"LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER, is a razor blade down the spine.So fast-paced, expect whiplash.Grab a copy and clear your schedule!"James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author of BLACK ORDER.
Burnt-out lawyer Ed Burke flees New York, a failed marriage, and a high pressure career as a criminal attorney and returns home to Dublin, Europe's most happening city. Hand-in-hand with the new prosperity, a culture of ruthless corruption has taken root and threatens to pervade the highest levels of government in Celtic Tiger Ireland and the EU. Ed's new job, defending a prominent developer in a tribunal investigating the rezoning of prime residential property, draws him into the world of Ireland's elite movers and shakers who will stop at nothing to achieve their aims. He is also drawn into a passionate affair with an old flame, Pia, now the glamorous wife of a corrupt and powerful political leader. As his infatuation turns into love, Pia is murdered in his own bed, and Ed has no doubt that her heartless, power-hungry husband is behind this murder. Edmund Burke's quest to avenge Pia and free himself from a troubled past becomes an adrenaline-pumping race to save Ireland from the grip of a cabal of corrupt power brokers. He must find his way through a tangled web of lies, deceit and murder as he matches his wits against the Machiavellian schemes of the rich, the famous and the powerful who seek to mould the future of Europe and the West.
"LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER, is a razor blade down the spine.This is Irish noir with a hero whom you'll want at your back in any gunfight !"James Rollins,New York Times best-selling author of BLACK ORDER. --James Rollins
"A high-powered legal thriller chocked full of betrayal, deceit, corruption, and murder. Mullan is Ireland's answer to John Grisham, with a smattering of Ross MacDonald thrown in." JA Konrath, author of RUSTY NAIL. --JA Konrath
"Pat Mullan is a natural born storyteller with a gripping, engaging style.He may just be the next big thing in Irish crime fiction."Jason Starr, author of LIGHTS OUT. --Jason Starr
"LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER bristles with ingenuity, and a plot to kill for ... this is a thriller of such high caliber that it transcends all genres. It rocks!Ken Bruen, Shamus and Macavity Award winning author of THE GUARDS. --Ken Bruen
"LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER is a tight, intelligent thriller.Pat Mullan writes suspense with an edge reminiscent of Bob Ludlum. An author to watch!"Cerri Ellis, Mostly Mystery Reviews. --Cerri Ellis, Mostly Mystery Reviews
From the Author
You'll find many of the things that have led to the demise of The Celtic Tiger inside Last Days of The Tiger. To quote Cerri Ellis of Mostly Mystery Reviews: "Pat Mullan blends political intrigue and murder with a unique Irish flavor that goes down smooth. His hero, Ed Burke, is striking - almost an anti-hero in some respects. To unravel the deception and save himself, Burke must test old friendships, and determine who to trust in an Ireland changed by The Celtic Tiger."
Pat Mullan was born in Ireland and has lived in England, Canada and the USA. He is a graduate of St. Columb's College, Northwestern University and the State University of New York. Formerly a banker, he now lives in Connemara, in the west of Ireland.
He has published articles, poetry and short stories in magazines such as Buffalo Spree, Tales of the Talisman, Writers Post Journal. His poetry appears frequently in the Acorn E-zine of the Dublin Writers Workshop. His short story, Galway Girl, was short-listed for the WOW Awards and was published in the new WOW Magazine in Galway in April 2010. It is also one of his short stories that form part of his GALWAY NOIR anthology, available on-line from iPulp Fiction.
He has two collections of poetry available on-line, Childhood Hills and Awakening. James Dickey's Poetry: The Religious Dimension is his elegy to Dickey and is available on-line on Amazon Kindle.
Recent work has appeared in the anthology, DUBLIN NOIR, published in the USA by Akashic Books and in Ireland and the UK by Brandon Books and again in 'City-Pick DUBLIN', published by Oxygen Books in 2010 to mark Dublin being chosen as UNESCO'S City of Culture for 2010.
His first novel, The Circle of Sodom, received two nominations, one for Best First Novel and one for Best Suspense Thriller, at the 2005 Love Is Murder conference in Chicago. His second novel, Blood Red Square, was published in the US in 2005 and a new edition, published in 2011, is now available on-line as a paperback and as an ebook. His latest novels, Last Days of the Tiger and Creatures of Habit are now available on-line as ebooks on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Kobo, and elsewhere; they are also available in paperback.
He is Ireland Chair of International Thriller Writers, Inc. and he is a member of Mystery Writers of America.
There's no way that one can grow up in Ireland without being surrounded by writers. Everybody writes! And, if they don't, they tell stories. The Celtic oral tradition is alive and well. When I was a little boy in our country farmhouse home, people (neighbors, friends, strangers) would come in of an evening, sit around the fire, and tell stories till the 'wee hours' of the morning. Later Irish writers: James Joyce, John McGahern, Brian Moore, Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Sean O'Casey - and today there's so many, starting with my old schoolmate, Seamus Heaney, and others such as Roddy Doyle. Of course my favorite read is the thriller and I love Irish thriller writers such as Jack Higgins and Victor O'Reilly.But I must not leave out my favorite American writers and there are so many of them: Hemingway, Steinbeck, O'Connor, Clancy, James T. Farrell, and many more. I've been scared by Dean Koontz and by Stephen King and Evan Kingsbury ( whom you may know better as Robert W. Walker, author of the INSTINCT and the EDGE series ) and I've laughed out loud in bed reading Carl Hiaasen. Lately I've been reading my favorite Irish author, Ken Bruen. At College I read the great Russian writers, such as Turgenev and Tolstoy and began a whole new love affair. I suppose every writer that I read has influenced me. I believe that if one wants to (has to) write, one must read, read, read ...
MY WRITING DAY
I'm a morning person so I do try to write every morning - even if it's just scribbled thoughts for my next poem. I do find that I'm more driven when I'm half way into a novel. The story and the characters take over and, if other matters permit, I just lose the sense of time. When that happens, I can write just as readily in the middle of the day or in the evening as I can in the morning. If I go somewhere in the car and I know I will have to kill some time waiting for something or someone, I'll take my briefcase along and use it to jot notes, plot, write, etc. I have three distinct briefcases, one for my poetry, one for my short stories, and one that contains the flotsam and jetsam of my current novel in progress. As you can imagine, they are all overflowing, some more organized than others. But, in a sense, I'm always writing in my head even when I'm gardening or mowing the lawn... and some of my best novel setpieces come right out of my dreams. I always keep a notebook on my bedside table for those special dream segments that I happen to remember upon waking. In many ways one must be disciplined and set a writing schedule but one shouldn't be deluded into thinking that that will produce the best or most creative output. Less structure and more development of the writerly mind creates a consciousness that is pervasive. Then writing in all its manifestation covers the entire day.
This review is from: Last Days of The Tiger (Paperback)
This book is not only a very good read, it also shows the authors good understanding of political, legal and economical matters as well as the good knowledge of the country the story is set in.
Just when you think the story was predictable, it suddenly turns a new direction. I am not a usual nighttime reader but this one kept me reading way beyond my normal sleeping time.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I had received this book in consideration of a review. This was my first reading of this author's work. I'm convinced that I'll be seeking out some of his other works. Mr Mullen managed to do what few have been known to do for me.... Grab me right from the start and drag me, kicking and screaming, through to the end. There were plenty of twists right up to the end, which left me going "WHAT?". I'm not normally a reader of political thrillers because the political content usually bores me to tears. Mr Mullen's writing brought me through these details without me even pausing to yawn. Well done, Pat Mullen, well done!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Last Days of The Tiger (Paperback)
This is a brilliant and compelling echo of the social and political intrigues set in todays' Ireland, intertwined with this thriller writer's superb ability to blend a fascinating cocktail of murder, intrigue and corruption. The narrative so accurately portrays the contrasting and recognisable/familiar characters in this drama depicting the conflict against low standards in banking and politics and gripping the reader in suspense from beginning to end. His setting of the entire plot is based on a highly perceptive grasp of current affairs. Whilst action takes place in New York & Dublin, the occasional forays into the wids of Connemara are very evocative indeed.
This is not a book that one can afford to put down once started. It has a very touching soul and I love the way the chapters are kept short. Its like a good theatre keeping one up to date and in suspense with the various scenes!
Anthony Previté, Connemara.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
