among others, the Mopes (the most oppressed people in history ) would be funny, even if it wasn’t true.
10. in the forest by tana french
tana french has enjoyed great success with her two novels to date, winning an edgar for best debut for this book. Dealing with how past events impact the present is a common theme in Irish crime fiction, but one that French develops in her own way. she too is to be applauded not only for the way she crafts a harrowing criminal narrative, but also for her refusal to reveal all the answers at the end.
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