Murder Most Irish

Book Overview

This is an anthology of Irish crime and detective fiction. The book includes work by Sean O'Faolain, Peter Tremayne, Edmund Crispin, Freeman Wills Crofts, Mary Ryan, Michael Jahn, Morris Hershman, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156619637X
• ISBN13: 9781566196376
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 596 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A roster of the best in Irish writers roll out the macabre

Murder by any other name is still murder, unless it has an Irish flavor. Then `tis Murder Most IRISH, a bold anthology of short stories edited by Ed Gorman and friends. Published by Barnes and Noble, Murder Most IRISH boasts the works of, among others, Peter Tremayne, who authors the popular Sister Fidelma murder mystery series. Tremayne's entry in Murder Most IRISH trails Sister Fidelma once again as she roots out a murderous evildoer at loose in a seventh century Irish convent. In Hemlock At Vespers, Tremayne baits readers into solving his poisonous puzzle before he stirs the potion and exposes the real murderer. James Joyce himself is aboard with a clipped non-fiction piece, The Hanging of Myles Joyce. Evidently a newspaper article bearing the man's name lured James Joyce to travel to County Galway to follow the murder trial of a man who had been accused of killing an entire family of Joyces, living in a town populated mainly by Joyces. Ultimately the man was convicted and hanged, but that didn't stop James Joyce from slipping a little gallows humor into his sad tale. The accused Myles Joyce neither spoke nor understood English. During trial a court interpreter asked him a question begging a simple yes or no answer. Joyce replied by gesticulating and shouting from the stand in Irish for a lengthy period of time. When Myles Joyce finished his tirade, the interpreter turned toward the court and said simply, "His answer is no." Noted Irish author Sean O'Faolain penned MMI's Murder at Cobbler's Hulk, a gripping tale from a collection of his short stories. O'Faolain produced numerous collections during his prolific career, some of which are: Midsummer Night Madness, Collected Stories, and The Stories of Sean O'Faolain. O'Faolain's biographical resume includes King of the Beggars - A Life of Daniel O'Connell and the award winning DeValera. Mary Ryan's Jeremiah's Lily, a change-of-pace short story, delivers sly twists and turns and makes for worthwhile reading. Blood is Thicker, by Ann C. Fallon, comes to us at book length, but you'll not want to put it down until you've finished it. The Rose of Tralee, by Bill Cider, is not quite what you'd expect, but is brief enough to read during a morning coffee break. Throughout, versatility is what Murder Most IRISH offers its readers. Waiting in your favorite dentist's office, you'll have the time to finish Jerry Brogan and the Kilkenny Cats, by Jon L. Breen. At home, facing a night of nothing but reruns on the tube, a fine book-length murder mystery is at arm's length. And, with its publisher dabbling in bookstore ownership, you'll know where to find Murder Most IRISH.

great Irish short stories

This book combines 17 short murder mysteries - some funny, some heartbreaking, and some suspensful, all set in Ireland. My favorites are The Tinker's Revenge by D.M. O'Reilly (about a tinker who is suspected of murdering his neighbor, who in truth had accidently killed himself stealing from the tinker) and The Dublin Eye by Clark Howard that gives a good portrayal of The Troubles in the North. A great read for anyone who loves murder mysteries and the Irish culture.