Declan Burke

Patricia Gibney published her debut novel, THE MISSING ONES, on March 16th, but she’s obviously not a woman to rest on her laurels. The second offering in the Detective Lottie Parker series, THE STOLEN GIRLS (Bookouture), will be published on July 6th (e-book only). Quoth the blurb elves:

The young woman standing on Lottie’s step was a stranger. She was clutching the hand of a young boy. ‘Help me,’ she said to Lottie. ‘Please help me.’
  One Monday morning, the body of a young pregnant woman is found. The same day, a mother and her son visit the house of Detective Lottie Parker, begging for help to find a lost friend.
  Could this be the same girl?
  When a second victim is discovered by the same man, with the murder bearing all the same hallmarks as the first, Lottie needs to work fast to discover how else the two were linked. Then two more girls go missing.
  Detective Lottie Parker is a woman on the edge, haunted by her tragic past and struggling to keep her family together through difficult times. Can she fight her own demons and catch the killer before he claims another victim?

  For more on Patricia Gibney, clickety-click here …

Patricia Gibney publishes the fifth in her Lottie Parker police procedural series, TELL NOBODY, on October 3rd. Quoth the blurb elves:

The boy’s body was so white it was almost transparent. But that’s not what caused the nausea to rise up her throat. He was so young. His body was unmarked, surrounded by a halo of plucked wildflowers.
  One hot summer evening, eleven-year-old Mikey Driscoll is on the way home from playing with friends. Two days later, his body is discovered on a bed of wildflowers by some local teenagers.
  The case is assigned to Detective Lottie Parker and this time it’s personal. The victim was a close friend of her son, Sean, from the run-down Munbally estate on the other side of town. Sean tells his mother Mikey was behaving normally before he died, but Lottie can’t help but feel that her son is keeping something from her…
  Then days later, another boy is found dead, surrounded by wild flowers next to beautiful Ladystown Lake.
  On the hunt for a twisted individual with a terrifying calling card, Lottie must uncover the web of secrets within Mikey’s circle of friends. Someone is hiding something but who are they protecting and can Lottie find out before it’s too late? Lottie is desperate to catch the killer before he strikes again because this time her own child could be in terrible danger…

  For more on Patricia Gibney, clickety-click here …

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?
Misery by Stephen King.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
No time for pleasures – guilty or otherwise. Most of my reading is crime and thrillers, detective based. But I do like the occasional short story.

Most satisfying writing moment?
Two really – getting my agent, Ger Nichol was, for me, the first validation of my writing. Then, of course, signing a four-book deal with Bookouture.

If you could recommend one Irish crime novel, what would it be?
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly. For an Irish-based novel, Disappeared by Anthony J. Quinn.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Freedom’s Child by Jax Miller. It’s not set in Ireland, but Jax lives in Enfield, just down the road! For an Irish-based novel, Red Ribbons by Louise Phillips.

Worst thing about being a writer?
For me it’s finding the discipline to edit my own work.

Best thing about being a writer?
I get to make things up. I can use my imagination and be creative.

The pitch for your book is …
When a woman’s body is found in Ragmullin cathedral, and hours later a man’s body is found hanging from a tree, DI Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. The trail leads her to a former children’s home with a dark connection to her own family history. As she begins to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger? Lottie is about to come face to face with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.

Who is on your shoulder as you write?
My husband, Aidan, who died almost eight years ago after a short illness, aged just 49. He has been with me in spirit every tap of the keyboard. Missed but cherished.

Who are you reading right now?
Robert Dugoni. My writing has been compared to his and I must admit I hadn’t read any of his work. So I’m catching up now. I didn’t realise he was a US bestseller!

God appears and says you can only write or read. Which would it be?
Write, of course. (However, I might need to be able to read a little in order to edit what I’ve written).

The three best words to describe your own writing …
Dark. Mysterious. Gripping. (I took those words from a review). Though my editor calls it ‘creepy’.

THE MISSING ONES by Patricia Gibney is published by Bookouture.

It’s that time of the year again, when the shortlists for the Irish Books of the Year awards are announced, and as always the Crime Fiction category offers some fascinating choices. To wit:

Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year

Skin Deep – Liz Nugent (Penguin Ireland)
A House of Ghosts – W. C. Ryan (Bonnier Zaffre)
The Confession – Jo Spain (Quercus)
One Click – Andrea Mara (Poolbeg)
The Ruin – Dervla McTiernan (Sphere)
Thirteen – Steve Cavanagh (Orion)

  Meanwhile, there’s five crime titles in the six nominees for the Ryan Tubridy Listener’s Choice Award. To wit:

RTE Radio One’s The Ryan Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award

Ladder to the Sky – John Boyne (Doubleday)
The Stolen Girls – Patricia Gibney (Bookouture)
The President is Missing – Bill Clinton and James Patterson (Century)
Ruin – Dervla McTiernan (Sphere)
Skin Deep – Liz Nugent (Penguin Ireland)
The Woman in the Window – A.J. Finn (HarperCollins)

  Hearty congratulations to all the nominees; the winners will be announced on November 27th. To vote for your favourite title, clickety-click here …

I’m delighted to be taking part in Murder One again, which, I hope, is in the process of establishing itself as an annual event. I’ll be hosting the ‘Past Crimes’ event on Saturday, November 2nd, which the blurb elves have rather neatly summed up as follows:

Past Crimes: Jess Kidd, Henrietta McKervey and Paddy Hirsch with Declan Burke
From Things in Jars to Violet Hill, London’s only female private detective, via Hudson’s Kill and the Irish gangs of New York, three novelists use the past as a backdrop to their page-turning adventures of deception, danger – and detection. Declan Burke, previously Dublin City of Literature’s Writer in Residence, is an award winning author whose latest book, The Lammisters, will be published in November by No Alibis Press.

Where: Smock Alley Main Space
When: Saturday 2nd November, 5.00pm-6.00pm
How much: €12/€10

  For all the details on the full cast of Murder One – which includes Lynda LaPlante, Martina Cole, Patricia Gibney, Steve Cavanagh, Jane Casey, John Banville, Liz Nugent, Alex Barclay, and a host of others – clickety-click here …

Crime fiction author Sam Blake (right) – aka Irish literary maven Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin – hosts a panel of British and Irish crime writers at the Red Line Book Festival (tagline: ‘Lots of prose. No cons.’) at the Civic Theatre, Tallaght, on October 13th. Quoth the blurb elves:

Crazy about Crime Fiction? Killer Instincts is the event for you! Hosted by Sam Blake, this panel discussion features some of the top British and Irish writers in the genre. Joining Sam will be acclaimed writer Sophie Hannah, whose books have published in 49 languages and 51 territories, crime reporter turned author Cormac O’Keeffe (Black Water), best-selling writer of the Detective Lottie Parker series Patricia Gibney (The Missing Ones, No Safe Place) and Irish Crime Novel of the Year winner Louise Phillips (The Game Changer, Last Kiss).

  For details of how to book tickets, clickety-click here …