Saints Rest

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By (author): Luke Francis Beirne

Malory Fleet’s son was killed by bikers and now she’s worried about his missing girlfriend, Amanda. But that case was closed shut by the police a year ago and Frank Cain, the private investigator she?s hired, is reluctant to take it on. On the sometimes seedy streets of uptown Saint John, no one wants to talk, even fewer have anything to say, and the police have cast a blanket of fog over everything. As Frank searches fruitlessly for clues, he learns more about Malory than about Amanda, and begins to grow wary. Throughout, Detective Stuart Boucher is following Frank and making little effort to hide it, leading Cain to conclude that the officer may have more to do with the case than he’s letting on. For Frank Cain, as unmoored as a lost ship in the harbour, in unravelling this case he risks unravelling himself.

Saints Rest is a neo-noir novella set in a gritty and unforgiving Saint John, a town where few people are prepared for its secrets, least of all Frank Cain.

AUTHOR

Luke Francis Beirne

Luke Francis Beirne was born in Ireland and grew up in Western Canada. His first novel Foxhunt, a Foreword Indies 2022 Best Fiction prize finalist, was compared to an early Le Carré thriller. Ghostwriter of more than a dozen genre novels, he has contributed to many publications such as Honest Ulsterman, Hamilton Arts & Letters, and Strange Horizons, including the award-winning story “Models.” Luke holds a Master’s in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory from McMaster University. Blacklion is his second novel. He lives in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Reviews

The writing inSaints Resta neonoir set in Saint John is some of the very best prose about this port city ever written Beirnes skill is taking the hard boiled and pulpy and making it literary His writing evokes the greats while delivering the page turning thrills of a bestsellerSaints Restis utterly essential and at this early stage already a contender for one of the best of the year James Mullinger Cofounder and editor ofEDIT magazineThe Voice of Atlantic Canada

AboutBlacklion

Mr Beirnes writing is good really good I used to read a lot of Frederick Forsyth and Blacklion very much recalls the type of story Mr Forsyth would spin Recommended along withFoxhuntJames FisherThe Miramichi Reader

Highly atmospheric very cinematic Colleen KittsGoguen CBC

Luke Francis Beirnes first novelFoxhuntwas a beautifully written slow burn of a literary intrigue novel and his second novelBlacklionis just as intensely readableAll Lit Up

The strength of Beirnes writing lies in a believable portrayal of basic human emotions trustdistrust lovehate violencethe longing for a normal life Beirne achieves a certain Hemingway quality for his protagonist and associates a fine effort in a genre where the bar has been set extremely high by le Carre Greene Deighton and others Ian Thomas ShawThe Ottawa Review of Books

AboutFoxhunt

Foxhunt is a coldwar thriller rather like early le Carr eerily pertinent given recent news Simon LaveryTredynas Days

A brilliant young writer David Adams Richards

With its beautifully lyrical prose Foxhunt is an alchemic mix of realpolitik and shadowy noir Mark Anthony Jarman

Foxhuntis wonderfully written and as already mentioned is a slowtomediumpaced read Hence it is the type of novel I enjoy readingFoxhuntis also a very cerebral and wellplaced story within the historical context of the beginnings of the Cold War I highly recommend Foxhunt as a noirish literary mysteryintrigue novel James FisherThe Miramichi Reader

Against a seamless historical and literary backdropFoxhuntbalances compelling intrigue with vulnerable human emotions Meg NolaForeword ReviewsMarchApril 2022