"She was petite, five-two at most, the kind of late twenties that takes years of practice."

Harry Rigby, research consultant, becomes embroiled in the murder of politician Tony Sheridan's wife and we accompany him over Christmas as he struggles to stay alive - shot (apparently) by the Provies (it turns out later that "the Dibble" - the police - shot him), almost drowned... while his brother Gonzo overdoses on super E.

Rigby is not - at least initially - a particularly likeable character - he is rude to his partner Denise, does not seem to care much for his son Ben, and is given to "toking" - he does not seem to have any particular talent other than making Chandleresque one-liners - and these are hilarious and witty. His other talent is for taking beatings, and he receives a quite a few of these - in fact, he draws them on himself.

As the plot gathered pace, I found myself rooting for Harry despite his shortcomings.

At times the book is like a phantasmagoria, with vivid characters and lurid scenes appearing out of the murky Northwest Ireland winter, and fading again.

The dialogue sparkles with one-line zingers, the exposition (descriptions of snow, ice, winter) is perfect, and the sense of menace is all-pervading.

A scintillating read -highly recommended.

Attempt at slick writing in the style of Mickey Spillane,doesn't quite pull it off. Hope to see more sophisticated,streamlined writing in future. Shows promise but local research insufficient for subject matter.

This was a most enjoyable read; fast paced, funny. One of those books I looked forward to getting back to each time I was forced to put it down. Burke has an ear for dialogue and an eye for character development. I highly recommend it.

TFConfessions of a Catholic Cop

Think Lehane, but more gonzo. If you like your conversation Hunter Thompson-esque, as in hard-boiled, and wise-cracking, and full of references, and slang, this might be for you. Unless you find too much of it just too hard to wade through, and distracting from the plot, in which case, like me, you'll give up, wondering if you've missed something, because the book showed so much promise, and maybe its not the book at all, but you....

This is the first novel of Declan Burke's I have read, although I have enjoyed his blog CRIME ALWAYS PAYS for quite a while. There is a hell of a lot of information packed into the first few pages, to set the context, and then the story takes off and becomes a real, if brutal page turner that lifts the lid on a toxic concoction of Irish parochial politics and the psychopaths who make a living on its edges.

The writing brings to mind other hardboiled Irish writers of the past few years, such as Ken Bruen or Sam Millar, or even the Scottish writer Allan Guthrie, but what makes Burke his own man is the mouth-jockey resilience of his hero, Harry Rigby and the great characterization of some of the essential bit players. Groucho Marx would have been proud to put his name to quite a few pages of the dialog. The plotting and the way the clues all click into place in the final chapters show Burke's mastery of the genre.

Nearly a decade has passed since I've come across a mystery this tight, this gripping. That was The Guards, Ken Bruen's first Jack Taylor novel. This compares favorably with that gem.

If you like Mickey Spillane style writing - with violence everywhere and unbelievably resilient heroes - you will like this. I don't like Spillane since I grew up and I don't like this either. Predictable and rubbish!

It really shouldn't work. Even in something as dark and noir styled as EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, there should be limits. Sure, hero's can be wise-cracking, dry, lone wolf investigators, or "Researchers". They can obviously have fraught personal lives, and goodness knows Rigby's personal life - what with a son he adores and an on again-off again live in partner, mostly pissed off with him in the extreme falls at the very least, into complicated territory. They can have mates that can be turned easily, enemies around every corner, cops, crooks and all. They can even be somewhat risky friends to know. They can have decidedly dodgy family members but somehow keep waiting for the Chrismas cards to arrive. But really, can they possibly be shot, bashed, thumped, beaten, shot, beat up a bit more, and shot again (I lost count), and not have the reader feel the occasional WTF moment. Apparently, when you're this reader, and it's this book, you can.

Who knew.

It's undoubtedly something to do with the crisp, sharp, pointy, sticky, dark, hilariously funny writing throughout the book. It really got to the point where I didn't care if the hero got shot yet again, as long as he rose to his feet with a nice little aside out of his mouth. I confess at one point I was worried about the beatings - but if I'm being honest - only because of the possibility of a broken jaw and what Burke would do to keep the hero wise-cracking. At no stage did I worry for his longevity, and he really is the sort of engaging character that you'd like to think is propping up a bar into his dotage, as long as it's not my local. Sure the plot probably needed a tourist guide, a very good torch and maybe a cheat sheet, but I ... simply ... did ... not ... care. I loved the whole package and frankly, had a ball reading it. Giggled like an idiot at points.

This is Declan Burke's first book, which I cannot believe I've not read before. Especially as I'd loved The Big O.

You'd think I'd know these things by now.

Excellent customer service.

Prompt delivery.

Burke can write the hardcore repartee but then he gets carried away. Too much, too inappropriate and, as the book went on, too unpleasant full of gratuitous nastiness. Afterwards, I read The Big Sleep by Chandler again. He was the master and Burke is a failed pastische.