Blood for Blood

In 1949, on the night of their birth, Robert "Red" Donovan and his twin Sean are placed in an orphanage run by the Catholic Church, and given the name Dock. Aged nine, Red witnesses the kicking to death of Sean by a Christian Brother. At his twin's deathbed, he vows to one day return his body to their birthplace for reburial. Red's life is consumed by this vow. It is his driving force to the exclusion of all else. His family, and a garda constable Winters who put the twins into "care," will be made to pay. Aged 21, Red Dock kidnaps Winters' newborn daughter and leaves her on the steps of an orphanage to be raised by nuns who name her Lucille Kells. But this is not his revenge. Not yet. Revenge will come 22 years later, after Lucille has left the nuns. A powerful novel about monstrous by-products of a terrible system that will make the reader shiver, grieve, and think.

"It's no mean feat for an Irish crime novelist to stand out from the (ever-growing) Celt crime-writing crowd. Yet Seamus Smyth's Blood for Blood succeeds in being something fresh and far darker than the rest." —Craig McDonald, author, the Hector Lassiter series

"Crude, brutal and appallingly funny, Blood for Blood is like nothing else you’ll read this year." —Irish Times

“Blood for Blood may be bleak, but it’s relentlessly original” —Irish Independent

"Gripping and darkly compelling." —Undiscovered Scotland

"Cross me bedraggled heart, Blood for Blood just blew me to smithereens. Unbelivable book. Ferocious. Terryfying. Beautifully compassionate. And oh so wonderfully written." —Ken Bruen, author, the Jack Taylor series 

"Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would, especially if you’re after a something little different. Clever, intricate and full of dark wit." —Damp Pebbles

J.M. Smyth has worked as a landscape gardener, antiques restorer, furniture maker, equestrian gear manufacturer, horse breeder, and a tomato inspector. His first novel, Quinn, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger.