Music oft hath such a charm
To make bad good, and good provoke to harm.
      (Wm. Shakespeare; Measure for Measure)




Another O'Nelligan and Plunkett case...this time with a musical twist.

The Haunting Ballad       
St. Martin's Press (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne)

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The Tale:

The Séance Society introduced mystery lovers to Mr. O’Nelligan and Lee Plunkett, an unlikely pair of 1950s sleuths. Having taken over his father's PI business, Lee enlists O'Nelligan, a dapper Irishman with a flair for solving mysteries. Now, in Michael Nethercott's The Haunting Ballad, this sleuthing "odd couple" are back in another classic whodunit, this time set in the burgeoning music scene of New York City's Greenwich Village.  It's the spring of 1957, and O'Nelligan and Plunkett are summoned to New York to investigate the death of a controversial folk song collector. The trail leads the pair to a diverse group of suspects including an eccentric Beat coffee house owner, a family of Irish balladeers (who may be IRA),  a bluesy ex-con, a hundred-and-five-year-old Civil War drummer boy, and a self-proclaimed “ghost chanter” who sings songs that she receives from the dead. To complicate matters, there's a handsome, smooth-talking young folk singer who Lee's fiancée Audrey is enthralled by. And somewhere in the Bohemian swirl of the Village, a killer waits...

“In his rollicking second outing with the sleuthing duo of Plunkett and O’Nelligan, Nethercott offers readers a wonderfully entertaining spin on the classic PI genre.  Set in the Greenwich Village of the early beat era, rich with fascinating, detailed references to that time and place, and featuring two of the most mismatched and delightful protagonists you’re likely to stumble upon these days, The Haunting Ballad is, in every respect, a winner.  You’ll love this book, I promise.” --William Kent Krueger, New York Times best seller  

“Nethercott has fun with the bustling Bohemian atmosphere and Lee and Audrey’s awkward romance, but reserves the best lines for the exchanges between O’Nelligan and Lee as they close in on the unlikely culprit.” –Publishers Weekly  

“Plunkett’s wry first-person narrative offers an arresting perspective on this section of pre–Mad Men society, and courtly Irish O’Nelligan once again steers his young friend toward the right conclusion. A strong second entry in the series.” --Booklist

The Séance Society      
Introducing Mr. O’Nelligan and Lee Plunkett, an unlikely pair of sleuths on an equally unlikely case... involving murder with a supernatural flair.  Plunkett and O'Nelligan are drawn into a murder investigation involving the “Spectricator," a machine designed to communicate with the dead. Soon, the sleuths are knee-deep in a suspect pool that includes a surly medium, a former speakeasy queen, a mysterious Spanish widow, and a slew of eccentric servants. The Séance Society is a fresh take on the traditional whodunit.

 "Michael Nethercott’s nicely put together whodunit The Séance Society plunges us  head first into a warm bath of nostalgia with its setting — a small town in Connecticut in 1956. The methodically constructed narrative is as neat  as its  locale." --New York Times Book Review

 “This clever series opener offers a mid-century take on the traditional drawing-room mystery…There is a sweet charm to this mystery, ensuring that readers will want  to see more from O’Nelligan and Plunkett.” --Booklist

 "An intriguing and suspenseful mystery story. The first sentence sets the tone for the book: 'Heed well the dead...for they hover at our ears.'" --Irish American News

 "A classically styled Holmesian whodunit.”--Publishers  Weekly

  

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THE BALLAD OF BLACK POWDER
is now, as of Spring 2023, available for purchase.
I'd pondered for some time the idea of writing a Western novel. (All those viewings of the original Magnificent Seven and old John Ford films should not go to waste!) Well, I did that very thing the past year and today signed the contract for my first foray into the literary prairie.   
PURCHASE:  www.gale.com/thorndike/9798885782579/the-ballad-of-black-powder
    

​ In my short essay on the Hitchcock Magazine site, I wax poetic on my path to being a writer / storyteller.    Read here.​

Very pleased to once again to have another of my stories appear in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (Sept/Oct 2022 issue.) My tenth appearance in  Hitchcock. Always a pleasure! “Polk, Pitts, and Cadaver” is a tale of villainy in old-time vaudeville. The show must go on...

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I was invited to contribute an essay to the blog FIRST TWO PAGES. The concept is for writers, generally in the mystery genre, to delve into the opening of one of their stories and explain their choices.
Read here.
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​Pushcart Prize nominated story: For your perusal, here's a short tale of mine published in the online magazine Abyss & Apex. "Harbor Mist" is a quick read, a supernatural take on the Ellis Island experience: 
Read here.

The Vermont Public Radio interview discussing The Haunting Ballad.

The New York Times reviews The Séance Society
Read here.

Public Radio interview for ​All Things Considered.

For anyone who uses eBooks, and has an interest in whodunits, art theft and/or World Series history: the short story  "O'Nelligan and the Perfect Game" is available for download. Just 99 pennies! 
It can be purchased here.

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Michael's Other
Published Works