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.