Northern Irish Crime Fiction - The Next Generation
You've heard of Adrian McKinty, Brian McGilloway and Stuart Neville, right? If not, you're missing out. You should do yourself a favour and look for their work immediately. The talented trio are the newest blood in the Northern Irish crime fiction scene and they're doing the likes of Colin Bateman, Paul Charles and Sam Millar proud.
This month you can pick up the paperback release of Adrian McKinty's FIFTY GRAND and get your mitts on a copy of Brian McGilloway's latest Inspector Devlin novel, THE RISING. And as if he needed something to keep up with his contemporaries, Stuart Neville only went and won the 2010 LA Times Book Prize this month. But major award-winning skills aside, you shouldn't forget that the follow up to his award winning debut (THE GHOST OF BELFAST in the US -- AKA THE TWELVE in the UK), COLLUSION, will be released in the summer.
To whet your appetite, here's what I had to say about FIFTY GRAND when I reviewed the hardcover:
"Fifty Grand will suck you in with its Latin rhythm and leave you hankering for one more belt of rum."
And on McGilloway's BLEED A RIVER DEEP:
"Seriously, do yourself a favour and jump on the McGilloway wagon. If you get left behind, you're only going to have to catch up with the early titles in a few years time."
And Neville's THE TWELVE:
"A top class effort from a top class writer. Essential reading for anybody who wants to get to grips with the new Northern Ireland."
McGilloway and Neville also featured in a crime fiction piece on the new BBC NI television show Art Space on Wednesday 28th April. I imagine McKinty would have made an appearance too but they'd have had to fly him in from Melbourne... Anyway, the fact that they're getting their mugs on the telly as well as in the papers and various websites just goes to show how unstoppable this Northern Irish crime fiction movement is.
And by the way, the trio have contributed excellent short stories to Requiems for the Departed, a crime fiction anthology with a modern take on Irish mythology. It'll be released on 1st June and you can pre-order your copy here.
Gerard Brennan is an emerging Northern Irish writer. When he is not tinkering with a novel, screenplay, stage play or short story he runs Crime Scene NI, a blog devoted primarily to Irish crime fiction. He is represented by Allan Guthrie of Jenny Brown Associates.
