What do you think?
Rate this book
Ottawa and the Valley #13
The Road to Lisdoonvarna
"I've flirted with variations on the mystery form in other books. Mulengro, Angel of Darkness and From a Whisper to a Scream (the latter two first published under the pen name of Samuel M. Key) were all, at their heart, police procedurals, sparked mostly, I'd guess, from years of reading Ed McBain. I'd also touched on spy thrillers (the RCMP sections of Moonheart), tropes such as organized crime (the Mafia in Greenmantle), and various hardboiled characters who've shown up in the pages of various novels and stories.
"But this was the first time that I sat down to deliberately write a mystery novel, with a PI as a lead character, and no fantasy elements whatsoever, hedging my bets only slightly by giving Jevon "Jake" Swann a love for Celtic music. (It doesn't matter where you put Celtic music; it always holds a touch of magic to it.) And then I set the story in Ottawa, because that's where I was living at the time and I liked having my characters walk around in the same neighbourhoods that I did, or could."
--Charles de Lint
The Road to Lisdoonvarna is published only by Subterranean Press, and features full-color dustjacket art by David Mack (of Kabuki fame).
190 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2001
About the author
Charles de Lint
450 books4,058 followersCharles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, conducted by Random House and voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.
Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.
Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.
Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)
To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire
His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.
De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.
Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.
Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.
Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)
To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire
His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.
De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 23, 2020
I selected this book from the library because I’ve been to Lisdoonvarna and I live in Ottawa. It’s very weird reading a book where you know all the streets and places mentioned in the story; it brings an immediacy to the story that is lacking when a book is set someplace you may have only visited. This is de Lint’s only mystery, I believe, and it’s quite a good plot. It has a fast pace, and a good storyline that engages the reader. I would be interested in seeing more of Jake Swann and his sidekicks, Bo (and Sooey the bull terrier) and Jimmy Crackle, but I suspect de Lint went back to his fantasy/paranormal genre after this. After all, as he said in the Introduction, if you’re known for one type of book, not many publishers want to take a chance when you move into another genre. But it would be nice to meet Jake, Sammy, Sue, Bo, and Jimmy again.
July 16, 2010
No fantasy, which may be a disappointment to some of de Lint's fans, but the feel of the story was pure de Lint. Pulpy mystery, complete with bad guys, good dogs and a damsel in distress (or two).
Well worth the time.
Well worth the time.
June 1, 2023
Not my favorite of Charles de Lint’s books. I think his talent shines in the fantasy worlds he creates and this was a straight mystery.
I did enjoy the characters but found the ending a little confusing.
I did enjoy the characters but found the ending a little confusing.
September 15, 2024
Was a bit worried when I saw the title that it would be filled with Irish hokum, but no. Bit different to other Charles de Lint books I've read - it's a detective story, not fantasy.
March 23, 2017
A different sort of story for de Lint. Not really my genera although well done.
May 16, 2024
I will read anything Charles de Lint has written, so when I noticed this book was his but not fantasy I was curious. It's odd because while this is more of a detective novel it still has something about it that is uniquely de Lint. He has a way of making characters that even if they are a bit rough around the edges feel like I'm hanging out with an old friend. While the main character and his two friends on this adventure were like old friends, I did think that the love interest could have used a bit more flushing out of her character which is why it's a 4. For moving into a completely different genre he still wrote a story that kept my attention and I wouldn't mind hearing from these characters in the future if he decides to delve back out of fantasy again.
October 7, 2008
I'm sure there are people out there that would enjoy this, but I certainly am not one of them. It is a very bare bones detective novel with essentially no character development.
June 5, 2015
My copy is #851 of 2000!
David Mack (Kabuki) did the cover!
Read
January 4, 2019I think this was pretty good for a standard mystery story. I love that Celtic music still played a part in the story - it wouldn't be Charles de Lint without some Irish music to bolter the story and strengthen the characters.
I have to say that I prefer his Urban Fantasy, but doesn't everyone love a good mystery?
I have to say that I prefer his Urban Fantasy, but doesn't everyone love a good mystery?
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews