An Introduction to A PRICE TO PAY by MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI

Mea culpa. I’ve only been to Dublin twice. The first time was a fleeting visit which involved taking a cab from the airport to the railway station and then a train to County Westmeath to work with J. P. Donleavy on a book he was writing for the publishing house I then worked for. We completed our edit discussions, had smoked salmon sandwiches and I got back to Dublin around midnight to find my hotel reservation had been lost. The next occasion, two decades later, was for New Year’s Eve and I inevitably made my way to Temple Bar. Felt like the right things to do, even though I’m a non-drinker (purely taste; no principles involved). So, I’m no expert but the spirit of the city did somehow connect with me.

I’m also a die-hard fan of the way that traditional Irish music has influenced so much of modern folk and rock ‘n’ roll in strange and wonderful ways that speak to my heart and guts. So, when the invitation to write this story came about, I knew it had to be a ballad of some sorts. A dark ballad, with death and soul heartbreak at its centre. I was working on a novel about an involuntary private eye seeking a missing young Italian girl, a story that took both characters to Paris and Rome, amongst other places, and couldn’t get the theme out of my mind. So the new tale subconsciously became a variation on this story I couldn’t escape, albeit with both characters somewhat changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty.

As for the Morrígan, I needed an angel of death, and three for the price of one was a temptation I could not resist. I willingly succumbed.

Image by Greg Staples

Edited by Gerard Brennan & Mike Stone

Requiems for the Departed
Irish Crime, Irish Myths.

Requiems for the Departed can now be pre-ordered on the Morrigan Books website.