Monday, April 11, 2011

Eightball Boogie by Declan Burke


I once saw a movie, I forget which one, and I'm not even sure of the scene, but the general idea was an Irish guy saying how the story should have ended there, (referring I believe to a somewhat happy ending), but it wasn't an American story, it was an Irish story. That thought is what ran through my head throughout Eightball boogie. American novelist don't seem to get quite the same level of betrayal, dissembling, and general sense of pathos that some of these Irish novelist do. And that is a compliment to the portrayal of their characters and story, and Declan Burke nails it, with a sense of humor to boot. Eightball Boogie is dark, edgy, fast paced and funny with a protagonist that isn't perfect, but will do anything he has to do to do what needs to be done. And, I have to admit, being in Harry Rigby's head as he was doing what he was doing was very entertaining.

Harry Rigby describes his job..
My job was to find out who and why, at twelve cent per word for the right facts in the right order. Enough facts, a decent hook, they might even add up to a front-page clipping for the dusty folder in my filing cabinet.
And unfortunately, sometimes that just about gets you killed, but Harry has advice for surviving that too...
If you're going to get kicked senseless, it's best to take certain precautions. Getting drunk is one. That way you go with the flow and don't resist, which is how bones get broken, especially when there's three of them and one is wielding an empty beer keg like it's a beach ball.
Through beatings, a swim in the river with a hole in his gut, his girlfriend kicking him out..again, and his psychotic brother returning, Harry manages to wade through the dissimulation and betrayal to track down the killer of a politician's wife and save his young son whose life has been threatened.

If you are interested in, or looking to try out, what has been recently labeled "emerald noir", I'd recommend giving Eightball Boogie a try, and thanks to the very generous author, you can do it for .99 cents if you have an e-reader or the cost of shipping for an old-fashioned paperback book. For more information simply click HERE.

Update: Here's another great review of Eightball Boogie by Seana over at Not New For Long with a bit of a different angle on the story.

8 comments:

seana graham said...

Very nice. I got mine up over the weekend as well.

Glenna said...

Seana, where is yours? I misses it.

seana graham said...

Glenna, it's here. Thanks, for asking. I think we're pretty much on the same page about it, but focussed on slightly different aspects.

Glenna said...

Yep, we are. I'm looking forward to reading Chandler even mre now.

seana graham said...

I actually bought a couple of Chandler novels a week or so ago. I have a book to read for my book group, but I may hit Chandler after that.

Did you notice on my blog that there is an Irish reading challenge going on? I joined it, not that I really need a challenge to do so...

Just thinking you might want to sign up, as it's a nice community, and you might just get a few more readers for your blog, which I think would benefit everyone. I'm going to go back and edit my blog and add a link to this post.

Here's the link.

Glenna said...

I was thinking of linking yours once I found it and kicked the computer gamers in the family off of the computers, (links are a pain to do from my Ipod).

I did notice the Irish reading challenge and meant to ask you about it. I will check it out. Thanks.

seana graham said...

Just saw that Gerard Brennan has this fun repost.

Glenna said...

That's a nice find. Thanks.