Even the best private eye needs more than a name to find a missing person, but that's all that Father Vincent Tyrrell, the brother of prominent racehorse trainer FX Tyrrell, will offer Loy when he comes to him for help.

A dwindling bank account convinces Loy to delve into the deadly underworld of horse racing, but fortune soon smiles on him: while working another case, he discovers a phone number linked to FX on a badly beaten body left at an illegal dump. Loy's been around long enough to know that there's more to the Tyrrell family than meets the eye - and then a third body appears.

At Christmastime, on the eve of one of Ireland's most anticipated racing events, the intrepid investigator bets his life on a longshot: finding answers in a shady network of trading and dealing, gambling and breeding.

A missing persons case draws Ed Loy into the shady - and deadly - underworld of horse racing.

About the Author
Declan Hughes has spent twenty years working in the theatre in Ireland, as director, playwright and running Ireland's leading independent theatre company. THE DYING BREED is his third novel.

Reviews
PRAISE FOR THE DYING BREED * ** *
A very fine writer * Sunday Telegraph *
Hughes is not afraid to take his references and run with them, he is not afraid to have a good time. Above all, he is not afraid of writing well * Anne Enright, Guardian *
'A deeply atmospheric writer . . . [Hughes'] keen ear for the demotic, his sharp eye for the damning detail, makes The Dying Breed a vivid, gripping, and . . . chilling read.' * Claire Kilroy, Irish Times *
Hughes is an impressive talent * Irish Independent *
This intelligent, often brutal thriller will have readers' hearts racing from start to finish. * Publishers Weekly starred review *
As crisply written as his previous books, Hughes is definitely onto another winner * Dublin Evening Herald *
'Well-written and sharp' * Irish Sunday Independent *
'...Rising Irish crime star Declan Hughes turns his acerbic eye on the Irish horseracing scene' * Observer *
'The book is rich in character and strong in narration and will keep the reader glued right through to the last line' * Expressit *
'Think of Ed Loy books as contemporary Chandleresque but with an Irish setting and a more interesting, humane and sympathetic PI' * CrimeFest *
PRAISE FOR DECLAN HUGHES: * * *
To call Declan Hughes "a natural" is to engage in understatement. Here is a crime novel that's both deftly plotted and truly character-driven. Like Chandler's Los Angeles, Hughes's Dublin is brilliantly atmospheric. The dialogue crackles and the characters have a truly lived-in authenticity. A great read * Douglas Kennedy *
'Declan Hughes breathes new life into the private detective story with The Wrong Kind of Blood. This thrilling ride of deception brilliantly teaches us that the past is never far behind us, that it can reach out and grab us at any time' * Michael Connelly *
'Finally Ireland gets a hardboiled detective worthy of the name...- it's not hard to see why [Declan Hughes'] publisher placed so much faith in such a relative newcomer' - Robert Mayes * Ireland on Sunday *
'Top class . . . Fast moving, and paced with acutely observed dialogue, Hughes draws an accurate and decidedly dark picture of the changes wrought by Celtic Tiger Ireland on Seaview and its inhabitants. Highly recommended' * Irish Independent Review *
'Hughes is in his element describing the sites and sounds of the places Loy visits' - Ken Griffin * Sunday Tribune *
'Declan Hughes manages the extremely difficult trick of not only locating a credible thriller in Ireland but also casting an eye on the way this society has changed utterly in the past two decades . . . Hughes laces his plot with razor-sharp and frequently hilarious comments on Irish society' * Herald AM and Evening Herald *
'Declan Hughes has written a thriller that is a hell of a good read... there's an energy to his writing that suggests he's in it for the long haul' * Irish Sunday Independent *
'I'd be prepared to swear that there has never been a character in Irish crime fiction with a name so taut, muscular and slyly tongue in cheek as Ed Loy . . .' * Irish Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780719567506
Author Declan Hughes
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint John Murray Publishers Ltd
Publisher John Murray Press
Weight(grams) 272g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 28mm