Description

Winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award

Set in the Celtic Tiger (or boom) years of Ireland, The Maker’s Name brings readers up close and personal with three members of the Considine family, Malachi and his sons Rudi and Gus. When Malachi dies in a ‘freak accident’ this patriarch and founder of Hawthorne Meats is barely cold before Rudi attempts to take control of the meatpacking business and steal Gus’s share of the inheritance. With butchers’ knives drawn and treachery in play every which way, this real-life inspired and suspenseful novel entertains and shocks in equal measure.

Drawing on the author’s extensive experience in business, and inspired by a real life beef processing empire which was found in 1994 to be engaged in tax evasion and other illegal deeds, The Maker’s Name is not for the faint hearted, or vegetarians.

With its power struggle between brothers Rudi and Gus the catalyst for a whirlwind of illegalities, treachery and corruption, this impressive debut novelist juggles his numerous sub-plots, twists and turns (including many real -life incidents that impacted Ireland’s economy following the 2008-2010 financial crash), with the finesse of a seasoned professional.

The Maker’s Name is a high-octane read that explores two timeless truths: when money flows, it brings out the very worst in individuals; and when somebody dies, the vultures quickly circle.

Synopsis:

Rudi and Gus Considine’s father, Malachi, has died in a ‘freak accident’. But is there such a thing as a freak accident? When Rudi attempts to grab Gus’s inheritance there’s a real prospect of human blood appearing on the Hawthorne Meats slaughterhouse floor. Enter Cosgrave, a solicitor with expensive tastes, and Toomarood, the banker with an eye to making money outside of his day job. Mix in the ‘free’ energy device, after experts have stated that the promoters are suffering from long-term, severe self-delusion. Does this all make up a catastrophe waiting to happen?

How will Gus’s childhood friend, Raymond Quinn, his partner, Kaarina, and their children, be able to deal with him being placed under an exit ban in China because of his part in a pyramid scheme that has defrauded Chinese small investors? Is Gus really the nice guy everyone thinks he is? His activities as a ‘celebrity butcher’ might suggest otherwise. Does Rudi go too far by defrauding Quinn senior and his business partner through the use of a shadow company?

Is Rudi capable of murder?

And Rudi’s wife, Penny – whose side is she on?

Treachery hangs over this story of the pressures and tensions, both personal and commercial, of Celtic-Tiger era Ireland, especially when that edifice is destroyed in the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

For Rudi, the payback from Gus and Raymond is severe indeed.