fullybooked2017

IRISH CRIME FICTION seems to be on a roll at the moment. With writers like Anthony Quinn, Stuart Neville, Ken Bruen, John McAllister and Sinead Crowley making headlines, it’s not too fanciful to see Ireland – North and South – rivaling its neighbour across the sea, Scotland, as everyone’s favourite setting for moody and intense crime tales. Is there room for one more at the top table of Irish crime? There certainly is, when it’s Jo Spain asking for a seat. Her debut novel With Our Blessing was named as an Irish Times crime fiction book of the year by Declan Burke in 2015, and achieved great critical acclaim.

Now, DI Tom Reynolds and his team return for another sortie against the many-headed monster of Irish crime. This time a government official is murdered in Leinster House, the former ducal residence in Dublin which has housed the Irish Parliament since 1922.

Everyone makes the assumption, that Ryan Finnegan’s death has been orchestrated by one of his political opponents, but before too long, Reynolds is uncovering evidence that points in a different direction altogether. The novel will be available very soon from the usual sources, and it looks from this angle that Jo Spain (below) and her publishers Quercus, have another hit on their hands. You can also keep in touch with Jo by following her on Twitter.