31 August 2015

'Martin Beck' for BBC 4



BBC 4 is to screen Swedish crime thriller series Beck, loosely based on the Martin Beck detective novels.

The highly influential books by writing duo Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö were originally published between 1965 and Wahlöö's death in 1975.

27 August 2015

Colm Meaney to play Martin McGuinness


Deadline.com is reporting that Colm Meaney will play Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness in The Journey, which starts shooting in Northern Ireland and Scotland next month.

2016 Dublin run for 'The Perfect Murder'


Peter James's hit production The Perfect Murder will come to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin from 15-20 February 2016 as part of its tour of the UK and Ireland.

Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace will star in the  dark comedy thriller - their first stage appearance together - during their break from EastEnders.

26 August 2015

Author profile: Robert Fannin


Irish author Robert Fannin's Falling Slowly (2010) is a psychological drama set in Bristol.

25 August 2015

BOTM: 'Freedom's Child' by Jax Miller



Our August "Book of the Month": Freedom's Child.

The author: Jax Miller.

The genre: rural noir, Southern Gothic - a chase thriller with hints of horror.

24 August 2015

Blast from the past: Bartholomew Gill



Bartholomew Gill was the pen name of Mark C. McGarrity (July 22, 1943 - July 4, 2002). The Irish-American author wrote 22 mystery novels set in Ireland, featuring Detective Inspector (later Chief Superintendent) Peter McGarr.

20 August 2015

'An Inspector Calls' returns to Gaiety



J.B. Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls returns to the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin from 27-31 October 2015.

19 August 2015

Author profile: Nicola White


Irish writer Nicola White won the 2013 Dundee International Book Prize with her debut novel, the crime thriller In The Rosary Garden (2013), beating competition from more than 350 entries.

The book was partly inspired by the Ann Lovett case in Granard, and by the Kerry Babies Tribunal, which White attended in 1984.

18 August 2015

Roger Allam to star in 'The Truth Commissioner'


One of this autumn's highlights from BBC Northern Ireland is the adaptation of David Park's novel The Truth Commissioner (2008).

Roger Allam (Endeavour, The Thick of It) and Sean McGinley (Roddy Doyle's Family, The Fall, Love/Hate) head the cast.

17 August 2015

Louise O'Neill's next best-seller


Louise O'Neill's books may be marketed as Teen / Young Adult, but inside the "doll" covers are harrowing themes. Her dystopian debut novel Only Ever Yours (2014) was an immediate publishing sensation

Her second book, Asking For It, is published on 3 September 2015 and advance reviews already suggest that it too will be an award-winning best-seller.

14 August 2015

Michael Judge (26 July 1921 - 7 August 2015)

Irish writer and playwright Michael Judge has died aged 94 after a short illness.

Despite a prolific output during his long lifetime, he only got around to publishing his first and only crime thriller, From The Left Hand (2005), when he was 85.

He is probably best known for his nine stage plays, numerous short stories, 14 TV plays for various stations, and his many writing credits for RTÉ television including Tolka Row, The Riordans, Glenroe and Wanderly Wagon.

He published his first novel, Vintage Red, in 2004. From The Left Hand came out the following year and is a thriller about a serial killer.

13 August 2015

Keith Ridgway's 'Hawthorn & Child'


Some covers of Dublin-born author Keith Ridgway's Hawthorn & Child (2012) have the subtitle "A set of misunderstandings". The book builds up these misunderstandings and uncertainties using many narrators and perspectives.

12 August 2015

New Scandi thriller's Irish connections



100 Code, the new Scandi-crime series created by Robert Moresco (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), has several strong Irish connections.

10 August 2015

Blast from the past: 'Bogmail'

Peter Firth and Ian Bannen in Murder In Eden
Patrick McGinley's Bogmail (1978) is now regarded as a classic of modern Irish literature. It wasn't so widely respected when it first came out.

10 facts about Benjamin Black



1. Black is the alter ego of Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville. His "Quirke" series about a pathologist is set mainly in 1950s Ireland.

2. He began writing his first Quirke book in March 2005 - the same year that his 14th novel, The Sea, won the Booker Prize. This first Quirke novel was based on a screenplay for an earlier TV mini-series that never got made, and became Christine Falls (2007).

7 August 2015

6 August 2015

Ian Rankin to give talk in Dun Laoghaire



Ian Rankin will discuss his new novel Even Dogs in the Wild with Declan Hughes at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire on 26 November 2015. It's his 20th Rebus novel.

5 August 2015

Joe McCoubrey's Castlebar detective


Joe McCoubrey comes from Downpatrick in County Down. His latest crime novel, Spent Force, is set around Castlebar, County Mayo.

2 August 2015

Arne Dahl for Malahide


Leading Swedish novelist Arne Dahl will be in Malahide in north Dublin this September to talk about his best-selling "Intercrime" series.