Irish author Ken Bruen, who published more than 50 books, including the Jack Taylor crime novel series, died March 29, the Irish Times reported. He was 74. His honors include winning the Shamus Award for Best Crime Novel of the year, Macavity Award, and Barry Award, as well as being a two-time Edgar Award finalist. The Taylor books were adapted for a TV series shot around Galway, his native city. His novel London Boulevard was made into a film starring Keira Knightley and Colin Farrell in 2010.
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Bruen spent 25 years traveling the world before he began writing in the mid-1990s, the Connacht Tribune reported, adding that as an English teacher, he worked in South Africa, Japan, and South America, where he once spent four months in a Brazilian jail. Ultimately, however, Bruen "lived and worked in Galway--and so much of his work was set in the streets, alleyways and pubs of Galway."
Noting that Bruen's work "was tailormade for the big screen on many fronts," the Tribune wrote that in addition to the Jack Taylor novels, he also wrote a series featuring London police detective Inspector Brant. His Brant and Roberts novel Blitz was adapted into a 2011 film starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, and Aidan Gillen. Bruen's 2014 novel Merrick was adapted for TV as the series 100 Code, starring Dominic Monaghan and Michael Nyqvist.
Otto Penzler, founder of Mysterious Press and owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, posted on social media: "I'm broken-hearted to learn that Ken Bruen, my dear friend for more than 30 years, has died. In addition to being one of the most talented and original writers I've ever read, he was also one of the best people I've been privileged to know. Unfailingly kind and generous, he had a heart as big as the universe. Fifteen years ago, when the bookshop was struggling mightily, I had the idea to publish bibliomysteries in the store to help as fundraisers. The first person I asked to write one was Ken because I knew he would say yes. After he delivered the manuscript to his most recent novel, Galway's Edge, to the Mysterious Press, he said that it was his final Jack Taylor. I've been pressing him to keep on, that he couldn't let his superb, memorable, tough but poignant character die. It seems that Ken may have known more than he let on."
Charlie Byrne's Bookshop in Galway City posted on Instagram: "We were shocked and saddened today at Charlie Byrne's to hear the news that our great friend and pioneering Irish crime writer, Ken Bruen, died last evening. Ken, the author of the series featuring iconic Galway Detective, Jack Taylor, has been a great friend of the shop since we first opened our doors in 1989. He was a great crime writer, (over 45 novels over a prolific career) and a great and generous encourager of younger talent. He will be sadly missed. RIP Ken."