The Bastard Is Dead
A Paul Burke Mystery
by D'Arcy Kavanagh
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Pub Date May 07 2020 | Archive Date Mar 18 2020
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Description
The Paul Burke Mystery novels are a fresh and innovative take on the amateur sleuth murder mystery genre. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful French Riviera, ex-pro cyclist Paul Burke lives a quiet and simple life blogging about sports.
Debut author D’Arcy Kavanagh, who spends six weeks every year traveling in Europe, loosely based the series on his own personal experiences traveling and his love of cycling. “My hope is readers will be entertained and that the different regions I write about will come alive for those who have either visited or wish to travel to some of these locations,” says author Kavanagh. “I also enjoy weaving current social issues into the backdrop of the plot to identify what’s happening not just in those regions of Europe but closer to home.”
In the series opener in The Bastard Is Dead, Burke is assigned to cover the Tour de France. But when the unexpected happens and Pierre McManus, a team trainer celebrated by fans but hated by his fellow riders, dies just as a stage race ends, it’s a shock to everyone. And when a second controversial death involving a former teammate of Burke’s occurs, Burke suddenly finds himself mixed-up in murder. The only problem is, learning the real truth may just cost him his life.
The Paul Burke Mystery series will take readers across Europe as Burke and other reoccurring characters visit the Provence area of France, the Austrian section of the Danube River, the French island of Corsica, and the Catalonia region of Spain, all areas where Kavanagh has traveled extensively. The rich history, scenery, and culture will also appeal to travel buffs and food aficionados.
A Note From the Publisher
Marketing Plan
• Online advertising and promotion
• Special prepublication mailings
• National book festival promotion
• E-newsletter promotion
• Author signings at bookstores
• Author appearances at local and national Canadian festivals
• Targeted email marketing to ALA librarians
• Reading group guides
• Social media promotion
• Blog features and promotions
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781643970295 |
| PRICE | $25.95 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Librarian 431790
This book was a lot of fun to read: it's well written, fast paced and kept me hooked till the end.
I liked the characters and the descriptions. The mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Anjana D, Reviewer
I must say that I was not very comfortable with the title of the book and almost did not request it. The storyline promised something different, so I overcame my initial apprehension and picked it up. I still do not like the title but the book, on the other hand, was quite entertaining.
Paul Burke is a retired pro cyclist. He has settled in a picturesque town that he lost his heart to, during his cycling days and spends his days drinking it away. He also blogs/writes columns for a living. (On a side note, his editor continues calling an individual post his ‘blog’ for the day instead of a post/blog post. I have never come across this usage before, do a lot of people use it?). Things start to change for him when a man he knew turns up dead. This does not have Paul scrambling to investigate but just to evaluate his life and habits and start to chip away at his lethargy with small changes that eventually lead to bigger ones. It was a very natural transformation that felt good to watch unfold.
Since Paul is both in the journalism industry as well as someone who knows the inner workings of Professional Cycling, he asks the right questions and even sometimes comes up with the correct answers. His investigation happens in spurts between an evolving social life as well as disturbances in his locality which may or may not be connected to the deaths in the town. The descriptions could do with a little more editing just to be more succinct in some places, it will definitely help the speed of the read ( for example, three lines to describe that his friend was calling him seemed to take away from his mental process at the time)
Overall a very different take on a mystery, with a focus on a sport which I had no prior knowledge of. I would definitely pick up the next book in the series if given a choice.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
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