Many unanswered questions still surround the disaster. At the time, there were claims that the huge secondary explosion was set off by contraband American munitions hidden in the liner’s hold. But recent dives on the wreck revealed lumps of coal scattered widely over the seabed – suggesting that the most likely cause was a detonation of coal-dust and oxygen in her almost-empty bunkers.
Captain William Turner was washed from the bridge when the ship went down, and survived. But he was never able to give a satisfactory explanation as to why he was sailing so close to the shore, and why he was taking no evasive action. He claimed that he had slowed down because of patchy fog, yet the danger to the Lusitania from U-boats was obviously far greater than the risk of collision.
A memorial to all those who died on the Lusitania stands today in the center of Cobh, the figure of a sorrowing angel.
A Selected Guide to Cork Slang
Corkonians have a very distinctive accent of their own, which sounds very different from the Dublin brogue which is usually presented as “Irish” in movies and television. They also have their own local slang vocabulary, although many of their expressions are used throughout the Republic.
Men and women of any age commonly address each other as “boy” and “girl.” Even a temporary departure will elicit the remark, “Are ye going away?” followed by the reassurance that “I’ll see ye after.”
Acting the maggot: behaving foolishly or annoyingly.
Bags: making a mess of a job – “he made a bags of it.”
Banjaxed: broken.
Bazzer: a haircut.
Bodice: spare ribs.
Bold: naughty – “you’re a very bold boy.”
Claim: fight – “I claim ya.”
Codding: teasing or fooling – “I’m only codding.”
Craic: good fun and stimulating conversation.
Craw sick: hung over.
Culchies: hayseeds or country people.
Cute hoor: sly, untrustworthy man.
Desperate: in a bad state.
Eat the head off: snap at, attack verbally.
Fair play: approval of somebody’s actions – “fair play to him, mind.”
Feck: slightly less offensive version of the other word.
Fierce: extreme – “there was a fierce crowd in there.”
Fine half: nice-looking girl.
Flah: to have sex with.
Flah’d out: exhausted.
Full shilling (not): mentally challenged.
Funt: kick.
Ganky: unpleasant (of a person’s looks).
Gawk: stare at, or vomit.
Gob: mouth.
Gobdaw: fool.
Gowl: idiot.
Grand: good, fine, okay.
Header: mentally unstable person.
Holliers: holidays.
Holy show: spectacle – “you made a holy show of yourself.”
Hop (on the): playing hooky.
Hump off: go away.
Jag: a date.
Langered/langers: drunk.
Letting on: pretending.
Massive: lovely – “your dress is only massive.”
Me Daza: very nice.
Mebs: testicles.
Messages: shopping – “I have to get the messages.”
Mooching: sponging for money.
One: woman – “some oul one.”
Rubber dollies: plimsolls.
Sconce: look – “have a sconce at that.”
Scratcher: bed.
Septic: vain (of a girl).
Shades: the police.
Show: movie.
Shelityhorn: snail.
Slagging: making goodnatured fun, teasing.
Soften his cough: teach him a lesson.
Soot: satisfaction – “I wouldn’t give you the soot.”
Twisted: drunk.
About this Book
One wet, windswept November morning, a field on Meagher’s farm gives up the dismembered bones of eleven women...
Their skeletons bear the marks of a meticulous butcher. The bodies date back to 1915. All were likely skinned alive.
But then a young woman goes missing, and her remains, the bones carefully stripped and arranged in an arcane pattern, are discovered on the same farm.
With the crimes of the past echoing in the present, D.S. Katie Maguire must solve a decades-old murder steeped in ancient legend... before this terrifying killer strikes again.
Reviews
“One of the most original and frightening storytellers of our time.” —Peter James
‘One of the few true masters.’ —James Herbert
‘Graham Masterton’s best book yet, and that’s as good as they come!’ —John Farris
‘His setting is unique, his killer is gruesomely fascinating, and his storyteller is visceral and graphic.’ —Booklist
‘A superlative writer.’ —Philadelphia Inquirer
‘The living inheritor to the realm of Edgar Allen Poe.’ —San Francisco Chronicle
‘[Masterton] moves from the familiar and credible to the fanciful and disturbing. The drama is tense, the writing superb.’ —Sunday Times
‘Multifaceted and fascinating.’ —Los Angeles Times
‘A mesmerizing storyteller whose fascination with the finer points of human weakness and deft touch keep the pages turning.’ —Publishers Weekly
‘Graham Masterton is a natural storyteller with a unique gift for turning the mundane into the terrifyingly real... Compulsive reading.’ —New York Journal of Books
About this Series
KATIE MAGUIRE
1. White Bones
One wet, windswept November morning, a field on Meagher’s farm gives up the dismembered bones of eleven women...
Their skeletons bear the marks of a meticulous butcher. The bodies date back to 1915. All were likely skinned alive.
But then a young woman goes missing, and her remains, the bones carefully stripped and arranged in an arcane pattern, are discovered on the same farm.
With the crimes of the past echoing in the present, D.S. Katie Maguire must solve a decades-old murder steeped in ancient legend... before this terrifying killer strikes again.
White Bones is available here.
2. Broken Angels
They walked together to the edge of the Blackwater, and the breeze whispered softly in the long shiny grass. As they came nearer, the black-clad body came into view, lying on its side in the shallows.
It is the bloated body of Father Heaney. His hands and feet are bound, and his neck bears the marks of garrotting wire. Worse still, he has been castrated.
When a second priest is found murdered, his body bruised and beaten and the same savage wound hidden beneath his soutane, Detective Inspector Katie Maguire finds evidence of a sinister cover-up at St Joseph’s Orphanage.
But the Catholic diocese still wields considerable power here, and the Garda are under pressure to close the case. Katie has to work alone if she is to catch the killer in time – but first she must shatter a wall of silence that for decades has hidden a terrible secret.
A secret that is beyond belief...
Broken Angels is available here.
About the Author
GRAHAM MASTERTON was a bestselling horror writer for many years before he turned his talent to crime. His most recent book, White Bones, was an Ebook hit, selling 100,000 copies in a single month. He lived in Cork for five years, an experience that inspired the Katie Maguire series.
A Letter from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on hello@headof
zeus.com
@HoZ_Books
HeadofZeusBooks
Dedicated to great storytelling
First published in the UK in 2013 by Head of Zeus Ltd.
Copyright © Graham Masterton, 2013
The moral right of Graham Masterton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781781850633
ISBN (TPB) 9781781850640
ISBN (E) 9781781852170
ISBN (MMP) 978178182163
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.headofzeus.com
Contents
Cover
Welcome Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Preview
Author’s Note
A Selected Guide to Cork Slang
About this Book
Reviews
About this Series
About the Author
An Invitation from the Publisher
Copyright
White Bones Page 35
