Hitting on all cylinders. The murder is done, and I imagine Doyle will own him.
Something that seems overlooked, gobs of Irish immgrated to the USA, New York and Boston, but I suspect a similar number went to Canada. Nice to see this, and Dennis Lehane wrote plenty about Irish gangs. Looking forward to the next installment.
Hi Tim, thanks for the feedback. I really had to put myself deep in Callaghan's shoes for this one. Not just for the methodical preparation of the Mickey Finn, but for the inner turmoil associated with why he needed it. And you're right, Doyle does add Callaghan to his list of collectibles. ;)
A huge number if Irish and Scots came over to Canada during the 19th and early 20th century, and even during the American Revolution, too. There was tension and street violence among the Irish in Toronto and Montreal, but it was more centered around the Catholic vs Protestant experience.
That being said, Forge is a resource town and the Irish who helped build the mines, the railways, and foundries were a rougher population and needed to band together to take and keep what they could to survive. That leaves room for a man like Doyle to consolidate power.
Callaghan is well written, and his dilemma works for the story. Blackmailers never quit, and Callaghan chooses to bargain with the devil to get out from under this. Interesting how his wife goes along with the plan.
I think it's great to include Irish gangs. Dennis Lehane writes them well, and his novel, The Given Day touches on the Irish getting into city machine politics, good stuff you can steal for Forge City Noir.
I knew a lot of Scots settled in Canada. I can hear it in the eastern dialect, but ignorant me didn't think about the Irish. Of course they immigrated, and like everywhere else, they got the nasty jobs. Plenty of good story material in there.
"The Red Line" was advertised as a three-part story, but with the way part 3 ends, it looks like you could stretch this out. Part of me is curious as to how Doyle will use Callaghan once he's mayor.
I'll be posting excerpts from my 1981 Cold War Era novel, IN THE WEST. Two families escape East Germany through Czechoslovakia to cross into Bavaria. I'm wondering if I ought to do something with my hard-boiled ILLEGITIMATE, and THE SENATOR'S WIFE.
Thanks, Tim. The Red Line was another older story I'd originally published on Medium that I broke up here into three parts, and you're right about the way it ended--like it just cut off.
The same thing has happened here as what happened with Judas Plot: new ideas came as I refined and polished the parts. I've got an a few ideas that I'm going use to stretch things out for this story.
I need to stop advertising the size of the stories in my notes if these old stories keep delivering new material! 😊
"The Red Line" could certainly grow into a bigger story, because crooked city politics makes for great fiction. Take a look at Dennis Lehane's The Given Day for the dirt on Boston city politics. The protagonist is the black sheep of a prominent family, his father high up in the police force (who later has a big fall - politics).
I can see you knitting "The Red Line," "The Judas Plot," and maybe more together into a novel-length story of life in Forge City. No doubt your jewel thief has professionally crossed paths with Doyle's organization, or he may have good reason soon enough.
Hitting on all cylinders. The murder is done, and I imagine Doyle will own him.
Something that seems overlooked, gobs of Irish immgrated to the USA, New York and Boston, but I suspect a similar number went to Canada. Nice to see this, and Dennis Lehane wrote plenty about Irish gangs. Looking forward to the next installment.
Hi Tim, thanks for the feedback. I really had to put myself deep in Callaghan's shoes for this one. Not just for the methodical preparation of the Mickey Finn, but for the inner turmoil associated with why he needed it. And you're right, Doyle does add Callaghan to his list of collectibles. ;)
A huge number if Irish and Scots came over to Canada during the 19th and early 20th century, and even during the American Revolution, too. There was tension and street violence among the Irish in Toronto and Montreal, but it was more centered around the Catholic vs Protestant experience.
That being said, Forge is a resource town and the Irish who helped build the mines, the railways, and foundries were a rougher population and needed to band together to take and keep what they could to survive. That leaves room for a man like Doyle to consolidate power.
Callaghan is well written, and his dilemma works for the story. Blackmailers never quit, and Callaghan chooses to bargain with the devil to get out from under this. Interesting how his wife goes along with the plan.
I think it's great to include Irish gangs. Dennis Lehane writes them well, and his novel, The Given Day touches on the Irish getting into city machine politics, good stuff you can steal for Forge City Noir.
I knew a lot of Scots settled in Canada. I can hear it in the eastern dialect, but ignorant me didn't think about the Irish. Of course they immigrated, and like everywhere else, they got the nasty jobs. Plenty of good story material in there.
"The Red Line" was advertised as a three-part story, but with the way part 3 ends, it looks like you could stretch this out. Part of me is curious as to how Doyle will use Callaghan once he's mayor.
I'll be posting excerpts from my 1981 Cold War Era novel, IN THE WEST. Two families escape East Germany through Czechoslovakia to cross into Bavaria. I'm wondering if I ought to do something with my hard-boiled ILLEGITIMATE, and THE SENATOR'S WIFE.
Thanks, Tim. The Red Line was another older story I'd originally published on Medium that I broke up here into three parts, and you're right about the way it ended--like it just cut off.
The same thing has happened here as what happened with Judas Plot: new ideas came as I refined and polished the parts. I've got an a few ideas that I'm going use to stretch things out for this story.
I need to stop advertising the size of the stories in my notes if these old stories keep delivering new material! 😊
"The Red Line" could certainly grow into a bigger story, because crooked city politics makes for great fiction. Take a look at Dennis Lehane's The Given Day for the dirt on Boston city politics. The protagonist is the black sheep of a prominent family, his father high up in the police force (who later has a big fall - politics).
I can see you knitting "The Red Line," "The Judas Plot," and maybe more together into a novel-length story of life in Forge City. No doubt your jewel thief has professionally crossed paths with Doyle's organization, or he may have good reason soon enough.