Synopses & Reviews
Stephen Blake is a good man blown in bad directions. He and girlfriend Siobhan, best friend Tommy, IRA terrorist Stapleton, and a particularly American sort of psychopath named Dade, are all on a collision course somewhere on the road between the dive bars of New York, and the pitiless desert of the Southwest.
American Skin is the long-awaited American novel by Ken Bruen, the hardboiled master of Irish Noir. To say Bruen has a cult following in this country is an understatement: he is beloved by his fans and in the mystery community at large in a way few living writers ever get to experience. Every new work is eagerly awaited, analyzed and discussed, and passed on to other true believers like old Soviet Samizdat. As with the Pelecanos, Lehane, and Donna Leon of yore, Bruen is poised to break out and make his mark with a wide and appreciative audience. His two series, featuring Jack Taylor and DS Brandt, have been international bestsellers, Macavity and Anthony Award winners, and Edgar Award finalists.
American Skin is Bruen's most composed and visceral vision yet, and a dark homage to the American dream of freedom, individuality, and scarifying violence.
Review
"Bruen's fans will know that monsters lie in wait. There are the usual rewards in terms of style, pace and, yes, flashes of mordant wit, but be warned: This is Bruen beyond noir into full-out stygian." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"By turns hard-boiled, sentimental, and lurid, this is Irish novelist Bruen's enthralling valentine to America's heart of noir. (Grade: B+)" Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Ken Bruen's artfully violent and distinctly human voice is in full effect with American Skin. There are few crime novelists today who write with such passion and bravado." George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardener
Synopsis
A first American novel by the popular Irish noir writer traces the collision of everyman Stephen Blake, his girlfriend Siobhan, his best friend Tommy, an IRA terrorist named Stapleton, and an American psychopath named Dade, who interact between the dive bars of New York and the harsh Southwest desert.
Synopsis
Stephen Blake is a good man blown in bad directions. He and girlfriend Siobhan, best friend Tommy, IRA terrorist Stapleton, and a particularly American sort of psychopath named Dade are all on a collision course somewhere on the road between the dive bars of New York, and the pitiless desert of the Southwest.