The Confessional Killings

D.R. Bailey was raised in a family of bibliophiles. From an early age he developed eclectic tastes in fiction including; SciFi, Romance, Crime, and the Classics. Some of his favourite authors remain Gerald Durrell, Jane Austen, Peter James, Ellis Peters, and Isaac Asimov. At the age of nine he wrote his first fictional story about his toy teddy bear clan. Since then he has gone on to have some of his non-fiction article published in magazines and also a fictional crime series. He has engaged in several different careers and says that these life experiences have all contributed greatly to his penchant for storytelling.

The debut novel by D.R. Bailey is a gritty but approachable crime drama set in Ireland. The first in a series about fictional Detective Inspector D I Gallway finds him called out to the murder of a Catholic priest in a small town south of Dublin. Saddled with a motley band of Garda, he sets about solving an increasingly difficult case which very soon clashes with Roman Catholic church, as sins begin to be revealed.

Bailey has written a humorous but hard-hitting account of the ensuing investigation which reveals many twists and turns and might be seen as exposing the underbelly of the Church. Bailey nevertheless, does not shy away from highly topical subjects such as church abuse. This well-paced mystery will engage readers until the end. Bailey doesn’t subscribe to the usual tropes found in detective novels and many of his characters are well founded and easy to identify with.

One recent five-star reviewer wrote

“So, I’m a bit of a crime-reader snob… I sharpened my teeth on Conan-Doyle, Christie, Ellis Peters et al. as a teen and moved into many more of the good and the great as I grew and expanded my readership – so I rather unapologetically demand a lot from new sources. Boy, this does not disappoint. I honestly think you can gauge a writer’s genuine fondness for his characters when you move through their stories – it’s a depth that is intrinsic rather than forced or overthought and I really feel that here. Aside from a cracking story, you become engaged by the protagonists and just want to know more about them.”

Bailey confesses to having a great affection for the Irish. When asked why he started writing the books, Bailey said it was a story that needed to be told and one he would want to read himself.

The Deathbed Confession

Hot on the heels of his first novel “The Confessional Killings’ this second novel by D.R. Bailey continues in his inimitable style of gritty but approachable crime drama set in Ireland. This sequel continues the adventures of fictional Detective Inspector D I Gallway still based in a small town south of Dublin. A deathbed confession by a priest reveals a series of murders which Gallway and his team set out to solve, they soon discover the rabbit hole runs deep with possible corruption in the Roman Catholic church.

Bailey continues in a humorous vein, but which also continues to touch on the raw nerves of abuse as this new investigation reveals a new web of deceit and murder to be discovered. Bailey also gives us the gripping account of the murder trial ensuing from the first book, and we are left wondering who the real villains of the piece really are. Bailey gives us enough moral ambiguity to make up our own minds which side of the fence we are on, or not.  Continuing to hit home, on Church abuse, Bailey issues some graphic but believable accounts from the characters in his prose. His skill is to produce well fleshed out characters which readers have already grown to love and will continue to do so in this reprise. At times readers may find Bailey’s novels a little racy, and for this writer, all areas sexuality and gender are never off-limits. It is a novel which can appeal to people of all persuasions and will continue engaging readers from start to finish. Bailey’s excellent novels deserve a wider audience and we are sure will find a home with readers in Ireland and many other countries.

Extracts from recent reviews of The Confessional Killings have given Bailey’s novels a big thumbs up:

5* – “I honestly think you can gauge a writer’s genuine fondness for his characters when you move through their stories – it’s a depth that is intrinsic rather than forced or overthought and I really feel that here. Aside from a cracking story, you become engaged by the protagonists and just want to know more about them …no hesitation in recommending this to anyone

who revels in good storytelling.”

5* – “The story is dark, but it’s real, I like that. It deals with the harsh reality of child abuse and household violence and how those can affect a child …the interesting characters kept me turning the pages.”

5* – “…the author does a great job of creating characters that we care about and will want to follow in their further adventures. Overall, a satisfying read for fans of thoughtful mystery looking for a new detective series.”

5* – “There’s not much here not to love. This book fits like an old gumshoe but with a modern flair. Here we have a bold conflict, lots of mystery, terribly all-too-human characters, and an all-encompassing air of moral ambiguity. Flitting between the details of a raw investigation and the risqué nature of the crimes and subjects it walks a fine line but never comes off cheesy or insincere.”

About

D.R. Bailey was raised in a family of bibliophiles. From an early age, he developed eclectic tastes in fiction including; Sci-Fi, Romance, Crime, and the Classics. Some of his favourite authors remain Gerald Durrell, Jane Austen, Peter James, Ellis Peters, and Isaac Asimov. At the age of eleven, he wrote his first fictional story about his toy teddy bear clan. Since then he has gone on to have some of his non-fiction article published in magazines and also a fictional crime series. He has engaged in several different careers and says that these life experiences have all contributed greatly to his penchant for storytelling. Bailey has now penned three full-length crime novels, which is a genre he is particularly fond of. The Confessional Killings published by Twisted Tree Publications is the first of a these each sequel containing a heady mix of crime, suspense, humour, romance and sex. Bailey has tackled some controversial and topical subjects surrounding the Catholic Church in this story. He invests a lot into the characters and writes against the usual tropes. His cast of many flavours, none of them vanilla, have normal lives and all the human foibles one might imagine. There is something for everyone in his stories, and the reviews bear out his dedication to bringing them all to life. The stories are set in Ireland, and Bailey confesses to having a great affection for the Irish. When asked why he started writing the books, Bailey said it was a story that needed to be told and one he would want to read himself. The DI Gallway Investigates is set to continue for many more books to come. Bailey is dedicated to excellence and writes with passion but at the same time tries to make his words accessible to those of all persuasions, often shocking perhaps, but never dull.

Getting in Touch

Please feel free to contact the author at drbailey@twistedtreepublications.com

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