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Ken Bruen

Book Review: Galway Girl by Ken Bruen

By Terrie Farley Moran

November 5, 2019

Galway Girl by Ken Bruen is the 14th book in the Jack Taylor series—as sharp and sardonic as it is starkly bleak and violent, it shows the master raconteur at his best: lyrical, brutal, and ceaselessly suspenseful. I have long been a fan of Ken Bruen’s writing, particularly his Jack Taylor novels. I will confess…

The Best Cat-And-Mouse Chase Thrillers in Crime Fiction

By Paul Gadsby

January 22, 2019

When reading a book, there’s nothing quite like a pulsating pursuit to get you turning the pages. I’ve always loved the use of the cat-and-mouse chase as a plot device; the moment the tension boils over that sparks the frantic escape, the intense hunt, the heart-stopping near misses, the showdown between the hunter and the…

Take Me Down to Kickback City: The Noir of Ian Rankin and Rory Gallagher

By Thomas Pluck

January 20, 2017

I didn’t even know who Rory Gallagher was until I got a postcard from Ken Bruen. To my shame, my knowledge of Irish music is limited. I loved the Pogues but didn’t realize Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy came from the Emerald Isle until I should’ve known better. I lived a bizarrely exposed and yet…

Hap & Leonard 1.02: “The Bottoms” Episode Review

By Thomas Pluck

March 10, 2016

The first episode set the tone, the second is setting the speed. Unlike some shows—such as Jack Taylor, which compresses an entire Ken Bruen novel into a 90-minute episode—Hap & Leonard will be more relaxed, expanding Lansdale’s off-kilter, East Texas world and encouraging us to sit down for some sweet tea and Nilla Wafers. And…

TBR Confessions: Once-Cops, Outrage, and Lies

By Eric Beetner

September 28, 2015

RECENTLY FINISHED: Once Were Cops by Ken Bruen. I've been on a bit of a tear with Ken Bruen lately. This was the ninth Bruen novel I've read this year. Granted, Bruen tends to write short novels so it's really only like three “regular” novels, but I love Bruen's stripped-down style so much I feel like…

Fresh Meat: Purgatory by Ken Bruen

By Neliza Drew

November 5, 2013

Purgatory by Ken Bruen is the tenth Jack Taylor crime novel of Galway, Ireland (available November 4, 2013). Ken Bruen’s latest book, Purgatory, starts with a bang—fairly literally—and it’s all downhill from there. Jack Taylor is washed out, washed up, and washed clean. Bounced from the Guards and not really interested in any more private…

Kwik Krimes, an enthology of flash crime fiction edited by Otto Penzler

Fresh Meat: Kwik Krimes, edited by Otto Penzler

By Kathleen Ryan

August 17, 2013

Kwik Krimes by Otto Penzler collects flash fiction crime stories told in a thousand words or fewer by over eighty different authors (available August 20, 2013). Even more exciting than the masterfully crafted, high-octane gems contained within Kwik Krimes,the latest anthology from legendary crime fiction aficionado and editor Otto Penzler, is the much-deserved recognition of…

21st Century Dead edited by Christopher Golden

Now Win This!: 21st Century Dead, Christopher Golden, ed.

By Crime HQ

June 19, 2012

Sorry, this sweepstakes has ended. Stay tuned on our Sweepstakes page for more offers! Click here to enter for a chance to win! NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter. Promotion begins June 19, 2012,…

Blitz starring Jason Statham

Blitz Trailer: Jason Statham Does Ken Bruen

By Crime HQ

July 19, 2011

Here’s the trailer for Blitz, a movie which will come straight to video in the U.S.—though it has already screened in the UK and Turkey— based upon the Ken Bruen novel of the same name.  Jason Statham, who must currently be the busiest man in the movies, stars as Bruen series cop Tom Brant and…

The Guards by Ken Bruen

Jack Taylor’s Music: Ken Bruen’s The Guards

By Philipp Goedicke

July 4, 2011

As fans of Ken Bruen’s books know, his writing is chock-full of external references.  I’m guessing it’s one of the reasons the blurbs on the book jackets occasionally compare him to James Joyce, Irishness aside.  Being a former grad student, I figured, why not chase down these references.  So, I reread his debut in the…

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