O'Bryan's back!

This blog post is a little different from my usual. Laurence O'Bryan, an excellent Irish writer whose first books, The Istanbul Puzzle and The Jerusalem Puzzle have both been bestsellers, is bringing out the third in his series, The Manhattan Puzzle, today. You heard it here first, folks, as the man said. So Laurence is guesting on my blog today – something I don't usually do, but, hey, why not be different occasionally? I should really be posting an old favourire, and I intended this to be the very enjoyable Hazel Holt, but that will have to be next time. So here's a new writer, instead. (I blogged about him a while ago, if you remember?) So take it away, Larry!

The Themes of The Manhattan Puzzle

By Laurence O’Bryan

What has been hidden in Manhattan by the most powerful people on earth?

What would you do to a Manhattan banker who treated ordinary people like slaves?

What magic is buried under Manhattan that allows it to rise again from anything the world throws at it?

These are the themes of The Manhattan Puzzle. The story sees Sean and Isabel (my characters from The Istanbul Puzzle and The Jerusalem Puzzle) reunited in Manhattan at the headquarters of one of the world’s largest banks, BXH. There’s been some grisly murders, and now the plot takes a new twist. The contents of the book they found in Istanbul are revealed.

My personal journey with this story grew out of my disgust at the financial crisis that has brought many so low. I am interested in the myths and the beliefs of those who value money above everything.

But The Manhattan Puzzle is about other things too. For instance, what would you do if your partner didn’t come home one night? And what would you think if the police turned up at your door the next day looking for him?

Relationships are under stress everywhere, because of the demands placed on us by our jobs, but few of us will face what Isabel has to face when Sean goes missing.

There is violence from the start in The Manhattan Puzzle too, but the opening has a woman inflicting it on a man. I am tired of reading about men inflicting sexual violence on women. I think it’s time for the handcuffs to swop wrists. And they certainly do in The Manhattan Puzzle. You can download the first chapter here as a pdf. 

But don’t get me wrong. I love Manhattan. It’s a city in a snow globe of dollar bills. So look in your bookstore and on your E-readers and order it too, if you want.

To order The Manhattan Puzzle click here.

Or to visit my website click here.

And thanks for reading this and for buying The Manhattan Puzzle, if you do. I hope you find it entertaining and the themes interesting.



Thanks , Larry! And if you're checking out Laurence O'Bryan's books on Amazon, you might like to have a look at mine too. (Belfast Girls, Danger Danger, Angel in Flight, Angel in Belfast, The Seanachie: Tales of Old Seamus and my YA book, Lady Molly & The Snapper. Lots there to enjoy!)

God Bless and see you soon!