Orange Rhymes With Everything
A compelling and highly original debut novel, Orange Rhymes With Everything vividly portrays a little-examined part of Irish life. Adrian McKinty uses the parallel stories of two outsiders - a girl and a criminal with a penchant for violence - to explore the sense of alienation experienced by Protestants in Northern Ireland, a world overshadowed by religious and political tensions.
Set in the 1980s during the four days before Halloween - the end of the Celtic year - Orange Rhymes With Everything centers around a teenage girl living in Ireland and an Irish man being held in a New York City mental hospital in connection with violent acts. He seems destined to cross paths with the girl, who may be his estranged daughter.
Adrian McKinty
Adrian McKinty writes crime fiction where the ordinary collides with the unforgiving, and the tension never lets go. Born in Belfast in 1968, he grew up amid the Troubles, a backdrop of political unrest and divided loyalties that quietly shaped his sense of morality and justice. Those early experiences of a society on edge became the heartbeat of his fiction, giving his novels a texture that’s both authentic and unsettling.
He first gained attention with the Sean Duffy series, beginning with The Cold Cold Ground, which follows a Catholic detective navigating the perilous landscape of 1980s Northern Ireland. McKinty’s work is defined by its moral complexity, unflinching realism, and darkly intelligent humor. He doesn’t just tell crime stories; he immerses readers in the pressures of a world where every choice carries weight and consequences are inevitable.
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