Friday 17 July 2009

Kat Sanders Guest Blog

Kat Sanders (isn't that a brilliant name?) is a Forensic Science Technician, and as such, you'd be pretty damn interested in finding out what kind of crime fiction she enjoys. So I was delighted to hear from her. She offered to take a break from the site she regularly writes for (The Forensic Scientist Blog) to pen me a short article on her favourite Irish crime writers.


Take it away, Kat!

5 Must-Read Irish Crime Fiction Writers

If there is one genre that makes for easy reading, it is crime fiction, particularly the books without too much gore and brutality. If you’re a fan of crime fiction, and if you like the way the Irish write, here are five authors you could try out:

· Declan Burke: One of the more popular and well-known faces of Irish crime fiction, Burke has been hailed as “the future of Irish crime fiction” because of his novels Eight Ball Boogie and The Big O. His blog Crime Always Pays is extremely popular on the Internet.

· Patrick McCabe: Mostly known for his psychotic thrillers, this author is a Booker Prize nominee for his book Breakfast on Pluto. Both this novel and The Butcher Boy are dark thrillers set in small Irish towns.

· Joseph O’Connor: This man’s initial claim to fame was being the brother of Sinead O’Connor, the bald crooner. But with his historical thriller Star of the Sea, he came into his own as a novelist who could engross the reader with his way with words. Star of the Sea was listed by The Economist as one of the best books of 2003.

· John Banville: Banville has been nominated for the Booker Prize for The Book of Evidence and has won the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sea. He also writes under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, with books like Christine Falls and The Silver Swan.

· Liz Allen: This former newspaper correspondent turned her hand to writing crime and struck it rich with the bestseller Last to Know. She has put to use all her knowledge and experience about being a crime correspondent in order to come up with a really engrossing tale. Now a full-time author, she is involved in churning out other best-selling novels.

By-line:

This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of forensic science technician schools at her blog Forensic Scientist Blog. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com.

6 comments:

seana graham said...

A couple of familiar names here, and a couple not. I do know of Joseph O'Connor, but would never have guessed he was a sibling of 'the bald crooner'. Looks like he's got a bit of glory on his own steam. I'll have to check him out.

Gerard Brennan said...

Seana - I think he likes to play down the connection. I read his early stuff including the semi-autobiographical "Irish Male" series and she gets just one slightly cryptic mention. Like he's deliberately avoided clinging to her coat tails.

Cheers

gb

seana graham said...

That's probably wise. You never know, but I'm thinking it couldn't have been the easiest gig being Sinead's brother.

Gerard Brennan said...

Seana - Yeah, I'd say you're right, especially in Ireland at that time.

Cheers

gb

seana graham said...

Of course, it probably wasn't a barrel of laughs being Sinead either.

Gerard Brennan said...

Seana - Fair point!

gb