The Twelve
I almost missed reading this book. Published in 2009 it has only just been releases here. I was reluctant to pick it up because “debut thriller of the year” gets thrown around a far bit and I am very skeptical. However in the case of THE TWELVE it is not marketing or publicity that has come up with the statement because it is more than true. This is not just one of the best thriller debuts of the last ten years; it is one of the best thrillers of the last ten years full stop.
THE TWELVE blends together seamlessly some of my favourite elements of crime fiction. It is political (without choosing sides), it is violent, it has heart and it is wickedly funny in places. It also reminds me of some of my favourite authors while being completely original. While reading the book Adrian McKinty, Ken Bruen and the DEXTER series all came to mind as well as the film THE DEPARTED and the TV series RESCUE ME.
The main character of the book is Gerry Fegan, an ex-IRA hit man who has just done a 9 and a half year stretch in Maze prison. Prison has changed him but not like you would think. Gerry is haunted by the crimes he has committed, literally. He is followed by twelve ghosts of people he has killed. He can see, hear and feel the ghosts all the time and they will not let him sleep. Even whiskey doesn’t help and Gerry is seen as a crazy drunk who talk to himself all day.
Gerry tries confessing to one of his victim’s relatives in an effort to free himself from these unwanted spirits but that only get him into trouble with his old bosses. But that’s when he finds out what his ghost want him to do, they want revenge. As Gerry counts down his ghosts, his actions threaten to tear apart Northern Ireland’s new found peace. This means he must be stopped, making this one hell of an explosive thriller.
Collusion
OK so I thought THE TWELVE was freakin’ awesome but COLLUSION takes it up another notch. The now ghost-less (but still haunted) Gerry Fegan has escaped Northern Ireland to New York but his trail of destruction and its consequences still reverberates around Belfast. Interestingly Gerry takes a backseat in this book. We’re introduced to Detective Inspector Jack Lennon (who happens to be the briefly mentioned ex-girlfriend of one of THE TWELVE’s main characters) and we meet an even more twisted hitman known as The Traveller.
I love when a series follows a non- linear path and at first you think COLLUSION is a Jack Lennon novel. But one of Lennon’s cases has links to what happened in THE TWELVE and when he learns his ex-girlfriend and estranged daughter were somehow involved he is determined to find out what happened. When those that survived THE TWELVE start turning up dead Lennon is put on a collision course with The Traveller who has been cleaning up loose ends.
The action is again incredible and the twists are devilish. With a title like COLLUSION you have no idea which side anyone is really on. All the elements that made THE TWELVE great are still here and I am still trying to catch my breath after the ending. Seriously if you love action/thrillers you HAVE to read Stuart Neville.
Stolen Souls
Stuart Neville is fast becoming one of my favourite crime writers. THE TWELVE blew me away and COLLUSION was an excellent follow-up and now he continues the brilliance with STOLEN SOULS.
Jack Lennon again features and he is trying to balance the pieces if his life that are left in the aftermath of the last book. But the central character is Galya, an illegal immigrant from The Ukraine who has been deceived into coming to Ireland for work but the job she has been ‘sold’ into is not what she signed up for.
STOLEN SOULS is in essence a chase novel. The book opens with Galya having just killed a ‘client’. Unfortunately the ‘client’ is the brother of a very important and ruthless man. She must now out run his revenge but ends up jumping out of the fry pan into a very vicious fire.
Meanwhile Jack is left to clean up the trail of destruction and try and figure out what is going on. Neville again mixes up unpredictable action with both flawed and despicable characters. Get on the Stuart Neville bandwagon now because this guy is going to be huge.
and don’t miss the new book in the series, The Final Silence out July 17
Amazing offer right now, children’s humorous fantasy only £1.99 on Kindle for a limited period. Winner of The Book Awards, February 2014!
Click here for offer.
This weekend, the National Book Critics Circle announced the finalists for its books wards for publishing 2011 and—not to bury the lede—including Dubravka Ugresic’s Karaoke Culture as one of the five finalists in the Criticism category.
This is the first major book award that one of titles has been nominated for (not counting the BTBA), and we’re extremely psyched. I’ve been on and on and on about this book for the past year, which makes this news just that much sweeter. To celebrate this honor, we’re selling copies of Karaoke Culture through our website for the special price of $9.99.
OR, if you’d rather become an Open Letter supporter and receive all of our fantastic books, you can buy a subscription and we’ll throw in a copy of Karaoke Culture for free.
Going back to the NBCCs, I have to say, the Criticism category is the very definition of LOADED. Check out this list of finalists:
- David Bellos, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything (Faber & Faber)
- Geoff Dyer, Otherwise Known as the Human Condition: Selected Essays and Reviews (Graywolf)
- Jonathan Lethem, The Ecstasy of Influence (Doubleday)
- Dubravka Ugresic, Karaoke Culture (Open Letter) (Translated by David Williams, Ellen Elias-Bursac, and Celia Hawkesworth)
- Ellen Willis, Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music (University of Minnesota Press)
Bellos, Lethem, Ugresic, AND Dyer?!?!? Damn. That’s all I can say.
By contrast, the other categories—all of which contain a few truly excellent books—seem tame. You can read the full press release and list of all finalists by clicking here. And here are my picks for which titles should win in the various categories:
Fiction:
- Teju Cole, Open City (Random House)
Nonfiction:
- James Gleick, The Information (Pantheon)
Autobiography:
- Deb Olin Unferth, Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War (Henry Holt)
Biography:
- Mary Gabriel, Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of the Revolution (Little, Brown)
Poetry:
- Forrest Gander, Core Samples from the World (New Directions)
Congrats to everyone, and special congrats to Dubravka Ugresic, David Williams, Ellen Elias-Bursac, and Celia Hawkesworth!
SPECIAL OFFER:
We've extended the Prize Pack offer! Due to popular demand, Changing Hands and I have decided to extend The Unwanteds Prize Pack off through Tuesday, Aug 30th - the night I'll be doing the big launch party at their store in Tempe, AZ. We're hustling to put more prize packs together right now! Order a signed copy of The Unwanteds via phone, online, or in person and you'll get a free prize pack. Shipping is available at a special rate for this offer. See the link for all the details! The postcard illustration will be a collectible - I plan to have a new one for each book in this series, so get in on the action early and you'll have the whole set!
CONTESTS: If you want in on the plethora of contests I'll be holding starting next week, you have to sign up for my newsletter or you won't hear about them. Go here.
TOUR TOUR TOUR:
I will be traveling for parts of September and October. Here is the current list of stops. Please come out and see me! Find updates at the tour link above or here.
*Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 7pm -- THE UNWANTEDS launch party and Prize Pack special offer!
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 So. McClintock
Tempe,AZ
*Sept 3, 2011 -- Decatur Book Festival
Teen book stuff: The Escape at the Decatur Library Saturday, 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
The Unwanteds: Children's Stage Saturday, 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm with Margaret Peterson Haddix
*Sunday, Sept 4, 2011
B&N Alpharetta, GA, 2pm with Margaret Peterson Haddix!
*Wednesday, Sept 7, 2011
QUAIL RIDGE BOOKSTORE with Margaret Peterson Haddix
3522 Wade Ave.
Raleigh,NC
5:00PM
*Thursday, Sept 8, 2011
THE VERO BEACH BOOK CENTER AND CHILDREN'S STORE with Margaret Peterson Haddix
2145 Indian River Blvd.
Vero Beach,FL
6:00PM
*Saturday, Sept 10, 2011
BOOKS & BOOKS with Margaret Peterson Haddix
265 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables,FL
3:30PM
*Wed, Sept 21, 2011
BOOKS & COMPANY
1039 SUMMIT AVE
OCONOMOWOC,WI
4:00PM
*Thurs, Sept 22, 2011
BOSWELL BOOK COMPANY
2559 N. Downer Ave.
Milwaukee,WI
4:00PM
*Friday, Sept 23, 2011
7:00 PM
LAKE VILLA DISTRICT LIBRARY (with Lake Forest Bookstore)
1001 E Grand Avenue
Lake Villa, IL 60046
*Saturday, Sept 24, 2011 -- 8th Annual YA Lit Conference w/ Anderson's Bookshop, Chicago. Details to come.
*Saturday, October 1, 2011
Tattered Cover
2526 East Colfax Avenue
Denver,CO
3:00PM
*Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 7:00 PM
B&N - Holland
3050 Beeline Road
Suite 50
Holland, MI 49424
*Thursday, October 13, 2011, 6:00 PM
SCHULER BOOKS
1982 Grand River Ave.
Okemos, MI 48864
*Saturday, Oct 15, 2011, 2:30PM
FERNDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY
222 E. 9 mile Road
Ferndale, MI 48220
Co-sponsored by the Ferndale Public Library and Book Beat
*Friday, Oct 14 - Sunday, Oct 16, 2011 GLIBA convention, Dearborn, MI. More info to come.
*Saturday, Oct 29, 2011 Houston Area TWEENS READ Book Festival - Bobby Shaw Middle School in Pasadena, TX
