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Stories and Drabbles

Short Stories

638 Steps
A Black Feather
Boxing Dumb
Cassanova Succumbs to Two Ton Tina
Cutting Loose
Death of Me
Does Sparky want another sausage?
Infrared Dead 
Insurance
It's a Dog's Life
King Canute
On a High Wire
Preparing the Lure
Speeding
Spirit of Fear
Stakeout
Sweet Dreams
Target Practice
The El up Ninth Avenue
The Snake House
To cut a long story short 
Two men get thrown out of a bar
Trust and Fear
Undergrowth
You Raise Me Up


Drabbles

A little encouragement
Blood pumping quick
Brief encounter
Cancelling Christmas
Can't live without shoes
Closing down sale
Cornered
Empty promises 
Final notice
For a few pennies more
He's gone
I know you're not the answer
I'm meant to be grateful? 
In harm's way
iphone, your phone  
Leaving home
Lost
Many a true word said in jest
Peppered tail
Prowler
Self-defence 
She has to go
She wrecks my head
Silence and lies
Swimming with loan sharks
The cook is in meltdown 
The dance floor swallows him whole
The end of a dream
This isn't a game
The long walk
The song of the sea 
Whiskey and tears
You can ring my parents
You can practically taste the pong 
You'd better sit down
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About Me

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Rob Kitchin
I work at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth where I'm director of a research institute. I'm the author of two police procedural novels set in Ireland, and author or editor of 20 academic books and a 12 volume encyclopedia. My passions are reading and writing crime fiction and undertaking research on social issues. The other blog I contribute to is Ireland After NAMA.
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Review Ratings

***** Outstanding. Get me the full back catalogue ASAP!

**** Quality stuff. Will be tracking down books by the same author and recommending to friends

*** A generally solid, enjoyable read and I might read other books by the same author

** Passable, but in no rush to read the author's other works

* Struggled with this and in no hurry to repeat the experience.

no stars - How did this get published?


More on this click here


Last 35 books read

Snapshots
Dead Harvest
The Cold Dish
Where the Devil Can't go
Old School
Johnny Porno
A Dirty Job
Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris
Hill Country
White Heat
The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson
Death on the Marais
Kiss Me Quick
The Imitation of Patsy Burke
Star Island
Manchester 6
Choke on Your Lies
The Janus Stone
Tollesbury Time Forever
The Point


Rob Kitchin's favorite books »

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LInks

  • Ireland After NAMA
  • Work website
  • kitchin.org
  • Critical Mick

Short Story Heaven

  • A Twist of Noir
  • All Due Respect
  • Beat to a Pulp
  • Crime Factory
  • Dirty Noir
  • Flash Fiction Friday
  • Flash Fiction Offensive
  • Near to the Knuckle
  • Noir Nation
  • Plots With Guns
  • Powder Burn Flash
  • Pulp Metal Magazine
  • Shotgun Honey
  • Spinetingler
  • The Laughter Shack
  • Thrillers, Chillers and Killers

My Blog List

  • NoirCon
    Noir: WTF Holy Hannibal Lecter - Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim This surveillance video from a camera on the Miami Herald building sho...
    1 hour ago
  • The Rap Sheet
    Pierce’s Picks: “The Yard” - *A weekly alert for followers of crime, mystery, and thriller fiction.* *The Yard, by Alex Grecian (Putnam):* London’s Metropolitan Police Force has already...
    3 hours ago
  • NAMA Wine Lake
    Are we recovering? - Ahead of the Fiscal Compact referendum on Thursday this week, there is an argument thatIrelandis on the road back from the abyss and that a “no” vote migh...
    4 hours ago
  • the psychopathology of everyday life - Adrian McKinty's blog
    Mad Men S5 E11 - spoilers ahead... who could put a price on the lovely Joan? ... Pete Campbell could. Mad Men S5 E11 is the kind of episode they should teach in screenwriting...
    5 hours ago
  • The Irish Economy
    Treaty and future of eurozone - I wrote the following background piece in response to a request last week. It’s similar to John’s Compact Logic. My respondent wrote back: “So a Yes wil...
    5 hours ago
  • In Reference to Murder
    Media Murder for a Memorial Day Monday - MOVIES Bradley Cooper is developing American Sniper for Warner Bros, a project based on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's book American Sniper: The Autobiography of t...
    6 hours ago
  • Euro Crime
    2012 Dagger Shortlists - I was away at Crimefest last weekend so I'm trying to catch up on the important things I've missed. I'd already prepared my International Dagger shortlist ...
    6 hours ago
  • pattinase
    - Happy Memorial Day. And a great poem to remind you of why we will always have memorial days. http://www.fictionaut.com/stories/barry-basden/rays-people-hav...
    7 hours ago
  • Mystery Writing is Murder
    Covering Our Bases - *by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig* [image: 2694430914_4074ee8ff6_m]Blogger is being obnoxious and frequently putting genuine comments into my blog...
    8 hours ago
  • Do Some Damage
    Advice to someone thinking of starting a zine - The online short crime fiction community leans more towards support (which is fine) not criticism so make sure there is a firm editorial hand on the contro...
    8 hours ago
  • CSO Latest Releases and Publications
    Retail Sales Index April 2012 (First Estimates) March 2012 (Final Figures) - Retail Sales volume deceased 1.5 % in April 2012
    8 hours ago
  • Shotgun Honey
    Jagged Scar by Richard Godwin - The diner was empty apart from the guy in the corner. ‘I don’t suppose you have a light?’, he said, walking over. ‘Sure’, Patty said, flicking her Zippo, h...
    8 hours ago
  • Ireland after NAMA
    Census 2011: Age profiles - The CSO have released the age profile data from Census 2011. They have produced a nice booklet providing some summary analysis. We have produced a few in...
    10 hours ago
  • The Bunburyist
    Remembering veterans: The Reawakening; John Huston's Let There Be Light. - A WWI veteran in *The Reawakening *(1919) In honor of Memorial Day, you can view *The Reawakening* (1919), a short documentary on the rehabilitation of wo...
    10 hours ago
  • The Mystery Bookshelf
    Mailbox Monday – Alpha by Greg Rucka - Amazon, Kindle, Amazon UK It’s always nice when a pleasant surprise arrives in the mail. Like this one from Greg Rucka. Slipped under the radar somehow, ...
    10 hours ago
  • The Story
    Dermot Desmond’s letter to Gavin O’Reilly - Back on March 8 journalist Chris Lowry wrote an article for the Irish Independent about Celtic Football Club. The article was an opinion piece about Ranger...
    10 hours ago
  • MYSTERIES in PARADISE
    Review: THE MISSING, P D Martin - - Format: Kindle (Amazon) - *File Size:* 205 KB - *Print Length:* 38 pages - *Publisher:* Murderati Ink (March 4, 2012) - *Sold by:* Am...
    11 hours ago
  • Kittling: Books
    Scene of the Crime with Author Karen E. Olson! - I have a friend with whom I share a lot of reading DNA who recommended the Tattoo Shop mysteries written by this week's featured author. Now... I'm abou...
    11 hours ago
  • Criminal Minds
    May I Call My Lawyer? - Yes, that is probably the first thing I'd say if I was questioned by the police about my whereabouts last night. Not because I was anywhere I shouldn't ha...
    12 hours ago
  • Crime Watch
    The launch of BODY ON THE STAGE - On Saturday night, in amongst all the deadline-related work and marathon training, I managed to get along to the Pumphouse Theatre on the North Shore to c...
    12 hours ago
  • Crime Always Pays
    On Winning The Goldsboro ‘Last Laugh’ Award, And Failing Better - I genuinely did not expect ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL to win the Goldsboro ‘Last Laugh’ Award at the Bristol Crimefest, not least because the shortlist included t...
    12 hours ago
  • Dilbert Daily Strip
    Comic for May 28, 2012 -
    14 hours ago
  • Mystery File
    Movie Review: THE COUNTERFEITERS (1948). - THE COUNTERFEITERS. Conn Pictures, 1948. John Sutton, Doris Merrick, Hugh Beaumont, Lon Chaney Jr., George O’Hanlon, Robert Kent, Herbert Rawlinson, with...
    14 hours ago
  • Murder is Everywhere
    No Laughing Matter - The bad guy in the cartoon is saying, “See you later, Love. I’m off to make a withdrawal from the ATM.” The joke might not register in most places. Bu...
    15 hours ago
  • International Crime Authors Reality Check
    Do yourself a favour by Quentin Bates - It had to happen sooner or later. We’ve been Tescoed. These days I live in a fairly dull provincial town in the south of England that has nothing special a...
    17 hours ago
  • International Noir Fiction
    Austrian crime: Wolf Haas, Brenner and God - A few years ago I saw a film based on one of Wolf Haas's series based on a former cop named Brenner and have been hoping since then to be able to read so...
    18 hours ago
  • 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?'
    The Third Man - Watching Carol Reed’s superb 1949 film *The Third Man* again, not long after reading Eric Ambler’s novel of ten years earlier, *The Mask of Dimitrios*, I...
    18 hours ago
  • Paul D. Brazill
    Suckers by Anne Billson. - *Anne Billson* is a writer and photographer from England who lives in Belgium. For over twenty years she has written brilliantly and entertainingly ...
    1 day ago
  • The Flash Fiction Offensive
    May Guest Writer - Matthew C. Funk. - This months Guest Writer needs very little introduction. His work has appeared in almost every crime/pulp e-zine on the net. If you've never come across...
    1 day ago
  • Detectives Beyond Borders: A Forum for International Crime Fiction
    Crimefest 2012 highlights - *A* gentle spring wind dissipates the gin fumes over College Green, and Bristol is an eerily quiet place now that Ali Karim has left town. With Crimefest 2...
    1 day ago
  • Meritorious Mysteries
    Sad News for John Dunning Fans - Many long-standing (you notice I didn't say *older!)* mystery fans enjoyed the Cliff Janeway series by John Dunning. Sadly, he won't be able to continue th...
    1 day ago
  • djskrimiblog
    Anna Märklin, chapter 1 - No, I am not going to give you the full novel for free. The sneaky plan is to offer you a couple of chapters – to make sure this will be the Scandinavian m...
    1 day ago
  • progressive-economy@tasc
    How bad is Greece? - *Rory O'Farrell: *Government deficits can be broken down into two parts: interest payments and the 'primary balance'. The primary balance includes every...
    1 day ago
  • Petrona
    International Dagger shortlist 2012 - It is a little more than a month since I last posted my speculation about the shortlist for the CWA’s International Dagger award this year – an award which...
    1 day ago
  • Mike Dennis
    MEMORIAL DAY, 2012 - TO ALL U.S. SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. WERE IT NOT FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND THE EFFORTS OF THE FALLEN HEROES WHO...
    2 days ago
  • Top Suspense Group
    Mr. Monk and the Happy Ending - [image: Mr. Monk is a Mess]My seven year, three episode, fifteen book relationship with Adrian Monk has ended. I've just finished writing my last book in t...
    2 days ago
  • The Night Editor
    NOIR CITY Annual 2011 - The new NOIR CITY Annual is out, and it is a thing of beauty. It's packed 317 pages of articles and glossy photos. I'm thrilled, as always, to be included...
    2 days ago
  • KILLER COVERS
    Covering a Landmark -
    2 days ago
  • Spinetingler
    Flash Fiction: An Accidental Death by Phyllis Smallman - Cash was missing. Once again, Aunt Kay and I went looking for my brother Scott. We found him at my parents, in the backyard where he was supposed to be re...
    3 days ago
  • Reactions to Reading
    International Dagger 2012 – Reading Progress and Speculation #2 - I first wrote about my progress towards reading eligible titles for this year’s International Dagger Award for crime fiction translated into English a few ...
    4 days ago
  • CRIME SCRAPS REVIEW
    International Dagger Shortlist: some guesswork - Some years I have already read most of the CWA International Dagger shortlist before the announcement is made. This year it will be announced at Crimefest ...
    5 days ago
  • Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers
    SWEET DREAMS by Carl Carswell - *A new voice sings a fine crime/horror tune, and it comes from the lungs of Cumbria's Carl Carswell. Please bid Carl welcome with...* *SWEET DREAMS* Dariu...
    5 days ago
  • Secret Dead Blog
    Oh Godzilla, You Devil - Thirty some years ago, I used to pretend I was Godzilla and stomp my kid brother around the living room. Today, as an alleged fully-grown adult, I have t...
    5 days ago
  • A Twist Of Noir
    Interlude Stories: Kip Hanson - *RIDING THE UNION PACIFIC - KIP HANSON* “C’mon, Johnny, run. Get up here, douchebag.” Johnny sprinted after the westbound Union Pacific, stumbling over the...
    5 days ago
  • not enough books
    River Marked by Patricia Briggs - #6 Mercy Thompson Copyright: 2011 Publisher: Ace Fantasy Genre: Fiction/urban fantasy Pages: 290 My rating: 4/5 Simple Description: Mercy and Adam finally...
    6 days ago
  • Material Witness
    Review: Beastly Things by Donna Leon - A Guido Brunetti novel from Donna Leon is the literary equivalent of comfort food. They are familiar, reassuring, utterly reliable and always welcome. Food, ...
    6 days ago
  • The Drowning Machine
    WGI update: mea culpa! - Due to an error on my part there will be one more contestant in this year's WGI. I inadvertently announced on Twitter that Fiona was one of the invitees t...
    6 days ago
  • hardboiled wonderland
    Picture Books: James Ellroy - Totally absorbed by *Oren Moverman*'s *Rampart* over the weekend. Easily the least plot-driven film ever made from source material created by *James Ellro...
    6 days ago
  • The Thrill of it All
    More Earl, More Formats - The books in the Earl Walker mystery series continue to trickle their way through the eBook sphere, and are now in a few formats: [image: Nursing a Grudge ...
    6 days ago
  • Mystery Librarian
    New Addition to an Excellent Historical Mystery Series - When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris If you’re tired of reading mysteries set in modern times, then why not give the Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery seri...
    1 week ago
  • Mean Streets
    DIVINE JUSTICE by JOANNE HICHENS - Cape Town’s underbelly gets exposed. And it is rotten! Standing up out of the intestines to make herself noticed is newly licensed PI Rae Valentine, the mo...
    1 week ago
  • Ronan Lyons
    The Austerity Games: Ireland’s Fiscal Treaty referendum redux - A few important concepts have gone out the window as the debate in Ireland about the referendum on the Fiscal Compact has descended into political games. P...
    1 week ago
  • Big Beat From Badsville
    Gratuitous Holiday Post - Here are a few snaps from our Berlin trip this past week. One thing - I do not like new blogger. I cannot get the hang of how to format photos and words wh...
    2 weeks ago
  • Overkill
    Write On Radio Show today - It's Write On Radio Show day and the show I produce and host for the Otago Southland Branch of the NZSA airs on Otago Access Radio today (Wednesday) from n...
    2 weeks ago
  • Black Irish Blarney
    This One Is 4 You: You Know Who You Are -
    3 weeks ago
  • Cyber Badger Research Blog
    - I recently contributed a short essay to the *Land Diagrams* web project at the invitation of Amy Cutler. In partnership with another commentator we were s...
    4 weeks ago
  • Scandinavian Crime Fiction
    A Scandinavian Tour in Reviews - It has been a month since I made the rounds to see what has been reviewed lately. I thought I’d better organize them somehow, so have listed them by countr...
    4 weeks ago
  • Pulp Serenade
    "30 Days of the 5-2" Keith Rawson's "$25" - First off, big thanks to Gerald So for his tireless devotion to supporting noir poetry, and for inviting me to blog as part of "30 Days of the 5-2" crime f...
    4 weeks ago
  • At the Villa Rose
    And The Winner Is.../Et le gagnant est... - In reviewing this year's Edgar nominees I expressed the hope that a foreign writer would scoop the Best Novel award, breaking the parochial streak of the l...
    4 weeks ago
  • NUIM Geography's Eye on the World
    GATEWAYS update Day 6 - A full day’s work in Dunmanus Bay collected more ground truthing information on superficial sediment distributions (continuation of the grab sample program...
    4 weeks ago
  • The Laughter Shack
    Riding My Balls to Glory by Nathaniel Tower. - Last night I dreamt everyone could see my ball sack. It was just hanging out in all its sagging and wrinkled glory, a hair here and there scattered abou...
    1 month ago
  • Crime Scene NI
    Tumbleweed - So... not much going on here at the minute. I'm still working on that goddamned novel, now in it's nth draft, and am trying to limit distractions. And th...
    2 months ago
  • Murder, Mystery & Mayhem: A Resource for Readers
    March New Releases 2012 - Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense Books - * We are moving so be sure to take note of the new URL - www.murdermysterymayhembooks.com Stein, Stung by Hal Ackerman Night Vision by Jane ...
    2 months ago
  • Powder Burn Flash
    Powder Burn Flash # 371 - J.B. Christopher - *The Last Stand* by J.B. Christopher And she took one look at him and said that he would never be cool and he never would understand. She shook her head...
    3 months ago
  • DJs krimiblog
    Testing - Lydfil, Strikkeklubben.
    7 months ago
  • criminalbrief.com
    Monday, September 19: The Scribbler - DOORWAYS by James Lincoln Warren Jim Morrison, the famous Dionysiac rock’n’roll star, claimed that his cult band the Doors was named after a line in the ma...
    8 months ago
  • IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)
    Thanks - Thanks for visiting during the last six years. The move is now complete and there will be no further posts here. But there will be here. I hope to see you th...
    8 months ago
  • CRIME SCRAPS
    RELOCATION TO CRIME SCRAPS REVIEW - *Crime Scraps is moving to Crime Scraps Review. * * * *All my old posts have already made the journey to the new blog, and new posts will appear there. But...
    10 months ago
  • Adventures in Writing
    Hoping Doesn't Make it Possible - The book I'm reading at the moment assumes some questionable scenarios, like the fact that a third world country has jumped ahead of the everyone in a par...
    1 year ago
  • Confessions of a Mystery Novelist....
    I'm Movin' Out!* - Hello, All, Just wanted to let everyone know that *Confessions of A Mystery Novelist… *has moved! I really like my new home, and I hope you will, too!...
    1 year ago
  • El juego está en marcha
    Este blog ha cambiado su ubicación - This blog has change its location - Me podeis encontrar ahora en: http://jiescribano.wordpress.com/ You can find me now at: http://jiescribano.wordpress.com/
    1 year ago
  • Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
    Hiatus - The post explaining it all is here, but this is the short version: I started a new gig as the News Editor for Publishers Marketplace, the first time I have h...
    1 year ago
  • Adventures in Novel Writing
    Goodbye to the Blog! - Given that some months have passed since I wondered out loud about the future of this blog, and I haven't posted since then, I think the time has come to put...
    1 year ago
  • PETRONA
    Petrona has moved - This blog, and its associated archive of book reviews, has moved. Please do visit the new Petrona, and adjust your bookmark or RSS feed accordingly. Thank yo...
    1 year ago
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Blog Archive

  • ►  2012 (146)
    • ►  May (26)
      • This book was written by someone else, wasn't it?
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Will be caught, won’t be caught
      • Distracted by media
      • 300 reviews up
      • Review of Edge of Dark Water by Joe R Lansdale (Mu...
      • When I grow up I want to write like ...
      • Killer Reels published
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Nine tenths of the law
      • Review of Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage (Soho ...
      • Hitting the wall
      • Frontline TV appearance
      • Review of Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cot...
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • The drink talking
      • Review of Lumen by Ben Pastor (1999/2011, Bitter L...
      • Goodreads
      • Drop in price for The Rule Book and The White Gall...
      • Review of Snapshots by Paul Brazill (Pulp Metal, 2...
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Losing Trigger
      • Review of Dead Harvest by Chris F Holm (Angry Robo...
      • Country Noir
      • Review of The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson (Penguin,...
      • April reviews
    • ►  April (28)
      • Shots of noir
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Bulldog Salts
      • Review of Where the Devil Can’t Go by Anya Lipska ...
      • Tron talk rendered Tron-like
      • Review of Old School by Dan O’Shea (Snubnose Press...
      • Flash, bang, miss ... Bloody Idiot
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • And half of nothing is?
      • Tron: Some observations
      • Cover design - Killer Reels
      • Moving on
      • Review of Johnny Porno by Charlie Stella (Stark Ho...
      • Title advice needed
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Shhhhh ... Sugar
      • Review of A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore (Orbit,...
      • First draft: Snuff Movies
      • Review of Death in the City of Light by David King...
      • Review of Hill Country by R Thomas Brown (Snubnose...
      • Zoo stories
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • You can practically taste the pong
      • Review of White Heat by M.J. McGrath (Mantle, 201...
    • ►  March (32)
    • ►  February (27)
    • ►  January (33)
  • ▼  2011 (311)
    • ►  December (32)
    • ►  November (25)
    • ►  October (28)
    • ▼  September (27)
      • Half Blood Blues ...
      • Review of Every Shallow Cut by Tom Piccirilli (Chi...
      • Reginald Marsh art, flash fiction challenge
      • Review of The City, The City by China Mieville (Pa...
      • White lips / Pale face / Breathing in snowflakes ....
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Silence and lies
      • The new Aussie Kelly hero ...
      • Review of Bloodland by Alan Glynn (Faber, 2011)
      • When computers fail ...
      • Review of Frozen Out by Quentin Bates (Robinson, 2...
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • Leaving home
      • Review of The Cleanup by Sean Doolittle (Dell, 200...
      • Setting forth to Bloodland
      • Review of The Quarry by Johan Theorin (Doubleday, ...
      • Review of The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (Q...
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • For a few pennies more
      • Blood in the gutter
      • Review of White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones (Soho...
      • Two by two
      • August reviews
      • Lazy Sunday Service
      • He's gone
      • In with the new ...
      • Review of Down Among the Dead Men: A Year in the L...
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  • ►  2009 (178)
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From Nov 5, 2011

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