First published 1978
Roarty owns a pub in Ireland and faces every parent's nightmare when he discovers his teenage daughter has taken a lover. In a moment of rage, he kills the young man and disposes of the body in a nearby bog, thinking his troubles are over. He returns to his establishment, pulls pints, and tries to resume normal life. But someone knows what he has done. A blackmailer emerges from the shadows, demanding payment for silence about the murder. Roarty finds himself trapped between his crime and his tormentor, unable to escape either. The comedy emerges from his increasingly desperate attempts to manage both his guilt and his extortionist while maintaining the facade of a respectable publican. This Irish mystery balances dark humor with genuine tension as Roarty discovers that killing someone was only the beginning of his problems.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, dark
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: blackmail, crime-cover-up, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ireland
259 pages · Hardcover · Martin Brian & O'Keeffe
Content warnings: murder