Author:John Kelly
'Would you believe me if I told you that I was only nine years of age when I killed him?' In a paint-splattered room, a young and successful Irish painter confronts his shocking and murderous past- a dark day on the beach at Bundoran, Co. Donegal, when he quietly dispatched a palaeontologist with his own geological hammer. His life is further disrupted by the beautiful Billy Maguire, an Ingrid Bergman lookalike who leads him all the way to Prague and involves him-and his beloved and devoutly paranoid grandmother-in yet another grievous crime. Struggling to keep reality and unreality apart, he wishes only to be taken seriously-as sinner and lover, artist and murderer.Featuring cameos from Elvis Presley, Shirley Temple and the Pope, the Little Hammer is a triumph of linguistic brio, dark imagination and wild wit from one of Ireland's most exciting new talents.
A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever
—— Sunday ExpressAs a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing
—— Daily MirrorThere's a manipulative plotter at work in The Keys to the Street, and it's the author
—— John Mullan, The GuardianPsychologically acute and extremely disturbing, Ruth Rendell’s work is outstanding
—— The TimesThere are quite a few Ruth Rendells: the doyenne of the traditional English detective novel; the queen of the psychological thriller; the celebrated author of the literary thriller
—— Mail on SundayBrilliant and compulsive
—— Evening StandardA haunting, compelling, and brilliant piece of fiction ... Packed with literary allusion and told with a sophistication and texture that owes much more to the nineteenth century than to the twentieth
—— The Times