Bibliothèque des Refusés
Susan Maxwell
Good Red Herring
(Muinbeo Chronicles #1) Published by Little Island
“Some of these stories really started decades, generations, ago, and now come to their close. New things begin to arise from the past, like phoenix feathers separating from the flame. The winding down of the old stories and the starting of the new arose from a death; a murder, if you will believe such wickedness. We warn you. We are the last—eh—people to pretend that Muinbeo is some kind of Island of the Blessed.”
Those enigmatic entities, the Storytellers of Muinbeo, know that History has something waiting in the wings. To set the scene for their audience, they relate a gripping tale about a death and its consequences.
When her mentor is bitten by a rogue werewolf and “joins our hairy brethren howling at the moon”, apprentice detective Salmon Farsade is assigned to Hal McCabe, Detective Chief-Inspector and vampire, just in time for a murder.
Fen Maguire has been stabbed, throwing the normally peaceful community of Ballinpooka into shock. The investigation into her death lifts the lid on more than just the name of her killer: political corruption, Outland conspiracy, academic deceit, and plain old-fashioned greed. A second murder follows: the clock is ticking, and as they seek a key to unlock the truth, the detectives are both helped and hindered by the various human and not-so-human beings that populate Muinbeo.
For readers of all ages.
ISBN 978-1-908195-93-7 pn. / 978-1-910411-17-9 ebook
Praise for Good Red Herring
Irish Times Best books of 2014 for children and young adults
"Wickedly offbeat fantasy detective story: a chief inspector and his apprentice attempt to solve a murder mystery in a land of elves and werewolves, luchrapáns and vampires."
Children's Books Ireland ~ Robert Dunbar
"Maxwell is to be congratulated not just on her inventiveness but on her skill in keeping such a firm grip on the interweaving strands of her narrative, entertainingly employing in the process many of the tropes of the classic noir detective story."
British Fantasy Society ~ Nigel Robert Wilson
"Imagine a book like a Pogues concert! Chaotic, powerfully creative, wonderful, whilst utterly exasperating at times, littered with classic and classical Irish references all united in a glorious cacophony of intense delight and beauty. Well this is it! … [T]his story is as sustaining as buttered fruit-cake with all the glory of a besieged post office. You can last out days in it."
Fallen Star Stories ~ Mary Esther Judy
" With a very precise social/political structure, the action weaves its way through this cast with expert rhythm and timing to create a story that is compelling and driven. I was captivated by this world, complex and having an eery beauty … with many parallels to our own. … Just wonderful."
Reader Reviews
Goodreads ~ Karina
"This is the kind of book I absolutely love—it creates a dense world for the reader to move through, makes few if any concessions in terms of explaining itself, trusting that you're smart enough to work it out. And most importantly, it has FOOTNOTES! Snarky, teasing, funny footnotes … [T]he highest praise I can think of is that I can picture a teen Neil Gaiman being engrossed by this … The nearest comparison I can think of is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees meets The Dalkey Archive by Flann O'Brien."
Goodreads ~ Hallie
"Good Red Herring is both utterly unique, in a 'I can guarantee you'll never have read anything like it' kind of way, and also imbued with Irishness … it's a book that will repay rereading, as the prose is very dense and rich … all these little touches add to the depth and texture of the narrative."