In thinking about putting together a March display on Irish mystery writers for the local library, I asked my good friend and reference librarian/researcher extraordinaire Brennan L. — also proud Irish descendant — for a starter list. Here’s what she provided:
Here is a handful of Irish/Northern Irish crime writers I have read. Sorry, but Tana French is the only woman.
– Brian McGilloway – Inspector Benedict Devlin series, on border of Ireland/Northern Ireland
– Ken Bruen – hard-boiled & noir crime fiction
– Declan Hughes – noir crime fiction
– Adrian McKinty – Sean Duffy Series, NI
– Benjamin Black – Quirke series, a 1950s Dublin pathologist (he has written other fiction under his real name, John Banville)
– Tana French – Dublin murder squad
– Peter Tremayne – Sister Fidelma series. A 7th century nun,under the Brehon code, was authorized to practice law. Lots of historic detail.
– Stuart Neville – NI crime thrillers.
The Neville book I read was way too gruesome for me (torture, Nazis, ripping off fingernails, etc) but I was delighted that it mentioned a relative. My dad’s first cousin, Noel Browne, was a controversial political figure in Ireland and he pops up in the book Ratlines.
Any additions to the list?
Look over this link.
If you (and your newsletter readers) don’t know about stopyourekillingme.com, it is an amazing place to search for mysteries by location, sub-genre, main character, award winners, etc.
This really is an excellent website that all mystery readers should be aware of.
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