Beyond The Rage – Grab This Book

Guest Post – Michael Malone: Serial Heroes

Day four and another chance for me to find out which books the authors like to read. My curiosity extends beyond a single title or a novel which inspired – I want to know which characters my guests like to follow and see developed over a period of time. I want to know the ongoing series that they look forward to reading or to revisit when the chance arises.

This week-long feature began with Douglas Skelton and Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct. Next was Angela Marsons discussing Val McDermid’s Tony Hill books. Yesterday Helen Giltrow shared her love of Mick Herron’s Slough House books.

Today I am delighted to welcome Michael J Malone, author of the phenomenal Guillotine Choice and creator of the DI Ray McBain series. Michael’s latest book Beyond The Rage has been receiving rave reviews (including my own 5 star review) and in 2016 his next novel, A Suitable Lie, will be published by Orenda Books.

I am particularly pleased that Michael was able to take part in this feature – his encouragement of my book obsession ultimately resulted in the creation of this blog. I am always keen to know what Michael is reading…over the years he has directed me to some fantastic books.

MICHAEL J MALONE:

James Lee Burke’s story is one that all writers should heed. His first book was published in 1965. Other books followed in 1970 and 1971. Then the publishing world turned their back on him and he couldn’t publish a word for love, money or whisky. His fourth book, The Lost Get Back Boogie was rejected 111 times – that’s not a typo – over a nine year period. Eventually, when it did get published it was nominated for Pulitzer Prize.

Proof it it’s needed in the William Goldman quote, “Nobody knows nothing.” Goldman was of course talking about the movie industry, but he might as well have been talking about publishing.

In 1984, while fishing, JLB’s friend suggested he should try writing a crime novel. Burke later decamped to a coffee shop and started scribbling on a yellow, legal pad. The Neon Rain, the first novel to feature Dave Robicheaux was born.

Once an officer for the New Orleans police department, Dave Robicheaux constantly breaks the ethical code during the course of just about every case he works on and in the current run of novels pursues cases in New Iberia, Louisiana as a sheriff’s deputy. He is a recovering alcoholic who is haunted by his service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and his impoverished, tough childhood in Louisiana; his mother abandoned the family (and was later murdered) and his father was killed in an oil rig explosion.

He may break the expected code of police ethics, but Dave has a strong moral compass and through the course of the books is continuously exercised by the abuse of power, social inequalities and the battle between good and evil.

When you crack open the spine of a James Lee Burke novel you are never in doubt that you are in for something special. There is a richness to this man’s writing that cannot fail to delight. His words transport you so that you feel you are on location with the characters and that poetry combined with the vitality and violence of his characters is a potent combination.

Burke specialises in imbuing his characters with certainty of action, even while their motives are conflicted. He has the talent to work his way under the skin of his characters; to cut into the underbelly of the human psyche and display it in all its many guises. Whether that be those individuals who succumb to the power and pulse of quotidian evil or those struggling to make sense of their lives and make peace with their lot

His set pieces are sharp and effective and his prose swoops and soars with a lyricism that would make a poet’s heart ache with envy. The plot continues to drive you forward but you force yourself to slow down: to savour the quality of the words arranged on the page.

James Lee Burke has won an Edgar award twice and he is acknowledged as one of America’s finest living novelists. If you haven’t already done so, you owe it to yourself to check him out.

You can find all of James Lee Burke’s novels at his Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Lee-Burke/e/B000AP7MME/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1450393644&sr=1-2-ent

Michael Malone also has a handy page over at Amazon to let you track down his books easily too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-J.-Malone/e/B009WV9V4Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1450393872&sr=8-1

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July 5

Beyond The Rage – Q&A Michael J Malone

I am delighted to be able to welcome Michael J Malone to the blog. Michael is here to talk about his latest book, Beyond The Rage, but I could not resist asking about some of his other work too.

Shall we begin with a little shameless self-promotion? Who is Ray McBain and how does he know Kenny O’Neill?

Ray McBain is the detective whose story first came to light in my debut crime novel Blood Tears. He knows Kenny because they went to school together and became best mates. Life sent them in very different directions. Ray, as I said is a police detective. Kenny is a criminal.

Beyond the Rage saw a shift in focus away from McBain and you made Kenny (previously considered the ‘bad guy’) the hero of the story. What prompted this change?

About 4/5 years ago, while the first 2 books (both featuring Ray as the hero) were going the rounds of the publishers and receiving rave rejections, I hit upon this idea. I wanted to keep writing in the series, but the thought of writing a 3rd McBain book and it receiving the same reception as the first 2 was a bit of a worry. So I thought, why not change the focus of the series every now and then? Write about Kenny, then back to Ray, then over to Alessandra Rossi, then back to Ray etc etc etc. I thought this was highly original, but I’ve since found other authors who do this.

Beyond The Rage, recently sat at #1 spot in Scottish Crime over on Amazon. How much of a boost does that give you as you plot your next book?

It’s great to know that people are reading Rage – but in terms of a boost, not so much. I’m in THAT writing phase of the next book where I think every word I’m putting down is crap.

You are currently working on a new McBain novel. Are we allowed to ask for a progress report?

See above answer. Feels like I’m wading through treacle. I’m about two thirds of the way in, so I’m on the home strait. I still haven’t decided who the killer is, so that should be interesting.

Shifting focus to last year – you worked with Bashir Saoudi on a book called The Guillotine Choice. What is The Guillotine Choice and how did this collaboration come about?

The Guillotine Choice is a novel based on the true story of Bashir’s father. As a young man in Algeria during the late 1920’s, rather than send his cousin to the guillotine, he kept his mouth shut and was sentenced to 40 years hard labour in Devil’s Island. (The same prison that housed Papillon).

And the book came about after a random meeting in a coffee shop in Ayr, followed by a whole series of random meetings. (I think Bashir was stalking me. Only joking, Bash.)

You are very involved in writing workshops (even managing to get this blogger to a seminar in the past) is the support and encouragement of like-minded writers an invaluable part of the writing process for you?

Absolutely. This can be a lonely and difficult job. And the only people who really “get” it are other writers. I received a lot of help and encouragement from other writers when I was learning my craft, so I try to give back where I can.

You once told me that you are not the only Michael Malone that writes crime fiction. Do you know if readers ever get you confused with the other guy?

They do! I was invited to speak to a group of readers in Kansas recently. I should have pretended I was the other guy and asked for some generous expenses. And every now and again I get messages of FB from people who think I’m him. He’s a talented guy so I’m happy if some of that rubs off on me.

It is not all about gritty Glasgow crime though – I believe you also have a few poetry collections in the back catalogue?

This is true. Before the crime novels came out, I had about 200 poems published in small presses and literary magazines. I still write the odd poem, but I tend to keep my creative impulses for fiction these days. It is a demanding task.

You publish a daily newsletter (The Michael Malone Daily) which I receive through Twitter. How do you source material and is it principally articles which interest you?

This is all automatic. I had two minutes work setting it up a few years back and now I have no input whatsoever. I just goes on working. Might be tricky when I pop my clogs and this online newspaper thing carries on publishing and people are going, is he not dead?

You can often be found ‘in discussion’ with the great and good of Scottish writers. You assist at book launches, host quiz events or mediate writer panels – how do you land a gig like that and how hard is it to get a word in once the ‘shy and reclusive’ writers get into the spotlight?

How do I get involved? People ask me. I think it’s cos I smile a lot and I’m cheap. For cheap, read free. Well, a bottle of single malt actually.

When I do these things, my job is to get the “shy and reclusive” writers to talk. It’s about them, not me. So I’m happy if I can’t get a word in.

On a final note, Bloody Scotland is coming soon – are you involved again this year?

Yes, and I’m really looking forward to it. There’s a cracking line up of authors. SO much talent out there. I’m doing an event on the Sunday afternoon with the lovely Caro Ramsay and the equally lovely, but less blonde, Douglas Skelton. If I survive the 5-a-side football match, that is. It will be a blast. You should all come.

My thanks to Michael for taking time to chat. I also need to thank him for encouraging me to write – my blogging is a direct result of Michael’s encouragement to attend a writers workshop many moons ago.

Michael is on Twitter at: @michaelJmalone1

At online here: mjmink.wordpress.com

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February 3

Beyond The Rage – Michael J Malone

Even though he’s a successful criminal, Glasgow villain Kenny O’Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class escort girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother’s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl’s attacker and find out the truth about his father… but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet.

An intelligent, violent thriller shot through with dark humour, Beyond the Rage enthralls and disturbs in equal measure. With an intricate plot, all-too-believable characters and perfectly pitched dialogue, this is a masterclass in psychological crime fiction writing.

Thanks to Michael for giving me the chance to read his book (and for signing it too).

Some books are hard work to grind through: they are too self-indulgent or have lots of random characters that bog down the plot. Then there are the books which I put down and cannot even recall the lead character’s name – bland and unremarkable. However, there are also the diamonds – the books that are a joy to read. These are slick, they are entertaining and have a captivating story. I am happy to report that Beyond The Rage falls very much into the latter category, I was swallowed up in a great story while a web of lies, deception and danger was spun around me.

Despite being a successful criminal and dangerous bad guy our protagonist, Kenny O’Neill, generally comes across as a nice guy. He is an engaging character and his dubious occupation is easily overlooked as we empathise with the situations he finds himself in. As the story begins we dip back into the past to learn about Kenny’s parents, we hear that his mother died when he was just 12 and (almost immediately afterwards) his father walked out to leave Kenny in the care of his aunt and uncle.

Jump forward to present day and Kenny is a successful player in the Glasgow criminal sub-culture. So when someone attacks his girlfriend Kenny takes it very personally and sets out to uncover who may be responsible and vows to make them pay. His investigations bring him into contact with gangsters, politicians, thugs, the police and a fair few prostitutes yet Kenny takes it all in his stride.

Meanwhile Kenny’s aunt has some news regarding his long-lost father. She has been holding onto a letter that arrived on Kenny’s 18th birthday, could it be possible that his father was still around? Kenny is not sure yet, despite all the time that has passed, he decides he wants to find out more about his absent parent. Ignoring warnings about raking up the past, Kenny enlists the help of his best friend Detective Inspector Ray McBain to learn more about his father. (McBain is the star of two of Malone’s previous books and it is great to see him making a couple of cameo appearances).

Beyond The Rage puts Kenny through emotional and physical turmoil. He finds himself pitted against the adversarial Mason Budge. Budge is responsible for attacking Kenny’s girlfriend and clearly he enjoyed the experience as he is stalking her keen to get the chance to repeat the experience. Budge is a constant threat to Kenny (even if Kenny is not always aware of it) yet we know that Budge is acting under orders and Malone deftly keeps the real reasons that Kenny is being targeted just out of our reach.

The finale provided a few unexpected shocks and, with hand on heart, I can confess I was totally wrong in most of my assumptions as to where the story was heading. Beyond The Rage is a brilliant read…the characters are well realised, expertly utilised and the story is gripping. I have no qualms over scoring it 5/5, it’s an absolute gem.

Beyond The Rage is available now from Saraband books. Follow Michael J Malone on Twitter @michaelJmalone1

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