Email darraghmcmanus@yahoo.com with comments, offers of work etc. Contact from publishers and agents is welcome.
Or follow me on Twitter: @McManusDarragh
Email darraghmcmanus@yahoo.com with comments, offers of work etc. Contact from publishers and agents is welcome.
Or follow me on Twitter: @McManusDarragh
THE POLKA DOT GIRL
“McManus has created a fascinating, and richly detailed, alternate all-female universe; you are well into the gripping mystery before you realise there are no men…Eugenie Auf der Maur is a brilliantly evoked amalgam of pulp heroes such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, all hardboiled attitude and wisecracking lip…It’s a brilliant idea and McManus carries it off with style.” Irish Independent
“In a genre dominated by men, and the femmes fatale who existentially torture them, McManus has chosen to make women the sole gender in his latest mystery…(he) has the lingo and tempo down pat…a great touch when it comes to the rhythmic development of pursuit scenes, an edge-of-your-seat narration that really moves the story along…there’s a cinematic vibe that is well-wrought and a subtle comic tone that works well: when we do find out whodunit, it comes with a chuckle, which, after all the heart-racing and heartache that came before, is a nice touch.” Evening Herald
“Fantastic set-up…normal hardboiled detective setting – the difference is, this is an all-woman cast…very tapped into that Chandler/Hammett style…also brings in elements of classical mythology…Genie is quite endearingly vulnerable…(the book is) a very interesting and intriguing addition to the genre.” Arena, RTE Radio 1
“With prose that mimics the style of Chandler and Hamnett, McManus produces a nice double-play: a satire on the masculinist tropes of hardboiled crime fiction at the same time as being an enjoyable hardboiled tale. The story itself rattles along a fair clip with plenty of tension and twists and feints, the dialogue is spot-on and there are some nice observational touches…an interesting and entertaining story that spins a unique take on the genre and is a must for those who enjoy their crime fiction with a satirical twist.” The View from the Blue House
“McManus has a wonderfully pronounced sense of quirk…this time he takes us to Hera, a woman-only city with no explanation as to its matriarchal status; it just is…ripples of subtle humour veining the pages…as a detective story I loved it…overall the experiment would make Raymond Chandler’s ghost proud due to the quality of the writing and the essence of the story itself.” thebookbag.co.uk
EVEN FLOW
“McManus’ novel has plenty of charm and humour, and raises rousing points about society… Disdain for misogynist yuppies steams off the page; the prose hisses and spits about the horror and injustices of the sex trade… In the end, like (Danny) Everard, you may not like everything here, but you’ve got to admire its guts.” Sunday Times
“With their literary obsessions and elegant attire, the 3W Gang are not your ordinary vigilantes...(they) like to be creative when meting out violence to their targets… It would be a rare reader indeed who doesn’t cheer when the tuxedo-clad vigilantes force the creeps out the window. …McManus is a good storyteller. Thanks to snappy, darkly funny prose and a willingness to move the plot along quickly, Even Flow is a consummate page-turner. It asks interesting questions about vigilantism and whether it can ever be justified. The 3W Gang is an intriguing creation – a sort of Baader-Meinhof urban guerrilla unit for a new generation.” Irish Independent
“A great novel which makes the reader empathise with the enigmatic 3W gang... Darragh McManus is able to construct a well written and endearing yarn. The plot is well-executed and manages to illuminate all sides of the argument... Even Flow is a good story, and more than that it has an original execution that makes it worth the price of purchase...we were pleased with what we read and quickly grew to enjoy McManus’ turn of phrase.” So So Gay magazine
“The novel starts with a bang, with a man hanging from the top of a building. Quickly, the story picks up speed as the men crash a party to save a pair of prostitutes from something they hadn’t signed up for – and that’s just the first chapter… Dark but well-humoured, with a pace that will quicken your heart rate with each chapter.” Huffington Post
“Darragh McManus has written something just that little bit different…a highly entertaining thriller with one dimension more than some thrillers can boast… If you want to chill over a ripping read then Even Flow delivers as well as Lee Child; it’s just as action packed and atmospherically tense…(not) the sort of book you only read once.” thebookbag.co.uk
“A very well thought out and tightly woven novel…the reader will finish anxiously looking forward to Mr McManus’ next book…impossible to put down and well worth the read.” bookbitch.com
“A fantastic idea (for a book)…by the end of the second chapter it had completely grabbed me…you get opinions from every side, who all have reasons for their actions…absolutely gripping to the very end, very well-written…I really enjoyed this.” YouTube vlogger candysomething
“The dramatic opening scene sets the tone for a provocative crime thriller. Mixing influences as diverse as Don De Lillo and A Clockwork Orange with The Smiths and Pearl Jam into a cinematic stew, Even Flow centres on the 3W Gang’s unconventional tactics to promote their vision of a tolerant society. Evoking the clipped style of Elmore Leonard, Even Flow is marked by its filmic descriptions.” irishcentral.com
“(Even Flow) trips along with the pace of an indie flick, is peppered with emails, newspaper clippings, DIY cartoons, and zine pages, and tells the story of a gang who use viral videos, cult song-lyrics, Banksy-like murals and all the new communication technology available to them to advertise their deeds. Coming in at 200 fast-paced pages, Even Flow is a quick read…a short, sharp shock.” Gay Community News
“McManus’s book has some clever moments and the conceit is engaging...poses some interesting philosophical questions... There’s plenty of promise and it’ll be interesting to see what he produces later.” Sunday Business Post
“Even Flow is difficult to categorise...once it clicked into place the pages just flew-by. The second half of the story is especially strong as the action, dialogue and politics all get ratcheted-up, and it has a very nice noir ending...what makes this a fun and engaging read is the plot and politics. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes their noir to have a deeper message.” theviewfromthebluehouse.
blogspot.ie
“A startling reinvention of the genre…evocatively cinematic…remarkably vivid…the book is intelligent, quirky and thought-provoking…one can only hope this novel becomes the movie it is destined to be, and the author develops some of these characters into their own franchise. More please.” 5-star amazon.com reader review