Murder In Maspalomas 2 - the wait is coming to an end!

Murder in Maspalomas is a crime fiction story about an Irish couple that get involved with a drugs gang who are chasing them for the debt, owed by one of their friends. They flee Dublin and end up in Maspalomas in the Canary Islands.

I'm sure you had the same thing happen to you in the past. Well, I wrote this book back in 2017 and I've been put under serious pressure by some of my readers to write a follow-up book and see what happened to the characters after this first book ended. There were a few loose ends that needed tieing up if you follow my drift.

So I am pleased to say that very soon I will start writing the follow-up.

If you fancy a page-turning, amusing, exciting summer read then look no further this book will deliver. There is never a dull page, never pages lost on descriptive prose, never wasteful dialogue or pointless action. This book tells the story at pace and delivers characters you'll love and hate in equal measure.

Look inside if you don't believe me!

Pick up a copy before it reverts to full price !!

Murder In Maspalomas - online purchases
Click here for the UK Kindle version
Click here for the US Kindle version
Click here for the UK Paperback version
Click here for the US Paperback version

Murder In Maspalomas now in the Wexford Town shops

I'm just back from a Wexford Local Author's night of readings in the Red Book Shop in
Selskin House, St Peter's Square, Slippery Green, Wexford, Y35 ER2F  in Wexford town. It was an epic night with no less than fourteen authors attending! They covered so many different genres of writing that there was something for everyone.

Wexford Local Authors at the Red Book Shop 

From poetry to biographies, crime, musical history, local history, exercise books for MS sufferers, collections of short stories, readings from scripts. The shop was bulging with readers and they sat for almost two hours as they were bombarded with words.

My extract that was the second last reading of the night was extremely well received and I loved to hear the laughter, at the right moments! Murder In Maspalomas is the opposite of a dark, menacing read. I wrote it so that the humour and the drama of the story went hand in hand.

Mark Rice reading from Murder In Maspalomas

What starts as a story of how someone tries to make a legitimate buck by importing from China the kid's number 1 Christmas toy for that year, becomes a terrifying game of hide and seek as an unwitting couple ae pursued by a bunch of violent drug gangsters seeking to collect on a debt.

Murder In Maspalomas 

Murder In Maspalomas 
There are copies to buy in the Red Book Shop and the Book Centre in
Wexford Town

Murder In Maspalomas - online purchases
Click here for the UK Kindle version
Click here for the US Kindle version
Click here for the UK Paperback version
Click here for the US Paperback version

Murder On Board

Luke's previous cruise experiences have left him battered and bruised. This time it's going to be different. No more rolling over and just taking the crap. No more instances where he becomes a human doormat. No more bottling it up. No more saying and doing nothing. Luke is a different man, only nobody knows it..................yet.

Murder On Board
There are copies to buy in the Red Book Shop and the Book Centre in
Wexford Town

Murder On Board - online purchases
Click here for the US Kindle version 

Click here for the UK Kindle version

Click here for the US Paperback version

Click here for the UK Paperback version

Murder in the Canary Islands

Murder is a rare event, especially in a place of stunning beauty and laid back lifestyle. Maspalomas in Gran Canaria is such a place and into the town on a chilly January month come a bunch of people intent on turning this holiday island into a mortuary, if that's what it takes to collect on a debt.

Beach and lighthouse in Maspalomas

A 5 Star adventure story that takes you from a wet cold Dublin city to the sunshine and warmth of the Canary Islands. Enjoy a bit of escapism and spend a few hours with this page-turning novel.

To buy Murder in Maspalomas follow the links below: 
Click here for the UK Kindle version
Click here for the US Kindle version
Click here for the UK Paperback version
Click here for the US Paperback version

Murder in Maspalomas goes live on Kindle

I dropped into one of my favourite book shops in Wexford Town and signed some copies of my two crime novels. So if anyone wants an entertaining page-turning read then you need look no further. The Book Centre is just doors away from Boots and Pennys/ Primark.

If you want a Kindle copy of either book click o the links below and if you live further afield then click on the links below for a paperback copy.

Murder in Maspalomas links
Click here for the UK Kindle version
Click here for the US Kindle version
Click here for the UK Paperback version
Click here for the US Paperback version

Murder On Board links
Click here for the US Kindle version

Click here for the UK Kindle version

Click here for the US Paperback version

Click here for the UK Paperback version

"Murder On Board" released today

New fiction novel "Murder On Board" is released today 1st June 2019. 
I thought I'd share with you the feedback from one of the Beta Readers who I think summed the book  up nicely with the following words:

"I really enjoyed this book. Some of the references had me chuckling.  

I thought you had really strong characters and it was a pleasure getting to know them.

I also enjoyed the information you shared on all the places you visited.

The only negative thought I had was it seemed a little long. Almost too much information but after thinking about it. I don't see how you could leave anything out. 

All in all, I'd give you 5-stars for this creation."

Thank you, whoever you were, I couldn't have hoped for a better review!

Click below to purchase a copy:

✦Amazon US  Paperback version $9.99

✦Amazon US Kindle $1.25  

✦Amazon UK Kindle 99 pence  

✦Amazon UK Paperback £8.99 

"Murder On Board" goes on pre-order

🧳°•.✶.•°°•.✶.•°🧳°•.✶.•°°•.✶.•°🧳
✶.•° ░C░O░M░I░N░G░ °•.✶
.•°°•.✶ ░S░O░O░N░ ✶.•°°•.
🧳°•.✶.•°°•.✶.•°🧳°•.✶.•°°•.✶.•°🧳

Murder On Board my new crime fiction thriller goes on pre-order today and at a special Pre-Order price of  99p/99c.  Please follow this link to avail of this price - https://geni.us/FxaA8

It is scheduled for release on 2nd May 2019 via Junction Publishing.

Holidays bring out the best and worst in people. Taking an adult only cruise holiday to the sunny Caribbean in mid-winter seemed a great idea.

What could go wrong?

Join Luke and his wife on the cruise of a lifetime which is memorable for all the wrong reasons as passengers die and tensions rise.

New Crime Fiction for 2019

"Murder In Maspalomas" an Irish crime fiction novel with 5 star reviews

Welcome to 2019 and I have to tell you I am coming under serious pressure to write a follow up to "Murder In Maspalomas". I was backed into a corner recently by a forceful reader who wanted to know what happened next! It's fantastic that the story came across as real to many readers and I have to confess that the story was entirely fictional, even though the locations and some of the incidents were based on real places and real events. 

Writers don't live in a bubble and so we feed off the real world. Quite often reality is stranger than fiction so its hard sometimes to come up with the fiction that's stranger than the reality of life itself.

But I'm trying to believe me!

Give an Irish Crime fiction 5 star "Murder in Maspalomas" novel for Christmas

Murder In Maspalomas 

Give a Kindle book for Christmas. For your avid crime reader get this 5-star novel. They can read it on Christmas Day. This guaranteed page-turner starts in December in a freezing Dublin but quickly moves to the Canary Islands when an ordinary God-fearing couple have to flee a Dublin inner city drugs gang who are chasing down a debt. 

Mark Rice signs book deal with Junction Publishing

I'm delighted to announce that Junction Publishing are publishing my next book "Murder On Board" will a release date of May 2019.  Get a taste of the action by reading "Murder In Maspalomas" which delivers an enjoyable crime thriller in a page-turning style. 

Valentines Day Irish crime novel is the perfect gift

I've just revisited my Irish murder mystery crime book and its looking better than ever! If you are looking to give a crime novel with a hint of romance and without the gory self indulgent gore that accompanies many gritty novels, then this book  Murder in Maspalomas is the book for you.

With the chill of winter all around Europe Murder in Maspalomas transports you, as it did its main characters from a freezing Ireland to the sunny climes of the Canary Islands. Enjoy the warmth and humor bursting from the pages as a dangerous game of cat and mouse takes you across the island. Love blossoms in the most unlikely of circumstances!

Flip open the "Inside the Book" tab on this site to read a slice of the story.
The multiple 5 star reviews don't lie  

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.

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:

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.

• OverDrive
• Kobo 
• Barnes & Noble

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

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

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? 

 Bye the bye Murder in Maspalomas is located in the Canary Islands where they enjoy 300 days of sun so escape now to a book that delivers crime with a splash of sunshine.

Murder in Maspalomas available now!

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

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.

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!”