REASON TO CHEER ....AT LAST

Sometimes you get a wee break. Authors, particularly if they have a series, are always on the lookout for new readers. I risked some money on a hard-to-get promotion called the BookBub Featured Deal. They only respond to about 10% of applicants. I was one of the lucky ones. They promoted my free book, Angel of Death, on July 8th. Within a week I had 29000 new readers. Good value for money!! Now, will any of those readers go on to actually pay for other books in the series? The hope is that many of them will. I am not sure about this but BookBub claims they will and that the effect of their promotion continues for months. I don't know about 'months', but since the 8th July (two weeks ago!!) over 500 of the other books in the series have been bought at their full prices. I hope that becomes a pattern. As I say, sometimes you get a wee break.

Latest Review: MURDER OF A RUNAWAY by Brian O'Hare

Post by Osazuwa Emmanuel » 4 Sept 2024,

 
5 out of 5 stars

MURDER OF A RUNAWAY by Brian O’Hare is an inspirational crime novel that discusses the strength, weakness, cooperation, and resolve of human beings in general. Called in to work on what would be a series of bloody murders connected to the activities of a people-trafficking ring is Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit.

The story oscillates between the police investigation and the victims' stories, giving prominence to the young Romanian woman Alina Balauru, who becomes ensnared in a story of exploitation. Spiked with moments of hope and featuring so many plot turns, the whole thing is built up to the climactic ending that proves the heroes' mettle.

One of the most praiseworthy elements in this book would be underpinning the human spirit. Sergeant Denise Stewart stands out as a cheerful character in that case, as her feelings for the case were spiced with empathy and grit. So far, the book really rocks in world-building: it shows a vivid representation of the problem of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. The book was exceptionally well -edited and error-free.

Nothing is left to be disliked in this book. Fact and fiction coming together has been one of the most exciting combinations. The detailed description of police procedures and the minute research add the thrill of uncovering in a suspenseful way the secrets buried in the criminal underworld. This book will be an entertaining and informative piece in its own right by virtue of combining crime and mystery. This therefore guarantees interesting reading from cover to cover.

I gave this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars because it is a praiseworthy read depicting the human spirit with the likeable character of Sergeant Denise Stewart. The world-building is great and gives a very realistic and engaging regard to the issue of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. The plot is tight, well thought out, and realistic in the treatment of victim experiences, making this book compelling.
This book is such an interesting concoction of fact and fiction with such delicate detailing of police procedures that, when coupled with a keen eye for minor details, makes it an enjoyable and informative read. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody who holds an interest in crime thrillers, social justice, or stories of personal resilience and courage.

 

 

Traditional Publishing or Self-publishing?

 

Not long ago, any writer offered a deal by a traditional publishing house would have jumped at it. And, indeed, why not? The publisher takes care of all expenses – cover, proof-reading, editing, formatting, printing, marketing and distribution. Print copies of the book would appear in book stores all over the country, maybe all over the world.  A writer’s dream. That dream may be pricked somewhat, however, when he discovers that his royalties can be barely 10%, sometimes even less. He will maybe earn around 80 pence for an average full-length paperback. Lots of sales will be needed if he is going to make a good living writing. 

The other option is to self-publish. (I am not going to talk about the many Vanity Presses that seek to con the unwary.  That is a topic for another time.) To have a chance of even moderate success, the self-publishing writer has to ensure his book is of a decent literary quality, has an eye-catching cover (at least £300), a good editor (over £1000 for a 90,000 word novel), plus formatting and printing costs (several hundred pounds.) A daunting, not to say discouraging, set of prerequisites.

The opening sentence of this article would seem to imply that the modern writer might very well NOT jump at a traditional publishing opportunity. Looking at the costs for self-publishing, rejecting a traditional offer would seem close to folly. And yet, from my own experience, I can claim there are clear reasons why the modern writer now has to consider several pros and cons before making a choice.

I bring up the traditional versus self-publishing issue at this time because it is pertinent to some decisions I have recently had to make. I actually did have three different traditional publishers but now I self-publish via KDP Select on Amazon.  (What was that about ‘close to folly'?)

 People in the business talk about the big five publishers. A deal with one of those is like winning the pools. Getting your book accepted by publishers and their offshoots in this group is worse than hundred to one odds, even if your book is excellent. So, for the vast majority of very good writers, such an opportunity is really not an option.

There are, of course, the less well-known, less wealthy, publishing houses. They do have many distribution outlets, so paperbacks of your book in stores (with some accompanying fame) is a very real eventuality.  However, almost all traditional publishers operate similar time scales. The average writer has to wait about three months, maybe even six, just to have his book read and accepted by the traditional publisher. When the decision to publish is made, the book has to fit into an existing timetable and wait for other work to be completed,.  The writer will be very lucky to see the printed version within a year after the decision to publish. Maybe even two. That is far from unusual.  

This is a long wait. A year or so ago, I left a publisher (for marketing reasons) and went to another who claimed to be a marketing expert. As a matter of fact, he was, and I was delighted with his deal. My ten page contract obligated me to provide the publisher with two new books a year for five years. I had no problem with that and after fourteen months I had three new 100,000 novels. He was still working with the other five I had given him, so he asked to keep the new ones in abeyance for the opportune time.  I agreed, somewhat reluctantly.

However, for reasons unexpected and unrelated to publishing, this publisher had to cancel the contract and I am now left with several books to republish. Should I start the search for a new publisher? I am a retired professional man, so I am not young. I have two non-fiction books, a contemporary novel, and a mysteries series currently totalling eight books. If I were to find another publisher and was to write no more books, I would have to wait close to fifteen years  before all of my existing books were republished  And during all that time I would sitting around twiddling my thumbs, wondering what was happening, waiting, hoping even for the rare email (which actually never comes), with absolutely no control of even the slightest aspect of the process. Who wants that?

The top publishers have resources, connections with the media, national newspapers, magazines, journalists, and all sorts of established ways of marketing your book once it finally appears.  But the lower levels of publishers not so much.  Many of them expect the writer to take on some of the financial responsibility for marketing their book. This can, and has, proved in many cases to have disappointing results. And if the book doesn’t grab public interest and make its own snowball growth, publishers can lose interest and the book disappears into obscurity. Marketing requires significant expertise nowadays, an expertise beyond the reach of many ordinary writers. But there are those who can sell thousands of copies of even mediocre books. These are the people modern writers need to ally with. (But finding the genuine ones in a snake pit filled with pretenders and fraudsters is not easy. Another topic for another time.)

Is the  self-publishing publishing picture any brighter? How do I go about it? There are many options. One answer is Amazon. And many people aren’t shy of availing of the opportunity. Amazon makes the entire process remarkably easy. If a book is ready for publication, it can be uploaded on the Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing site and appear, with its own Amazon page, both in UK and the US  and, indeed, Amazon pages all over the world, in about two to three days. (Rather a more attractive option than eighteen months!)

Self-publishing offers many other advantages. Acceptance is guaranteed. Royalties are very high, usually 70%.  The author has complete control over his book, its content, its pricing, the publishing timetable. Furthermore, with Amazon KDP, he has continued access to the already-published book at any time and as often as he wishes, should he want to make changes and improvements

Currently Amazon offers around fourteen million books to their readers. And your book is buried somewhere in the middle of that! How on earth are readers going to find it? And how many of them will buy and read it?  Marketing is the answer but almost all writers see this as a huge, time-consuming chore. Worse. In the past few years marketing books has become a very complex science. Unless an author has a solid grasp of the essentials, his marketing efforts will fail. But there are many gurus out there offering marketing courses. Some are very good and that is a way to go. Even the basics of such courses, however, are extremely complicated, especially for an old guy like me. Nonetheless, if your writing is of an acceptable standard, there is an alternative way. You can employ a marketing expert to work for you and with you. A really good one will help you sell thousands of your self-published books, more than enough to cover all expenses and, with any luck, enough to allow you to make writing your career.  

I don’t have the years left to work with a traditional publisher. That is why, as I stated earlier, I decided to self-publish. And marketing? I have found a lovely lady who is a genuine expert and a joy to work with. She has been advising me for the past three months, ‘optimising’ my books and preparing the groundwork for a marketing plan. No attempt has yet been made to sell any of my books (that is about to start!) but as I write these words, I have eleven fantastic new covers, all of my books are professionally edited and formatted, and all are now published on Amazon (some currently available only as pre-orders). On my desk is a detailed five-page promotions schedule for 2024 and, believe me, I need no special foresight to predict that the next few months will see my book sales rise to levels beyond anything I have ever experienced. 

 TWO MORE BRILLIANT NEW COVERS BY JUAN PADRON

Book 7 (The Fourth Victim) and 8 (Marked for Death) of the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series are now ready for publication. My cover artist, Juan Padron, has again produced two fabulous covers. 

Blurb for The Fourth Victim

A child buried alive. 

Three lawyers are battered to death. 

A judge is murdered in his own home.

DCI Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit investigate the murders of three solicitors.  Revelations about the victim’s shady dealings offer Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit a large number of solid suspects.

Yet one suspect stands out above the others. Having suffered abominably at the hands of all three solicitors, it appears that a grieving mother has a powerful motive to kill all of them. Evidence piles up against her during the investigation and for many on the team there is no need to look further for the killer.  

But DCI Sheehan isn’t so sure. When a fourth victim is murdered, he is forced to look at the entire investigation with fresh eyes. Is the evidence against the key suspect as solid as it appears? Is some dark personage in the background pulling strings and manipulating events?

When Sheehan starts to look for the puppeteer, events escalate to an explosive climax.

Blurb for Book 8:  Marked for Death

A Knight of the Realm is murdered. High-level VIPs will attend the funeral. One of them is marked for death. 

Sir Theodore Hayes was a hard and unpopular businessman. There is no shortage of suspects for his murder. What Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit don’t know, however, is that the New IRA had a hand in Sir Theodore’s killing.

And that is only the first move in a terrorist plan that is set to ‘rock the British Isles.’

A three-time loser offers Sheehan information that the IRA is planning something huge on the day of Sir Theodore’s funeral. Distracted by two further, seemingly unconnected murders, having no clue about the nature of the threat or its location, Sheehan and his team spend frantic days vainly trying to uncover the plot.

On the morning of the funeral, and with the hours racing by, Sheehan’s brain is in turmoil. He still has no idea about what the New IRA has planned.

Can he glean enough from the myriad small clues rattling through his head in time to stop the terrorists?

 

 FANTASTIC NEW COVERS

I have come across a brilliant cover artist from Venezuela named Juan Padron.  His work is extraordinary and he can produce covers in just hours instead of days. He is not cheap but his work is worth every penny.

Below are three new covers ... two for books already published, and Conduit to Murder, to be published in a couple of months.

NEWS

After almost a year and a half languishing  in a publisher's office, books 4 and 5 of The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series are now available on Amazon with new titles and new covers.

Book 5: Murder of a Runaway

Cross The Shadow; become a Shade.

Lin Hui and Cheung Mingzhu from Shenzhen in China, win scholarships to study at Queen’s University in Belfast. Alina Balauru departs a poor farm in Romania for well paid work in Northern Ireland. Three lives harbouring long-cherished dreams. Three lives headed for tragedy.

Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit discover the body of one of the young  women in the garden of an upmarket residence. Confronted with violent Chinese racketeers, brutal human-traffickers and a fiendishly clever killer called The Shadow, they are baffled by a case that seems to lead in two entirely different directions. Can they find out who The Shadow is in time to save the other two victims?

 

The full five stars. This was truly one of the best books I've ever read. [Michelle Newman. Amazon (United States) Reviewer.]

An elaborate adrenaline maze to trap the reader. One of the best thrillers I have read in recent times. [Vadana Garg, Online Book Club.]

Thought-provoking, emotional and gut-wrenching. An exceptional crime-thriller and a must-read for any thriller lover. [Eric Praschan, Author of Blind Evil and The Burden of Silence]

Murder of a Runaway is a perfect thriller, written by an amazing story-teller. [Sushma Chowdary, Amazon (India) Reviewer.]

Brian O’Hare sheds a light on a grim reality with this perfectly executed thriller. The novel has unforgettable characters, heart-pounding pacing, and an unpredictable plot while keeping a balance between sensitivity and reality. [Lunastella, Online Book Club]

 

 

 

  

 Book 4: Murder on the Dark Web

 I am Nemein. I am not a murderer. I am emotionally detached from my killings. I am, therefore, an instrument of Nemesis, a punisher.

 This is a theme running through a number of blogs on the Dark Web, written by a serial killer. He is highly intelligent and employs philosophical argument to justify a series of gruesome murders. However, he describes the killings with such gloating relish that he  reveals himself to be a coldblooded, narcissistic psychopath.

Sheehan and his team rush headlong down a series of blind alleys in the pursuit of the psychopath. He is fiendishly clever, utterly ruthless, and tests Sheehan’s famed intuition to the limit. Indeed, Sheehan only learns the truth during a horrific climax when some members of his team experience a most harrowing ‘laceration of the soul’ that they will never be able to forget. It is unlikely that the reader will either.

 Murder on the Dark Web has received the Top Medal Honours Award from the New Apple Awards for Excellence.

“O’Hare has developed his characters very successfully as they have tackled their various cases. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting their next challenge in what is a crime series which undoubtedly deserves a much wider audience.” A.P. Martin, Author of Codename Lazarus and Spytrap.

“I’m not surprised by the accolades and the praise bestowed on this novel. There are weird murders, a clever and truly twisted murderer, bizarre clues and possible motives, plenty of red herrings, twists and turns galore and a fascinating background to the story. Another gripping book by Brian O’Hare. I am eagerly awaiting the next one.” Olga Núñez Miret, Writer. Ph.D. (American Literature). MSc (Criminology)

LITERARY TITAN AWARDS

Our highest award, The Literary Titan Gold Award, is bestowed on books

that we found to be perfect in their delivery of original content, utilizing

fresh themes to convey innovative ideas, and deftly uses elegant prose

to transform words into expertly written literature. The Doom Murders

by Brian O’Hare scores highly on all points. It also gains a well-deserved

five gold stars from one of our key reviewers.

 

See our interview with the author about his book on this link:

https://literarytitan.com/2020/08/30/the-last-judgement/

FALLEN MEN by Brian O’Hare

Reviewed by G.J. Griffiths

It was amazing: Five Stars

I will admit to feelings of dismay and reluctance when I first began to read this book. The acknowledgements and the prologue indicated that it was to be about a young Catholic priest in Ireland. While I always attempt to remain neutral and objective in my reviews of books, I find that also being honest will often lend itself to accumulate too much cynicism when I’m reading books about religion, particularly books containing too much religiosity. Thankfully, Brian O’Hare’s novel was gripping from the first few pages and so well written, with balance and tactful insight, that I was able to retain my respect for another person’s religious beliefs while entering the curious world of Irish Catholicism.

Fallen Men is an excellent novel about the fragility and emotions of real people. It is a story about a priest, Ray Canavan, who makes a serious mistake when he becomes involved with Maria, a young student from a local girls’ school. She reminds him strongly about Karen, the woman he could have married had he not become devoted to God and the Church. There is much in Ray’s past life to discover and explain about his intense feelings of guilt, his vulnerability as a sensitive human being, and his apparent human frailty at a deeply emotional time in his life.

The reader is easily swayed between condemning Ray one moment, as the responsible adult, and the next sympathising with his inner child, with heart-felt sadness. There are several serious issues discussed and considered in the novel, such as abuse, abortion, and faith, notwithstanding the intricacies of certain aspects of Irish Law. We are present during several court scenes and witness various conflicts between an individual’s duty to God, the Church and one’s humanity. Each of these concepts is handled so well by the author, within such beautiful dialogue and description that I was often left in awe, so full of admiration was I for the writing on the pages before me. Ray’s close friends, Dan and Tony, as well as Maria and Mrs Toner, the housekeeper are all characters well-drawn and easily identifiable.

I would never, ever, have thought beforehand that a book tackling the religious issues in this novel could make me stick with it so intensely. It is a page-turner in the highest sense of the word and for me rates alongside books by Orwell, Dickens, Angelou, Steinbeck and Harper Lee etc. Highly recommended

 

IS WOKERY STULTIFYING ART?

I am a writer. I write fiction and non-fiction. Very few people have ever heard of me.  I used to think that was a bad thing.  Now I’m not so sure. At least, because I am relatively unknown, I do not have to suffer the malignant intensity of the wokerati minutely examining my every dot and comma for transgression against their unforgiving ideology.

For the past year or so, I have found myself constantly chagrined by the extent to which the tyranny of political correctness is infiltrating every stratum of society -  universities, schools, the theatre, the cinema, journalism, sports, literature. Nothing and no one is safe from their fanatical scrutiny. The irony is that the woke brigade scream stridently their aim in life is to ensure equality of opportunity and freedom of expression for all groups in society, yet it has become increasingly clear that this equality is only for those who agree one hundred percent with their views. Those who disagree are castigated, hounded and ultimately cancelled. JK Rowling, after reading an article which was sprinkled with numerous repetitions of the awkward and inelegant phrase, ‘people who menstruate’, had the temerity to tweet that she recalled the use of a simpler, much more precise word to describe this societal grouping – women. Howls of outrage, even death threats, followed that perfectly sensible comment.  She was, of course ‘cancelled’, even by those three mindless ingrates, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who made millions on the back of Rowling’s talent.

I recently had my own, very minor, skirmish with a ‘woke’ reviewer. My most recent novel deals with human trafficking and a key character is an evil gang-lord who happens to have come from China. One of the detectives investigating this personage referred to him during a conversation as, ‘the Chinaman.’ This was in dialogue, I point out again, not part of my narration. I have always been of the opinion that the truth of dialogue in real life is that it is intrinsically careless. Should characters in a story operate by different rules? Apparently they should, says this reviewer. I was vociferously berated for my inherent racism and was awarded one star for my book. The reviewer went on to point out that I got ‘one star’ only because there was no facility to award ‘no stars’. (In the interest of balance, I should note that of the hundred plus reviews for this book from countries as far apart as the USA, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, almost 80% are five stars. Just sayin’.)

The rot is everywhere. Almost every aspect of art must now be seen through the prisms of gender diversity, white privilege, left-leaning ideology ... etc., etc., etc. One of Hollywood’s most cherished traditions is the knockabout think tank where a group of writers will sit in a room tossing out all sorts of wild and idiotic ideas. It is banter, it is fun, but it is also serious and invariably some great ideas come from it. Now I read of one writer who says, “I sit there now and am afraid to open my mouth. These brainstorms have become potential death-traps for the politically incorrect where loose talk can cost careers.” Shades of 1984! The thought police are everywhere and they are determined to reshape society into their own image and likeness.

Even the great classics of literature are under attack at schools and at universities. The most glaring example I have come across is the ‘cancelling’ of To Kill a Mockingbird because of its institutional racism. Good heavens! When we studied this wonderful book during my schooldays, my entire class were made fully aware that the book’s central message was about the evil injustices of racism. But logic seems to hold no sway with the wokerati.  Even university lecturers are writing ridiculous triggers about Shakespeare and other great classics. Students about to read Kidnapped, for example, are warned that the book may contain ‘episodes of abduction’.  I despair!

So, what now for writers? When we write, must we forever write with one eye on equality and diversity? Must our characters be fully representative of different races, the LGBTQIA spectrum, and the extreme views of the Left? Must our dialogues be whitewashed of all human foible and become bland vehicles for political correctness? Many movies and series on TV have become so woke-conscious, so inclusive, pushing so many agendas, that they have become unwatchable.  Are novels to head that way, too? 

 I think I'll just go on doing what I'm doing and risk the wrath of the woke.

 

THE BEST OF THE BEST TOP 20

Today I received an email from blogger and reviewer, JULIE SARA PORTER, BOOKWORM REVIEWS,  telling me that The Dark Web Murders, the fourth volume of The Inspector Sheehan Mysteeries series, was No. 6 in her Top 20 of The Best of The Best books she has read and reviewed duringn2021.

Julie says:

This disturbing murder mystery subverts the notions of good and evil, right and wrong, innocent and guilty. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his colleagues investigate the murders of members of an affluent club. However, what starts out as a typical murder investigation turns far worse as the Reader learns the real motives of the club. They are a truly horrible depraved bunch that hurt others, particularly children, without a thought and the murderer was someone who had been hurt by them. The backstory about the Club makes it easy to understand and sympathize with why someone would want to stop them in any way possible.

 

 

 

ONLINE BOOK REVIEW of THE TRAFFICKING MURDERS

by Lunastella » 28 Oct 2021, 18:49

The discovery of the murdered body of a young woman on a wealthy homeowner's lawn sends Inspector Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit following an intricate thread of clues and red herrings. The investigation begins to unveil the harrowing realities of a human trafficking net in Northern Ireland, apparently led by a mysterious figure only known as “The Shadow”. How does this relate to Alina, a beautiful young Romanian woman who was recently offered a life-saving job opportunity in Belfast? Or to Lin Hui, a brilliant student at Queen’s University? Will the ominous threat “Cross The Shadow; become a shade” ring true? The Trafficking Murders by Brian O’Hare follows a Belfast detective team in their job to bring human traffickers to justice, as well as their persecution of different suspects, some of them seemingly respectable citizens, involved in this macabre network.


The stellar feature of this novel is how well it handles racial and cultural issues. The novel mainly deals with Romanian, Chinese and Irish cultures. While the author acknowledges racism, because this is a reality, and he even portrays some minor mistakes we could all make when engaging with people from other cultures, he never condones these behaviors. Moreover, he doesn’t label one culture as the “good guys” and the other ones as “the bad guys” as we often see in other novels. Every single nuance he added comes to show the reader that there’s good and evil in every culture and that it is our actions and not our race that unites us or separates us.


The psychological realities that a horrible crime like human trafficking entails are correctly portrayed, without drawing upon shock value, but without diminishing the diverse facets of suffering (blame, fear, learned helplessness) that victims experience. Likewise, Brian O’Hare explores other usually overlooked aspects of human trafficking, such as tricks and grooming.


Another exceptional feature of the novel is the diversity of the cast of characters. I especially love Sergeant Denise Stewart who is a strong and unstoppable woman, and Dr. Jones, who shows that men can be sensitive too. Mr. O’Hare creates such compelling characters that I still remembered most of them from a previous installment of The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series, which I read in 2019.


Perfect pacing is the cherry on top of this brilliant novel. The book opens with a bang and keeps the reader on their toes, without a single boring moment or predictable incidents.


Brian O’Hare sheds a light on a grim reality with this perfectly executed thriller. The novel has unforgettable characters, heart-pounding pacing, and an unpredictable plot while keeping a balance between sensitivity and reality.


This is a perfect novel for anyone who enjoys mysteries and thrillers, who is interested in the realities of human trafficking, in the psychology of violence victims, or in learning the intricacies of police work. However, I would not recommend it to readers who lack the patience for a numerous cast of characters. This, and the many acronyms used, can be confusing at the beginning, even if the author kindly provided a list. Readers who prefer the “Sherlock Scan” trope where the lead detective solves everything just by superhuman observational skills could feel frustrated by the realities of the tiresome police job (multiple interviews, toxicology reports, and other minutiae) portrayed in this novel. Finally, readers who are especially sensitive to violence and rape might want to reconsider reading the novel, though these topics are not detailed explicitly.

Now Published

ANGEL OF DEATH

Alina Balauru departs a poor farm in Romania for well paid work in Northern Ireland. Lin Hui and Cheung Mingzhu have won scholarships from Shenzhen University in China to study at Queen’s University in Belfast. Three lives harbouring long-cherished dreams. Three lives headed for tragedy.

Sheehan and his Serious Crimes Unit, discover the body of a beautiful Chinese girl in the garden of an upmarket residence. Confronted with violent Chinese racketeers, brutal people-traffickers and a fiendishly clever killer, they are baffled by a case that seems to lead in two entirely different directions. They learn about the three victimised young women. One has already been murdered. Can they find out who The Shadow is in time to save the other two?



This was certainly a dark but brilliantly written book that kept me gripped from beginning to end. [Samantha Wells Amazon Reviewer]

Someday we will speak of Brian O'Hare in the same breath as other great crime novelists, such as Michael Connelly, James Ellroy, and Jo Nesbo. [Laurent Duperval Amazon Reviewer]

The characters' emotions are visceral and real, and as the reader it's impossible not to respond to that. That is amazing writing! [Shannon Matheny (Amazon Reviewer)]

Although it is a work of fiction, it provides us with a powerful reminder of what everyday life is like for some people, even today. One of my favourite police procedural series. [Olga Miret, Ph. D, M.Sc (Criminology) Author and Blogger.]

SERENDIPITY

A chance encounter with an internet post from Babelcube came at a time when a Spanish lady asked me to consider translating my book, The Miracle Ship, into Spanish. Had either event occurred at separate times, I probably might have ignored both. The serendipitous nature of the two event s, however, made me stop and think.

Babelcube brings authors and translators together and arranges to have the resultant translations made available on many different sales outlets. And the beauty of the arrangement is that everyone relies on royalties to pay all expenses. There are no upfront costs. Having nothing to lose, I followed Babelcube's instructions and was soon able to take the photograph below of two books that now sit side by side on my study shelves.





Encouraged by this, I am now working with a pleasant and highly qualified Italian gentleman who is undertaking to translate my Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series into Italian. Who'd have thought this would ever be possible?

This review was posted yesterday on the Online Book Club Website

5 Stars

Brian O’Hare’s Dark Web Murders is as exceptionally thrilling as his initial three novels in his murder mysteries series. The plots are all incredibly diverse and imaginative, and O’Hare offers the perfect amount of detail for reader imagery, but not too much as to overwhelm the readers. The 11:05 Murders, I will say, contains the least amount gore among the works, but they are all written with a tasteful amount of detail.Dark Web Murders plays on religion enough that I should mention it, but it is nothing compared to the Satanist characters involved his last work The Coven Murders. The mention of religion is not obscene or repeated enough to cause anyone to overlook this piece of fiction on that basis alone. However, this work does, in its entirety, involve and revolve around sexual deviancy. Homosexuality is a major theme explored in the work, but nothing that should prevent readers leery of such topics from enjoying this literary puzzle. The sex crimes mentioned in this book, however, may be a red flag for those sensitive to rape, pedophilia, or abuse. As mentioned previously, O’Hare leaves much to the imagination while still painting a relatively good picture for his audience. Furthermore, the sadistic nature of O’Hare’s criminals is not for the faint-hearted, so this murder mystery series is definitely directed towards a mature audience of literary intellect privy to solving murder scenarios similar to those witnessed on famous crime shows such as CSI.Dark Web Murders encompasses Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team as they work to uncover the identity of a psychotic serial killer with an affinity for police truncheons. This thrilling tale is unique to the previous novels in the series because the murderer leaves the reader clues to solve the case in the form of blog posts on the dark web. The imaginative nature of this novel leaves me in utter awe at O’Hare’s talent as an author. This is the first novel in the series that I have come close to solving before the intuitive Chief Sheehan, and I hope to finally beat him at his own game in the next installment.

The characters develop even more in this novel and we get a sneak peek into the romance of Tom and Denise, a romance I enjoyed reading about in The 11:05 Murders. This book is strictly about the case, so readers looking for a romantic side story may be misled by O’Hare’s second installment of the series, but, with another addition to the series in the works, there is no predicting where O’Hare decides to go next with his well-written characters.

The aspect I like most about this book is O’Hare’s consistency in initially giving a glimpse of a seemingly unrelated crime that the audience is left to tie into the story. The idea to include ciphering and codes in this novel was also exciting, and I was surprised that I could not figure it out before the characters did! There were no aspects to this novel that I disliked; while I would have enjoyed more character development in Denise Stewart, I realize the intent of the series is focused on the mind-boggling clues that the reader, along with Sheehan’s men, must decipher.

Incredibly well edited, O’Hare creates a seamless environment for the reader to be immersed, and I have come to realize that starting one of his novels on a busy day is never a good idea because I am never able to put it down! Once again, I have solved a murder in just two days! If only results were that fast in real crime-fighting.

I rate Dark Web Murders by Brian O’Hare a 4/4 for providing another amazing puzzle that never fails to baffle. The previous works of this series have been phenomenal, so this novel had high expectations to meet. O’Hare has once again knocked it out of the park! I should mention though, that the Northern Ireland setting includes language that is unnatural to myself, being an American, but this did not deter me in the slightest or hinder my reading experience in the least. I recommend this book to all avid readers who enjoy a puzzle just as much as they enjoy working with the detectives in realistic fiction television series.

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Murders-Inspector-Sheehan-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07NYH1FK4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12JO6TRPMY7WZ&dchild=1&keywords=the+dark+web+murders+by+brian+o%27hare&qid=1587488347&sprefix=the+dark+web+mu%2Caps%2C278&sr=8-1

A SPIRITUAL ODYSSEY

A Spiritual Odyssey is soon to re-issued under the imprint of Crimson Cloak Publishing. The owner has designed a different cover for the new edition. This is it.

INTERESTING NEW PROMOTIONAL BANNERS FOR MY BOOKS

I am a member of a group called All Authors. Madi, the brains behind the group is hugely tech savvy. He has made some new banners for my books... that I can post on Twitter or Faceboook. Here are some of them. I think he is very creative

NEW APPLE AWARD FOR THE DARK WEB MURDERS 

I received the following announcement on 11th September, 2019.

From: New Apple Literary Services <newapple@newappleliterary.com>
Date: 11 September 2019 at 08:06:39 BST

To: brian o'hare brianohare26@hotmail.co.uk

Subject: CONGRATULATIONS! -
2019 New Apple Summer eBook Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing

Your book THE DARK WEB MURDERS' was chosen as the SOLO MEDALLIST WINNER in the Mystery category of our Summer eBook Awards!

Throughout the coming months, New Apple will roll out the prizes associated with the awards including social media announcements, digital awards certificates, press releases and digital medallions to place on your ebook covers.

**** 

Below are some quotations taken from recent reviews of The Dark Web Murders

I am going to go back and read the first three books in the series. The hardest part of this novel is how true it could actually be and probably is somewhere in our world. It was so well written that I felt like I was watching the entire investigation from the Serious Crimes Office. Bravo Brian.
5 Star review from JT. (Amazon reviewer.)



Truly an amazing read with just the right amount of everything. This includes the author's mastery of human speech. The dialogue for each character encapsulates their personality; ranging from the polite mannerism of Sgt Stewart to the highly intellectual prestige of the murder. A simply brilliant display of craftsmanship and well worth a read. 
5 star review from Topaz (Amazon reviewer)



Brian excels at exposing the dark side of human beings who lead public lives as high and mighty members of society. When murder occurs, Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team must race to identify and apprehend a psychopath who posts his exploits on the dark web. Sheehan faces an impossible choice in the hair-raising climax.
 5 Star review (Amazon Reviewer)

I literally could not out this book down. Captivating, full of adrenaline and yes indeed it was dark. In all the books I have read, I have never come across a book written like this and with such an amazing story line. 
5 star review Charlie’$. (Amazon Reviewer.)

NEWLY PUBLISHED

The Dark Web Murders

by Brian O'Hare

 The Dark Web Murders 

can be purchased on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yxhzlpmq

and Crimson Cloak: http://tinyurl.com/y2nb4qq5