Cartoon of the Day: St. Patrick's Day Mixer in Limerick, Ireland

ST PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION // ST PATRICK'S DAY MYSTERIES

St. Patrick's Day figures in many mysteries. Here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. And, since Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, you can always add more titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish mystery crime writers. Although they may not take place specifically on St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke had a great post on his blog several years ago CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. 

Mystery Readers Journal has had two issues dedicated to Irish Mysteries. Irish Mysteries: 36:4 (2020) and  Irish Mysteries 24:2 (2008)  Both are still available as PDF download.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Jennifer S. Alderson: Death by Leprechaun 

Amy Alessio: Struck by Shillelagh
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
MW Burdette: The St. Patrick Day Murders

Lynn Cahoon: Corned Beef and Casualties
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
P. Creeden: Murder on Saint Patrick's Day
Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans
Maddie Day: Four Leaf Cleaver

Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Tom Dots Doherty: ShamrockSnake
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
Bernadette Franklin: Shammed

S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Andrew Gonzalez: St. Patrick's Day
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jennifer L. Hart: Sleuthing for the Weekend

Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Carolyn Q. Hunter: Shamrock Pie Murder
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Madison Johns: Lucky Strike
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Linda Kozar: St. Patrick's Secret
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night; Four-Leaf Clover
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Marion Markham: The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Mystery (children's)
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder; Irish Parade Murder

Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, & Barbara Ross: Irish Coffee Murder (novellas)
Sharon Michaels: St. Patrick's Day Puzzle

Carlene O'Connor: Murder in an Irish Bookshop, Irish Milkshake Murder
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Mark Parker: Lucky You
Jack Pachuta: Murder Most Green

Christopher Ryan: Go Brath
Madelyn Scott: Suspicions and Shamrocks

Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special

Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes

Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday; The Luck of the Ghostwriter

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: 

Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Conor Brady, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Peter Tremayne, Gene Kerrigan, Stuart Neville, Liz Nugent, Eoin Colfer, John Connolly, Sinead Crowley, Olivia Kiernan, Brian McGilloway, Jo Spain, Jane Casey, Catherine Ryan Howard, Jess Kidd, Claire McGowan, Arlene Hunt, Michelle Duane, Zara Keane, Declan Hughes, Jess Kidd, Gemma O'Connor, Lisa McInerney, 

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

***

Crime Films set around St. Patrick's Day:

Between the Canals (2010), Irish crime film written and directed by Mark O'Connor
The Boondock Saints (1999) American crime film written and directed by Troy Duffy
State of Grace (1990) Neo-Noir Crime Film directed by Phil Joanou
The Fugitive (1993) American Crime Film directed by Andrew Davis

True Crime: 

9 Unbelievable St. Patrick's Day Crimes & Mishaps! 

May the road rise up to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!

An Post Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year Shortlist

The shortlists have been announced for the An Post Irish Book Awards. There are multiple categories, but here's the 

2024 Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year

Shortlist

A Stranger in the Family, by Jane Casey (Hemlock Press)

Witness 8, by Steve Cavanagh (Headline)
Where They Lie, by Claire Coughlan (Simon & Schuster)
Someone in the Attic, by Andrea Mara (Bantam)
Somebody Knows, by Michelle McDonagh (Hachette Ireland)
When We Were Silent, by Fiona McPhillips (Bantam)

Winners will be announced during in Dublin on Wednesday, November 27. 

HT: The Rap Sheet

ST PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION // ST PATRICK'S DAY MYSTERIES

St. Patrick's Day figures in many mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. And, since Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, you can always add more titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically on St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke had a great post on his blog several years ago CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. 

Mystery Readers Journal has had two issues dedicated to Irish Mysteries. Irish Mysteries: 36:4 (2020) and  Irish Mysteries 24:2 (2008)  Both are still available as hardcopy or PDF download.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Jennifer S. Alderson: Death by Leprechaun 

Amy Alessio: Struck by Shillelagh
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
MW Burdette: The St. Patrick Day Murders

Lynn Cahoon: Corned Beef and Casualties
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
P. Creeden: Murder on Saint Patrick's Day
Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans
Maddie Day: Four Leaf Cleaver

Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Tom Dots Doherty: ShamrockSnake
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
Bernadette Franklin: Shammed

S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Andrew Gonzalez: St. Patrick's Day
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jennifer L. Hart: Sleuthing for the Weekend

Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Carolyn Q. Hunter: Shamrock Pie Murder
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Madison Johns: Lucky Strike
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Linda Kozar: St. Patrick's Secret
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night; Four-Leaf Clover
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Marion Markham: The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Mystery (children's)
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder; Irish Parade Murder

Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, & Barbara Ross: Irish Coffee Murder (novellas)
Carlene O'Connor: Murder in an Irish Bookshop
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Mark Parker: Lucky You
Christopher Ryan: Go Brath
Madelyn Scott: Suspicions and Shamrocks

Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special

Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes

Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday; The Luck of the Ghostwriter

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: 

Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Conor Brady, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Peter Tremayne, Gene Kerrigan, Stuart Neville, Liz Nugent, Eoin Colfer, John Connolly, Sinead Crowley, Olivia Kiernan, Brian McGilloway, Jo Spain, Jane Casey, Catherine Ryan Howard, Jess Kidd, Claire McGowan, Arlene Hunt, Michelle Duane, Zara Keane, Declan Hughes, Jess Kidd, Gemma O'Connor, Lisa McInerney, 

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

***

Crime Films set around St. Patrick's Day:

Between the Canals (2010), Irish crime film written and directed by Mark O'Connor
The Boondock Saints (1999) American crime film written and directed by Troy Duffy
State of Grace (1990) Neo-Noir Crime Film directed by Phil Joanou
The Fugitive (1993) American Crime Film directed by Andrew Davis

True Crime: 

9 Unbelievable St. Patrick's Day Crimes & Mishaps! 

May the road rise up to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!

St. Patrick's Day Mysteries // St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction

St. Patrick's Day figures in a lot of mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. And, since Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, you can always add more titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically during St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke had a great post on his blog several years ago CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. 

Mystery Readers Journal has had two issues dedicated to Irish Mysteries. Irish Mysteries: 36:4 (2020) and  Irish Mysteries 24:2 (2008)  Both are still available as hardcopy or PDF download.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Amy Alessio: Struck by Shillelagh
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
Lynn Cahoon: Corned Beef and Casualties
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
P. Creeden: Murder on Saint Patrick's Day
Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans
Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Tom Dots Doherty: ShamrockSnake
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
Bernadette Franklin: Shammed

S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Andrew Gonzalez: St. Patrick's Day
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jennifer L. Hart: Sleuthing for the Weekend
Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Carolyn Q. Hunter: Shamrock Pie Murder
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Madison Johns: Lucky Strike
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Linda Kozar: St. Patrick's Secret
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night; Four-Leaf Clover
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Marion Markham: The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Mystery (children's)
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
 Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder

Carlene O'Connor: Murder in an Irish Bookshop
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Mark Parker: Lucky You
Christopher Ryan: Go Brath
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special
Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes

Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday; The Luck of the Ghostwriter

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Read Lisa Alber's guest post on Travels to Ireland, or, Bah, I Scoff at "Write What You Know"

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: 

Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Conor Brady, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Peter Tremayne, Gene Kerrigan, Stuart Neville, Liz Nugent, Eoin Colfer, John Connolly, Sinead Crowley, Olivia Kiernan, Brian McGilloway, Jo Spain, Jane Casey, Catherine Ryan Howard, Jess Kidd, Claire McGowan, Arlene Hunt, Michelle Duane.

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

***

Crime Films set around St. Patrick's Day:

Between the Canals (2010), Irish crime film written and directed by Mark O'Connor
The Boondock Saints (1999) American crime film written and directed by Troy Duffy
State of Grace (1990) Neo-Noir Crime Film directed by Phil Joanou
The Fugitive (1993) American Crime Film directed by Andrew Davis

May the road rise up to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!

***
And, if you want something CHOCOLATE to go along with your Guinness and Bailey's, have a look at my DyingforChocolate blog for some Killer St. Patrick's Day Recipes including:

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake

Irish Potato Candy
Bailey's Chocolate Truffles
Guinness Chocolate Pie

Chocolate Guinness Cake
Bailey's Irish Cream S'mores
Guinness Chocolate Stout Brownies
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Ice Cream
Bailey's Chocolate Trifle
You Make Me Want to Stout Cupcakes (Scharffen Berger)
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Guinness Chocolate Cherry Bread & Guinness Brown Breads

IRISH INDEPENDENT CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST

Thanks to The Rap Sheet for posting the An Post Irish Book Awards.There are 17 categories of nominees, but I'm posting the shortlist for Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year:

IRISH INDEPENDENT CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

• Remember My Name, by Sam Blake (Corvus)
• Run Time, by Catherine Ryan Howard (Corvus)
• Breaking Point, by Edel Coffey (Sphere)
• The Accomplice, by Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
• The Interview, by Gill Perdue (Sandycove)
• Hide and Seek, by Andrea Mara (Transworld)

Readers can vote for their favorite here, click . 

Voting ends Thursday, November 10. Winners will be announced on November 23.

St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction

St. Patrick's Day figures in many mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. And, since Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, so you can always add titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically during St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke had a great post on his blog several years ago CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. 

Mystery Readers Journal has had two issues dedicated to Irish Mysteries. Irish Mysteries: 36:4 (2020) and  Irish Mysteries 24:2 (2008)  Both are still available as hardcopy or PDF download.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Amy Alessio: Struck by Shillelagh
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
Lynn Cahoon: Corned Beef and Casualties

Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
P. Creeden: Murder on Saint Patrick's Day
Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans
Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Tom Dots Doherty: ShamrockSnake
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
Bernadette Franklin: Shammed

S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Andrew Gonzalez: St. Patrick's Day
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jennifer L. Hart: Sleuthing for the Weekend
Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Carolyn Q. Hunter: Shamrock Pie Murder
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Madison Johns: Lucky Strike
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Linda Kozar: St. Patrick's Secret
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night; Four-Leaf Clover
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Marion Markham: The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Mystery (children's)
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
 Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder

Carlene O'Connor: Murder in an Irish Bookshop
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Mark Parker: Lucky You
Christopher Ryan: Go Brath
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special
Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes
Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday; The Luck of the Ghostwriter

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Read Lisa Alber's guest post on Travels to Ireland, or, Bah, I Scoff at "Write What You Know"

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Conor Brady, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Peter Tremayne, Gene Kerrigan, Stuart Neville, Liz Nugent, Eoin Colfer.

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

***

And, since we all seem to be streaming now, here are a few Crime Films set around St. Patrick's Day:

Between the Canals (2010), Irish crime film written and directed by Mark O'Connor

The Boondock Saints (1999) American crime film written and directed by Troy Duffy

State of Grace (1990) Neo-Noir Crime Film directed by Phil Joanou

The Fugitive (1993) American Crime Film directed by Andrew Davis

May the road rise up to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!

***
And, if you want something CHOCOLATE to go along with your Guinness and Bailey's, have a look at my DyingforChocolate blog for some Killer St. Patrick's Day Recipes including:

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake
Bailey's Chocolate Truffles
Guinness Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Bailey's Irish Cream S'mores
Guinness Chocolate Stout Brownies
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Ice Cream
Bailey's Chocolate Trifle
You Make Me Want to Stout Cupcakes (Scharffen Berger)
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Guinness Chocolate Cherry Bread & Guinness Brown Breads

St Patrick's Day Crime Fiction // St Patrick's Day Mysteries

Celebrate St Patrick's Day by reading one of the following St Patrick's Day Mysteries!

St. Patrick's Day figures in several mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, so you can always add titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically during St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke had a great post on his blog several years ago CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. 

Mystery Readers Journal latest issue focuses on Irish Mysteries. It's available as hardcopy or PDF.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Amy Alessio: Struck by Shillelagh
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites

Lynn Cahoon: Corned Beef and Casualties
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
P. Creeden: Murder on Saint Patrick's Day
Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans; The Saint Paddy's Promise
Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Tom Dots Doherty: ShamrockSnake 

J.C. Eaton: Dressed Up 4 Murder
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked

Danielle Garrett: Lucky Witch
Andrew Gonzalez: St. Patrick's Day
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jennifer L. Hart: Sleuthing for the Weekend
Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Carolyn Q. Hunter: Shamrock Pie Murder
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Madison Johns: Lucky Strike
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Linda Kozar: St. Patrick's Secret
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Marion Markham: The St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Mystery (children's)
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
 Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Mark Parker: Lucky You
Christopher Ryan: Go Brath
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special
Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes
Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday; The Luck of the Ghostwriter

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Eoin Colfer.

Who are your favorite Irish authors? Make a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Mystery Readers Journal: Irish Mysteries (36:4)

May the road rise up to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!

***
And, if you want something CHOCOLATE to go along with your Guinness and Bailey's, have a look at my DyingforChocolate blog for some Killer St. Patrick's Day Recipes including:

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake
Bailey's Chocolate Truffles
Guinness Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Bailey's Irish Cream S'mores
Guinness Chocolate Stout Brownies
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Ice Cream
Bailey's Chocolate Trifle
You Make Me Want to Stout Cupcakes (Scharffen Berger)
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Guinness Chocolate Cherry Bread & Guinness Brown Breads

IRISH MYSTERIES: Mystery Readers Journal (36:4)

Mystery Readers Journal: Irish Mysteries (Volume 36: 4, Winter 2020-2021) is available as a PDF and hardcopy. If you're a PDF subscriber, you should have received download instructions. Hard copy subscription copies should arrive this week. PDF Contributor Copies will be going out shortly. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue.

 MYSTERY READERS JOURNAL: IRISH MYSTERIES

Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• The Real Ireland by Robin Castle
• Murder in the Border Country: The Crime Novels of Anthony J. Quinn by David Clark
• The Ireland We Believe We Own by Rona Bell
• Dublin Crime from the ’50s to the 2000s by Peter Handel
• Irish Mystery Writers of the Golden Age by Patricia Cook

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• The Orange and the Green by James Benn
• Shadows of Guilt: Ireland in the 1950s by John Banville, aka Benjamin Black
• How Ireland’s Mysteries Bedazzle the Historical Novel by Nancy Blanton
• At Marks and Spencer by Flynn Berry
• Irish Inspirations by Rhys Bowen
• On Living and Writing in Ireland by Robin Castle
• Kennedy, Starrett & McCusker… No, Not a Firm of Ulster Lawyers by Paul Charles
• Routine Commercial Bombing, and Other Tales from Belfast by Anne Emery
• My Wild Irish Prose by Carole Nelson Douglas
• How Joining the Irish Infantry Inspired Me To Be an Author by Michelle Dunne
• Secrets and Hidden Things by Tana French
• Stories from Ireland’s Thin Places by Erin Hart
• Serial Killer on a Small Island by Catherine Ryan Howard
• Noir in Belfast by Adrian McKinty
• Bonds to Ireland Can’t Be Broken by Catie Murphy
• The 74% Irish in Me by Carlene O’Connor
• Strange, Yet Familiar—My Ireland by Clare O’Donohue
• Study Abroad Leads to a Castle Adventure by Art Taylor
• Listening to Ireland by Sarah Stewart Taylor
• When Irish Eyes Are Dying by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lesa Holstine, D.R. Ransdell, L.J. Roberts, Craig Sisterson, Lucinda Surber
• Just the Facts: The Case of the Vanishing Women by Jim Doherty
• Children’s Hour: Irish Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman
• In Short: Ireland by Marvin Lachman
• Crime Seen: Green Screen by Kate Derie
• Real Ireland Mysteries by Cathy Pickens
• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph
  

***

SUBSCRIBE to Mysteries Readers Journal for 2021. 

Themes in 2021: History Mysteries 1; History Mysteries 2; Texas; Cold Cases. 

Call for articles: We're looking for reviews, articles, and Author! author! essays. Review: 50-150 words, articles, 500-1000 words. Author Essays: 500-1000 words, first person, upclose and personal about yourself, your books, and the "theme" connection. Deadline for History Mysteries: January 15, 2021.  

Send queries to Janet Rudolph: janet @ mysteryreaders . org

CALL FOR ARTICLES: Mysteries set in Ireland

CALL FOR ARTICLES: Mysteries set in Ireland: Mystery Readers Journal (Volume 36:4)

The next issue of Mystery Readers Journal will focus on Mysteries set in Ireland. We're looking for Reviews, Articles, and Author! Author! essays.

Reviews: 50-250 words; Articles: 250-1000 words; Author! Author! essays: 500-1000 words.

Author essays are first person, about yourself, your books, and your unique take on "Ireland' in your work. Think of it as chatting with friends and other writers in the bar or cafe (or on Zoom) about your work and your 'Ireland' connection. Add a title and 2-3 sentence bio/tagline.

Deadline: October 5, 2020

Here's a link to Mystery Readers Journal past themed issues.

Send to: Janet Rudolph, Editor. janet @ mysteryreaders.org

Please forward this request to anyone you think should be included.

Subscribe to Mystery Readers Journal. Themes in 2020: Environmental Mysteries; Italian Mysteries; Senior Sleuths; Ireland.

Cartoon of the Day: St Patrick's Day Mixer in Limerick, Ireland

St Patrick's Day Crime Fiction

Erin - Go - bragh! St. Patrick's Day figures in several mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, so you can always add titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically during St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke has a great post on his blog CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. Be sure and spend some time on his blog!  

Mystery Readers Journal had an issue that focused on Irish Mysteries. It's available as PDF or hardcopy.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, & Marcia Talley (editors): Homicidal Holidays: Fourteen Tales of Murder and Merriment
Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Irish Eyes
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Sharon Fiffer: Lucky Stuff 
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Dorothy Howell: Duffel Bags and Drownings 
Melanie Jackson: The Sham
Diane Kelly: Love, Luck, and the Little Green Men 
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special
Kathy Hogan Trochek (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Irish Eyes
Debbie Viguié: Lie Down in Green Pastures
Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Read Lisa Alber's guest post on Travels to Ireland, or, Bah, I Scoff at "Write What You Know"

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Eoin Colfer.

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

And, if you want something CHOCOLATE to go along with your stout, have a look at my DyingforChocolate blog for some Killer St. Patrick's Day Recipes including:

Guinness Chocolate Silk Pie
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Guinness Chocolate Stout Brownies
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Ice Cream
Bailey's Chocolate Trifle
You Make Me Want to Stout Cupcakes (Scharffen Berger)
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Guinness Chocolate Cherry Bread & Guinness Brown Breads

Spring 2017 Ireland Tour with Erin Hart

Wouldn't this be fun? IRELAND WITH ERIN HART!

Erin Hart & Celtic Journeys:
IRELAND WITH ERIN HART
May 25-June 4, 2017

SPACE IS LIMITED—SIGN UP BY FEBRUARY 28 TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!

Erin Hart is working again this year with Jean Wynne of Celtic Journeys, who set up last spring's fabulous itinerary!

Erin (and her husband, accordion maestro Paddy O'Brien) will lead a small band of a dozen or so on a wonderful trip called "On Haunted Ground." They'll focus on history, mystery, archaeology & folklore—traveling to fascinating ancient tombs, stone circles and monastic sites, bogs (naturally!) plus informal chats and guided tours with archaeologists, folklorists, naturalists, storytellers and traditional musicians.

Dates are May 25 (departing the US) to June 4. To have a look at our full itinerary, and to find out how to make your reservation—just click on the links below.

This is a unique trip through Ireland, visiting many of the places that have inspired her writing, from the archaeology of ancient sites, the peat bog and its hidden treasures, and all along the way exploring the folklore and folkways of Ireland, past and present.

Tour will spend three nights in Dublin, exploring the city and taking in the the bog men and the Faddan More Psalter at the National Museum, along with the Book of Kells at Trinity College, traditional music sessions, and a day trip to Lough Crew megalithic cemetery.

From Dublin they'll head to the ancient monastery at Glendalough, and take in Ireland's oldest city of Waterford where they''ll go into the Mayor's Wine Vault, under the city from medieval times. Then westward to Dingle Peninsula, taking in its rugged beauty (not to mention its music and fresh seafood) before traveling up the coast and into West Galway, Connemara and the Aran Islands. Finally, they'll head east across the bogs toward Dublin again and have a last night in the Dunboyne Castle Hotel, a magical way to end your journey through Ireland!

Options available for extending your stay in Ireland before or after the tour.

Full details, itinerary and reservation form are also on Erin's website, and at Celtic Journeys website.

Questions? Please contact Jean Wynne at 651-291-8003, jean@celtic-journeys.com, www.celticjourneys.com.

International Mysteries Literary Salon January 26: Jeffrey Siger, Cara Black, Lisa Alber

Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 26, 7 p.m.!
INTERNATIONAL MYSTERY NIGHT! 

Join Mystery Readers NorCal for a LITERARY SALON in Berkeley (CA) with Jeff Siger (Greece), Cara Black (Paris), and Lisa Alber (Ireland).
Open to All, but you must RSVP to attend. Space Limited. Address given when you RSVP.
Make a comment below with your email.

Jeffrey Siger (Greece)

Jeffrey Siger, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, practiced law at a major Wall Street law firm and, while there, served as Special Counsel to the citizens group responsible for reporting on New York City's prison conditions. He left Wall Street to establish his own New York City law firm and continued as one of its name partners. He now lives and writes full-time in Mykonos, his adopted home of 30+ years.

Santorini Caesars is the eighth novel in his internationally best-selling and award nominated Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, following up on Devil in Delphi, Sons of Sparta, Mykonos After Midnight, Target: Tinos, Prey on Patmos, Assassins of Athens, and Murder in Mykonos.

Cara Black (Paris)

Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 14 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris. Cara has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year citation, the Médaille de la Ville de Paris—the Paris City Medal, which is awarded in recognition of contribution to international culture—and invitations to be the Guest of Honor at conferences such as the Paris Polar Crime Festival and Left Coast Crime.

With more than 400,000 books in print, the Aimée Leduc series has been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew.

Lisa Alber (Ireland)

Lisa Alber is the author of the County Clare mystery series, which has been described as atmospheric, complex, and with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. The first novel, "Kilmoon," was a Rosebud Award finalist for best debut novel. The second novel, "Whispers in the Mist," is now available. Lisa is busy writing the third (and fourth!) novels in the series.

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2016

The shortlist for the Crime Fiction Award Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards were announced. See all the category shortlists HERE.

Crime Fiction Award

Distress Signals – Catherine Ryan Howard (Corvus)
Little Bones – Sam Blake (Bonnier Zaffre)
Lying In Wait – Liz Nugent (Penguin Ireland)
The Constant Soldier – William Ryan (Mantle)
The Drowning Child – Alex Barclay (HarperCollins)
The Trespasser – Tana French (Hachette Ireland)

HT: The Rap Sheet

Ken Bruen receives iBAM! Award for Literature

Irish novelist Ken Bruen has been declared as this year’s iBAM! Awardee for Literature. Ken will receive his prize during a gala dinner to be held on October 14—the opening day of the 2016 iBAM! (Irish Books, Arts, and Music) celebration—in the Erin Room at Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center.

In response to news of his win, Bruen told the Galway Advertiser, “I’m truly delighted and stunned. I’m over the moon.”

The iBAM Chicago Web site explains that “Ken has written over 50 books and is one of the most prominent Irish crime writers of the last two decades. Born in Galway in 1951, he spent 25 years traveling the world before he began writing in the mid-1990s. As an English teacher, Bruen worked in South Africa, Japan, and South America, where he once spent a short time in a Brazilian jail. He has two long-running series: one starring a disgraced former policeman named Jack Taylor, the other a London police detective named Inspector Brant.” 

Ken has written over 50 books and is one of the most prominent Irish crime writers of the last two decades. Born in Galway in 1951, he spent twenty-five years traveling the world before he began writing in the mid 1990s. As an English teacher, Bruen worked in South Africa, Japan, and South America, where he once spent a short time in a Brazilian jail.

He has two long-running series: one starring a disgraced former policeman named Jack Taylor, the other a London police detective named Inspector Brant. Praised for their sharp insight into the darker side of today’s prosperous Ireland, Bruen’s novels are marked by grim atmosphere and clipped prose. Among the best known are his White Trilogy (1998-2000) and The Guards (2001), the Shamus award-winning first novel in the Jack Taylor series. The next Jack Taylor novel, Green Hell, will be released by Mysterious Press/Grove Atlantic in July 2015. Bruen continues to live and work in Galway.

HT: The Rap Sheet and Mysterious Press

St. Patrick's Day Mysteries - St Patrick's Day Crime Fiction

Erin - Go - bragh! St. Patrick's Day figures in several mysteries, so here's my updated St. Patrick's Day Crime Fiction list. Irish aka Emerald Noir is very popular right now, so you can always add titles to your TBR pile from the many Irish crime writers available, although they may not take place specifically during St. Patrick's Day. Declan Burke has a great post on his blog CrimeAlwaysPays Overview: The St. Patrick's Day Rewind. Be sure and spend some time on his blog!  

Mystery Readers Journal had an issue that focused on Irish Mysteries. It's available as PDF or hardcopy.

As always, I welcome comments and additions to this list. 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Susan Wittig Albert: Love Lies Bleeding
S. Furlong-Bollinger: Paddy Whacked
Harry Brandt (Richard Price): The Whites
Isis Crawford: A Catered St. Patrick's Day
Nelson DeMille: Cathedral
Janet Evanovich: Plum Lucky
Andrew Greeley: Irish Gold
Jane Haddam: A Great Day for the Deadly
Lyn Hamilton: The Celtic Riddle
Lee Harris: The St. Patrick's Day Murder
Jonathan Harrington: A Great Day for Dying
Amanda Lee: The Long Stitch Good Night
Wendi Lee: The Good Daughter
Dan Mahoney: Once in, Never Out
Leslie Meier: St. Patrick's Day Murder
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Death Takes Up A Collection
Ralph M. McInerny: Lack of the Irish
Janet Elaine Smith: In St. Patrick's Custody
JJ Toner: St. Patrick's Day Special
Kathy Hogan Trochek: Irish Eyes
Noreen Wald: Death Never Takes a Holiday

Check out Dublin Noir, a collection of short stories edited by Ken Bruen, published by Akashic Books in the US and Brandon in Ireland and the UK.

Read Val McDermid's take on the Popularity of Irish Crime Fiction.

Read Lisa Alber's guest post on Travels to Ireland, or, Bah, I Scoff at "Write What You Know"

Some Irish crime writers you might want to read: Tana French, Erin Hart, Benjamin Black, Declan Hughes, Jane Casey, Brian McGilloway, Alan Glynn, John Brady, Stuart Neville, Adrian McKinty, John Banville (Benjamin Black), Ken Bruen, Jesse Louisa Rickard, Eoin Colfer.

Who are your favorite Irish authors?

And, if you want something CHOCOLATE to go along with your stout, have a look at my DyingforChocolate blog for some Killer St. Patrick's Day Recipes including:

Guinness Chocolate Silk Pie
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Guinness Chocolate Stout Brownies
Chocolate Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Ice Cream
Bailey's Chocolate Trifle
You Make Me Want to Stout Cupcakes (Scharffen Berger)
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Guinness Chocolate Cherry Bread & Guinness Brown Breads

Kilmoon, A County Clare Mystery: Guest post by Lisa Alber

Today I welcome Lisa Alber whose debut novel Kilmoon, A County Clare Mystery, launches tomorrow. How perfect for St Patrick's Day!

LISA ALBER:
Travels to Ireland, or, Bah, I Scoff at “Write What You Know” 

There’s an old writing adage that states, “Write what you know.” I never took it seriously and thank goodness for that, because if I had, I wouldn’t be here to tell you about Kilmoon, my debut novel.

The story of Kilmoon’s birth began with what I call my drawer novel, a tale filled with druids and lost manuscripts. (Quite the tale, yes.) I chose to set Drawer Novel in Ireland for many reasons, chief of which was my odd and unlikely fascination with an ecological anomaly called The Burren.

I wrote Drawer Novel in a state of heady cluelessness. If I’d listened to the naysayers who insisted I write what I knew, I wouldn’t have written the novel in the first place, much less traipsed off to Ireland for after-the-fact research that led me to stumble on the inspirations for Kilmoon.

Having never been to Ireland, I chose a B&B near The Burren pretty much at random. And let me tell you, cosmic forces must have been on my side, because I chose a B&B that landed me right in the heart of a novel not yet born, not yet dreamed of, not yet fathomed.

I ended up in Lisdoonvarna village, County Clare. It’s not a quaint village, more like a pub stop on the way to the coast. However, I couldn’t help but notice a pub with an odd name, Matchmaker Pub. The pub owner told me all about the annual matchmaking festival.

Whoa, I thought, wouldn’t a happily-ever-after atmosphere be a cool backdrop for a darker story?

Just a thought, in and out and forgotten for many moons because I was preoccupied with Drawer Novel.

The B&B itself was located a few miles outside the village proper. Talk about atmospheric Ireland! The landscape was downright moody at times, the way the leaden clouds whisked by overhead, casting shadows over drystone walls that slithered over the hills in every direction.

That said, I was disappointed by my B&B choice—too isolated—until I discovered an old church down the lane from the B&B. Twilight had hit the Celtic crosses just right. I stopped to snap some photos and was amazed to discover that I was standing in a thousand-year-old early Christian churchyard with only a tiny fingerpost to mark it.

Don’t ask me why I fell in love with Kilmoon Church, but I did. It really is a tiny, falling-apart place, but it sits peacefully on its plot, crumbling in the sea winds, brooding over its gravestones.

In fact, the sense of Kilmoon as a thing that can brood never left me, and in the novel it turned into: Kilmoon Church stood in genteel isolation, open air to the night as if shrugging off its Christian ties and embracing a more benevolent lunar goddess. The church seemed to watch us, indulging us our frail humanity and our unseemly trespass. We strolled around the site, taking in the uneven stones and skinny windows, the crumbling gravestones and tall Celtic crosses. 

When I eventually set Drawer Novel aside, I found a matchmaking festival (and by association, a matchmaker) and Kilmoon Church waiting for me. On one hand I had what’s on the surface—happily-ever-afters—and on the other, secrets long buried. I love a good juxtaposition!

So I wrote Kilmoon, a story about a Californian named Merrit who travels to Ireland to meet her long-lost father, a celebrated matchmaker with a dark past. And I planned another after-the-fact research trip. After all, what’s not to love about traveling to Ireland for novel research? That’s all the reason I need not to write what I know.

IRISH CRIME FICTION: A FESTIVAL

Oh to be in Ireland...

Declan Burke just posted the full schedule for Irish Crime Fiction: A Festival at Trinity College. How cool would it be to attend?

Friday, November 22 (free tickets) 7.00pm-8.30pm:
‘A Short Introduction to Crime Fiction: Why We Write It, How We Write It, and Why We Read It’. Panellists: Jane Casey, John Connolly, Alan Glynn, Declan Hughes, and Eoin McNamee. 

Saturday, November 23 (free tickets for daytime events)
10.00am-11.15am: ‘Historical Crime Fiction’. Panelists: Kevin McCarthy, Eoin McNamee (chair), Stuart Neville, Peter Quinn, and Michael Russell.
11.30am-12.45am: ‘Irish Crime Fiction Abroad’. Panelists: Declan Burke (chair), Jane Casey, John Connolly, Conor Fitzgerald, Alan Glynn, Arlene Hunt.
12.45pm-1.30pm: lunch
1.30-3.30pm: Surprise Film Screening
3.45pm-5pm: ‘Crime Fiction and Contemporary Ireland’. Panelists: Paul Charles, Declan Hughes, Gene Kerrigan, Brian McGilloway (chair), Niamh O’Connor, Louise Phillips.
Closing Event 6pm (doors open 5.30), Exam Hall, Trinity College (€6 tickets) ‘An Evening With Michael Connelly’. John Connolly will be interviewing Michael, who will be signing books, including his newest novel The Gods of Guilt, which will have its Irish launch at this event.

Read more HERE