Tuesday, December 19, 2017

99 pence 5 star thriller to use as a stocking filler

Give the perfect Christmas gift of a thrilling read for just 99 cents! Yes "Murder in Maspalomas" is for sale this Christmas week at just 99 cents. Give the reader in your life a Christmas thrill with a story that starts in freezing Ireland but ends up in the balmy Canary Islands. A book that drives onwards and dispenses with the fluffy bits to keep the pages turning your gift will transfix your recipient. Make a reader happy this Christmas and buy a copy of "Murder in Maspalomas" an Amazon and Kindle bestseller.

 Murder in Maspalomas



Friday, December 1, 2017

Winter Chill and how to escape it

Today as we experience freezing conditions in Dublin, Ireland my mind escapes to the Canary Islands and the wonderful holiday we took there in Ireland's last cold snap. Within 6 hours we were transported from deep winter to balmy summer climate of the Gran Canaria. For the next fortnight, it was where's the suncream, pass me my book and can you get me another ice-cream?

Well if you have the time and a few hundred euro you can visit your travel agent or book online to stay in a hotel or go self -catering in apartments all over the island. However, if time and money don't allow you to escape right now then settle in for a few hours of relaxing reading with my crime novel Murder in Maspalomas available on Kindle, Amazon and Smashwords right now!

To get a flavour of the book please click on the tab "Look Inside Book" and discover one of its characters, Maureen, hard at work tracking down our hunted couple hiding out in Maspalomas.

For a Christmas read or a present for a crime reader you know this novel is the perfect stocking filler.


Of course you can buy it online at any of the sites and links below:
Amazon.com have it in paperback
Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader, original document.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

V by Very Blog Awards Ireland 2017 - Murder in Maspalomas now makes the shortlist!!


Delighted and stunned to find this Murder on Maspalomas website has made the shortlist of Irish blogs for 2017 in the  Corporate Blog > Books & Literature section. There is one further round to reach, the Finalist round so fingers crossed we can make it through. 

The books a cracking tale of an ordinary couple being hunted down by a deadly Dublin drugs gang. Who says crime doesn't pay!

To purchase a copy:
For UK readers £2.32 Buy your copy now by clicking here.
For US readers $2.99  Buy your copy by clicking here

Monday, September 11, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas - a 2017 new crime novel proves a hit on Kindle

The release of "Murder in Maspalomas" in June 2017 is proving Mark Rice to be a writer to look out for. Comparisons with Tana French are justified in that the story kicks off in Dublin Ireland and involved a Dublin drugs gang that our middle aged couple falls foul of. They flee the country and unfortunately for them, the gang follow them in hot pursuit. A deadly game of hide and seek then unfolds over a three day period. Several unexpected twists of plot occur before the story reaches a satisfying end.

Kindle Book Reviews - five 5 Star Reviews in Kindle, 3 UK and 2 USA  with more being added daily!

This week the book entered the Top 500 Irish crime novels in Kindle
For UK readers £2.32 Buy your copy now by clicking here.
For US readers $2.99  Buy your copy by clicking here

Friday, September 1, 2017

Introducing Sheila Forsey and her novel "Mending Lace"

Happy September All. I thought it would be a great idea to start the month by introducing a neighbour of mine who has just published her first novel. She lives just down the road from me and on my regular 6.5 k run route.Let me introduce my good neighbour and talented writer Sheila Forsey. Sheila's debut novel, Mending Lace, was just released on Amazon yesterday. And it has already received its first 5 star review.


Mending Lace: A thrilling mystery of family secrets and second chances.


A story of love, loss and redemption, Mending Lace is a wonderfully woven story of people coming to terms with who they are, what they want, and all they have learned along the way. 

I'm sure you're thinking there must be something in the County Wexford water that causes such a clutch of writers to live in close proximity. Carmel Harrington is also located  nearby. Maybe it's the quiet sunny countryside that gets the imagination going or better still the the closeness of Morriscastle's white sandy beach where you can dip your toe in the warm Irish sea or could it be the interesting local characters that you meet in the counties towns and villages. 

Oh forget all that. I'll put you out of your misery - its really the long dark winter nights which run on for nearly six bloody months!! 

Sure what else have you to do but sit writing by the log fire? 



Wednesday, August 23, 2017

V by Very Blog Awards Ireland 2017 - Murder in Maspalomas makes the longlist!!

Delighted to announce that this website has been included in the longlist for the  V by Very Blog Awards Ireland 2017 . There are another two rounds of judging before the Finalists are announced. 


Are you sure this isn't a Tana French book?

This was the question asked of me recently and I said "No" and then to compound my ignorance I added "Who is Tana French

After that conversation with a well read friend of mine I walked away and looked her details up on Amazon.

Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990. She trained as an actress at Trinity College Dublin and worked in theatre, film and voiceover. She is the author of IN THE WOODS (winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Macavity and IVCA Clarion awards), THE LIKENESS, FAITHFUL PLACE, BROKEN HARBOUR (winner of the LA Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller and the Irish Book Award for Best Crime Fiction) and THE SECRET PLACE. She lives in Dublin with her husband and two children.

So amazingly her work on unsolved mysteries and the activities of the Dublin Murder Squad as they tackled urban crime is world renowned. 

I was using a keyword search provided by WordStream and I entered my http://murderinmaspalomas.blogspot.ie/ website and up came a list of 150 keywords with her name Tana French as the second most appropriate keyword for my site. What I find astonishing is the lack of any mention of "Maspalomas" as a keyword for my site. 

Well news to me....... but maybe she and I aren't that different if you discount the "In the Woods Dublin Murder Squad: 1" being a winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Macavity and the IVCA Clarion awards and the huge global sales that followed.

Weird or what? Below is the list abbreviated to the top 10 words.

Keyword Match Type Search Volume
unsolved mysteries PHRASE 90500
tana french PHRASE 22200
mystery novels PHRASE 5400
tana french books PHRASE 2900
irish authors PHRASE 2400
arthur conan doyle sherlock holmes PHRASE 1600
james crumley PHRASE 1600
arthur conan PHRASE 1300
roger ackroyd PHRASE 1000



Monday, August 14, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas gets a special cover for Smashwords release



New cover just for Smashwords and its related sites and a new price of $1.99 

What do you think ? Better or worse than the original?


Murder in Maspalomas is a novel which starts in Dublin where Matt, an ordinary contract accountant finds himself contacted by the Sullivans, a notorious drug gang who are chasing a debt.

The gang are led by Anto, a thirty something who came from a broken family, he broke it. His enforcer, Ciaran is his second in command and a right nasty piece of work who carries a piece wherever he goes. Rocky, in his early twenties wants to be Ciaran and wants to get tooled up. He carries some menace, is unpredictable and is watching and waiting his moment to slip into Ciaran's shoes. Frisby is the teenage runner for the gang. He carries drugs, messages and weapons without question. He's street wise but has a lot to learn about life. This trip will test his mettle and prove his worth to the gang.

Matt is married to Louise and together they ordinarily live in West Dublin in an apartment block on the fourth floor and life is the normal type of living, days at work and bills to pay. Once the drugs gang trace his whereabouts and seek a sum of money Matt hasn't got things get hot in Dublin and force Matt into skipping the country. Trouble is, Louise is totally unaware of the gang and the debt. Matt will get round to telling her but just not now. She believes she's just going on a holiday brought about by her incessant moaning about Irish winters. How wrong could she be? 

Other characters enter the fray throughout the book and Fran, Anto's girl and Rodriquez's an old pal of Matt's play pivotal roles in the story as it develops. You'll just have to read the book to find out who does what to whom and who lives and who dies.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas – Kindle Sale $1.99

It’s happening now and for a short time only, my   5 Star novel Murder in Maspalomas” is available at the lowest price ever of $1.99 or its equivalent in other currencies eg £1.43! It’s a quick sale prompted by ReadFree.ly who are featuring the book in their mail out on the 14th and 15th of August.
So buy a copy and pass a few hours away discovering the trials and tribulations  of a man and his wife pursued 3,000 miles by a deadly drugs gang to a holiday paradise where a deadly game of hide and seek ensues. There are murderous encounters and a hint of romance in a page turning story taking you across the island of Gran Canaria.
The ReadFree.ly  website  has a web ranking making it, at 299,139 in the top most popular websites in the USA and their aim is to deliver the best books at the cheapest prices for their subscribers. So they said to me, we really like the book but you’ve got to make it cheaper. Well, as you know I’m an accountant so I crunched the numbers, took off all my royalties, switched to a cheaper milk for my cereal, cut out meat for a week, switched the electricity off overnight and cancelled my holiday in the sun. “OK” I said- “lets do it!”
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073B2XQLX/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498490827&sr=8-2&keywords=murder+in+maspalomas



Friday, August 4, 2017

Wexford County library stock "Murder in Maspalomas"

Please allow a few days for the book to be distributed into the local libraries but yes, the Wexford County Library service have reviewed the book and ordered copies. That follows Byrnes Book Shops who have branches in Wexford town, Gorey and Enniscorthy also stocking the book this week.



Byrne’s Books now stock Murder in Maspalomas

Byrne’s Books & Toys are one of Ireland’s leading retailers of books, toys, gifts, arts & crafts and stationery and have shops in Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford town. As of this week it now has copies of "Murder in Maspalomas" by Mark Rice. 

Visit their website to find their contact details and store addresses

For Kindle and other soft copies please click here

Friday, July 28, 2017

New Crime Fiction novel rides into Gorey Town


Zozimus-Bookshop in Gorey Co. Wexford

"Murder in Maspalomas" my crime fiction novel is now available in Gorey and in John Wyse Jacksons bookshop, Zozimus, at the back of the Book Cafe at 86 Main Street Gorey. He's placed it on the table covered by new and second hand books. Pop in, grab a coffee and a summer read."Thanks John"

There are over 40,000 books in the shop. Most are uncatalogued and usually sell for under €10. Fiction paperbacks tend to cost under €5.
He also stocks rare first editions, illustrated albums, collectible editions of classic children’s books and other curiosa to be found here. Little of particular Irish interest has yet been added to this list, though it is probably our strongest suit.

The shop website   http://www.zozimusbookshop.com/


Shops Facebook page


Thursday, July 20, 2017

Book hits the shops

“Murder in Maspalomas” in Readers Paradise Bookshop in 19 Selskar Street Wexford Town, Co. Wexford


Today it’s made the front window display and in bookshops in Wexford Town! Tomorrow it will be Enniscorthy.  Gorey and Dublin to follow in the coming days. Soon it’ll be hard to miss!
Of course you can buy it online at any of the sites and links below:
Amazon.com have it in paperback
Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document.
Do take advantage of the Smashwords coupon offer for July and get reading this murder story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase 


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Pictures of Gran Canaria

The Maspalomas Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse at the southern end of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary archipelago. Wikipedia
AddressPlaza del Faro, s/n, 35100 Maspalomas, Las Palmas, Spain
Height56 m
Light sourcemains power

Maspalomas walkway in February

Maspalomas cacti very prevalent as fab sunshine 300 days of the year 

Ship in dry dock in Puerto de Mogán




Just some of the sights in Gran Canaria, a beautiful island in the Canary Islands off the African coast. Easy to see why I chose to to locate my murderous drugs gang on this island. Murder with a splash of sunshine. Actually its a light and quick moving read and perfect for a holiday in your chair by the pool.



Monday, July 17, 2017

Publishing reality

Murder in Maspalomas - out now


The reality of publishing my own novel only hit home when I answered the door to a courier. I opened the labelled box and there it was. A large brown cardboard box of books, my books, 50 of them, each 325 pages long, bar coded, ISBN numbered and in pristine condition. In the coming days I’ll be visiting local towns and their book shops and I believe I can place a few copies in each. Right now I’m learning what self publishing is all about.


“Murder in Maspalomas” is published online now as follows:
Kindle have it
Amazon.com have it in paperback
Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document.
Do take advantage of the Smashwords coupon offer for July and get reading this murder story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase



Monday, July 10, 2017

Beautiful Maspalomas Gran Canaria

The island of Gran Canaria had a population of 847,000 in 2015 and is the second most populated island in the Canary Islands.

Of course the resident island population is boosted by tourists, 3.5 million of them, who arrive throughout the year in search of sunshine. The winter months (October – March) are busy with largely pensioner and older adults visiting the island. The summer season (April – September) is however open season for all ages and its then that the police force is stretched to its limits.

Follow the islands Serous Crime Unit as they react to an Irish drugs gangs arrival on the island. Murder in Maspalomasis in a sale so for one month only it’s available at $2.99 at Smashwords website and can be purchased in numerous formats ( epub, mobi(Kindle), Irf, Online Reader and pdb. 


Sonnerland Fun Fair




Puerto de Mogán



Maspalomas
You can “Look Inside” the book and read up to 15% of the content.

Good reviews received. Its a perfect light Summer holiday read!

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas - meet the characters

Murder in Maspalomas is a crime fiction novel which starts in Dublin where Matt, an ordinary contract accountant finds himself contacted by the Sullivans, a notorious drug gang who are chasing a debt.

The gang are led by Anto, a thirty something who came from a broken family, he broke it. His enforcer, Ciaran is his second in command and a right nasty piece of work who carries a piece wherever he goes. Rocky, in his early twenties wants to be Ciaran and wants to get tooled up. He carries some menace, is unpredictable and is watching and waiting his moment to slip into Ciaran's shoes. Frisby is the teenage runner for the gang. He carries drugs, messages and weapons without question. He's street wise but has a lot to learn about life. This trip will test his mettle and prove his worth to the gang.

Matt is married to Louise and together they ordinarily live in West Dublin in an apartment block on the fourth floor and life is the normal type of living, days at work and bills to pay. Once the drugs gang trace his whereabouts and seek a sum of money Matt hasn't got things get hot in Dublin and force Matt into skipping the country. Trouble is, Louise is totally unaware of the gang and the debt. Matt will get round to telling her but just not now. She believes she's just going on a holiday brought about by her incessant moaning about Irish winters. How wrong could she be?

Other characters enter the fray throughout the book and Fran, Anto's girl and Rodriquez's an old pal of Matt's play pivotal roles in the story as it develops. You'll just have to read the book to find out who does what to whom and who lives and who dies.
Maspalomas Hotel sun loungers in February



Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas - now in Barnes & Noble, Kobo,

Murder in Maspalomas, my first crime novel has now been granted a wider distribution and is available in the following stores and websites by just following the links:

It's also available in iBook format

Take advantage of the coupon offer for July only and buy this entertaining murder mystery story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas- July Sale

It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. This can mean only one thing: It’s time for the 9th annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale!
The sale kicked off last Saturday July 1 and runs through to an end of day July 31. I’ve agreed to include “Murder in Maspalomas in the sale so for one month only it’s available at $2.99 at Smashwords website and can be purchased in numerous formats ( epub, mobi(Kindle), Irf, Online Reader and pdb.
You can “Look Inside” the book and read up to 15% of the content.
Good reviews received. Its a perfect light Summer holiday read!

Friday, June 30, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas feedback

You'll see from my early reader reviews (they have their own page on this site) that the book is getting a positive reception. I've also had feedback from readers who haven't completed a formal review posting but felt strongly enough to email me with their kind words. 

Make up your own mind up by visiting any of the AmazonKindle and Smaswords websites and having a "look inside".
read Chapter 8 which is provided here on this site to give you a flavour of the writing. It's where Anto, the drugs gang leader, gets a lucky break whilst in a lift and in conversation with an old lady. 

Do take advantage of the coupon offer for July and get reading this murder story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase






Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas 25% off coupon valid now

Crime Novel

A crime novel that starts in Dublin, Ireland but with tension building shifts to the Canary Islands, off the African coast . Matt had a deal go bad and had to get out of the country fast so he took a holiday in the far away Canary Islands gambling that the criminal gang wouldn’t follow for such a small debt. How wrong could he be? 

For just one month from today until 28th July 2017 this 54,300 word crime novel is available at 25% off the list price in Smashwords of $3.99 so you can buy it today for $2.99.

To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase

Smashwords publish this book in the following formats: epub  mobi (Kindle)  pdf  lrf  pdb txt  Online Reader


Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas is released

Irish Crime Fiction
Hot off the press!!

This story of an ordinary guy that gets dragged into the world of crime and menace shows just how easy it is to slip into that parallel world which co-exists with our own and which we are normally completely oblivious to.

Ahead of schedule, this new crime murder mystery novel "Murder in Maspalomas" is now available to buy at the following sites (click on sites) and in the following formats:

Kindle have it

Amazon.com have it in paperback

Amazon.co.uk have it too! in paperback

Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document

All that's missing is an audio book and that's in the pipeline as we speak!

Remember that in Kindle and Smashwords you can "look inside" the book and read the first few chapters. I will be publishing extracts on this site over the coming days and weeks to give you a flavour of the writing.

Review Comments so far:







Sunday, June 25, 2017

Murder in Maspalomas crime novel - how it came to be written

The book  virtually wrote itself. The holiday in Maspalomas last year was memorable in that the sunshine was high in the sky in January on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria while back in Europe rain, snow and storms were the order of the day.  The island and in particular Maspalomas gets 300 days of sunshine annually and it was sun every day of our stay.

I felt uplifted just being on the island in our winter season and set about keeping a daily diary recording what we saw and did. I then created a fantasy world of crime and mayhem that layered on top of my real island experiences. My imagination ran riot as I superimposed on the island the arrival of a drugs gang from inner city Dublin and their relentless search for their prey.  I can assure you that I saw not a single act of criminality during our stay. Not so much a piece of paper being dropped on the street.

The islands occupants keep the place spotless, sandy beaches, cafes and towns and the tropical flowers and plants are colourful and planted throughout the towns and villages. The hotels and self catering apartments and bungalow complexes where some of my books main events occur, are in reality, very clean and well managed. The value for money shines through too.

The prices are very reasonable, of course, depending on where you go. Bring a spare suitcase. The alcohol is served in Spanish measures and is tax free so extremely cheap for Irish and other Europeans. On top of all that they have Lidl and Aldi supermarket branches so what is cheap anyway is cheaper still in those shops. I'm not saying you  buy on price alone but a litre of wine was less than .90 cents in the Lidl! I'll definitely be returning to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands next winter.

Amazon have now created a link to my book so click here to preview the finished article which is officially launched next Friday 30th June 2017.


Pool in Maspalomas bungalow complex