Tom Noone is a journalist and author, with two ghost-
written books to his credit as well. An elderly Irish-
American businessman, Shay Govern, picks him to ghost-
write
the biography of a writer and recluse in THE LOST AND THE
BLIND. Sebastian Devereaux went to live on an island in
Lough Swilly in Donegal, where he turned out a few
thrillers now long forgotten, and his daughter wants to
use
his biography as a stepping stone to launch a writers'
retreat on the island. The work pays well, so what could
go
wrong?
A former Garda detective, now running investigations, is a
friend of Tom's and he was also contacted by the Irish-
American. This time, an old friend in Donegal needed to be
tracked down. Only, the investigator found that the
friend,
Gerard Smyth, used to be the Danish Gerhard Uxkull, and
arrived in Donegal on a Nazi submarine in 1940. Smyth
tells
of an atrocity on the same island, and claims that he has
proof which he will only provide to a journalist. Why did
Shay Govern, with an interest in mining precious metals in
Donegal, want this man found? And is Tom wise to pursue
this investigation?
Unlike most thrillers, I found much of the story is told
by
means of conversations. The journalist/author interviews
people in Dublin, then gets involved in police work before
he even gets out of the city. When Tom does head north to
Donegal, setting this tale aside from many others is the
fact that his six-year-old daughter has been dumped on him
by his estranged wife. Emily is a great kid, bright as a
button, and Tom does his level best to protect her from
the
increasingly dark stories and situations he encounters.
I was surprised that when Tom gets shown a Garda ID by a
person out of uniform, he does not go and confirm this
person's status with the Guards. He tells the person
everything everyone has told him - and he's supposed to be
a journalist? What happened to protecting your sources? He
is also unaware of whether Ireland possesses an
intelligence service. Not likely for a thriller author
who's been hanging around journalists and police. Aside
from Tom not being the brightest however, there's plenty
of
variety in tensions and damage limitation. The story
unravels increasing complexities and internal knots
between
characters, so the latter half is packed with revelations
and action. Irish author Declan Burke has written five
previous quirky titles in the crime area, but as THE LOST
AND THE BLIND is a standalone this would be a good place
to
jump in to his work.
his gripping Irish thriller is an intriguing new departure
for comic noir writer Declan Burke.
“A dying man, if he is any kind of man, will live beyond
the law.” The elderly German, Karl Uxkull, was senile or
desperate for attention. Why else would he concoct a tale
of Nazi atrocity on the remote island of Delphi, off the
coast of Donegal? And why now, 60 years after the event,
just when Irish-American billionaire Shay Govern has
tendered for a prospecting licence for gold in Lough
Swilly?
Journalist Tom Noone doesn’t want to know. With his young
daughter Emily to provide for, and a ghost-writing
commission on Shay Govern’s autobiography to deliver, the
timing is all wrong. Besides, can it be mere coincidence
that Karl Uxkull’s tale bears a strong resemblance to the
first thriller published by legendary spy novelist
Sebastian Devereaux, the reclusive English author who has
spent the past 50 years holed up on Delphi?
But when a body is discovered drowned, Tom and Emily find
themselves running for their lives, in pursuit of the
truth that is their only hope of survival.
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