Ryan sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can get to know him better.

What is your full name?
Ryan James McBride.

How old are you?
I was born in August 1989.

What is your profession?
Detective Sergeant in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Do you have a significant other?
Ahh, that’s a difficult one. Yes and no. I have been embroiled in an on-again off-again relationship for several years.

What is their name and profession?
Bridget, a Harley-riding, leather-clad, emergency room nurse.

Do you have any children?
No.

Do you have any siblings?
Yes, an older sister, Erin.

Are your parents nearby?
Yes, unfortunately… I have a love-hate thing going on with my father.

Who is your best friend?
Abbott. He’s British ex-military, and comes in handy sometimes in tricky situations.

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
I have a dog called Finn. He’s a big, goofy wire-haired fox terrier with a particular fondness for bone-shaped dog treats.

What town do you live in?
I live just north of Belfast, Northern Ireland, near a town called Antrim.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I live in an old stone cottage left to me by my granny. Every morning I take a cup of coffee outside to my back garden, sit on an old stone bench and watch the tall trees and birds at the back of my property.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
The conservatory, an addition I added a few years ago. It’s at the back of the house and sometimes, late at night, if it’s raining – which it often is, I sit there with a small whiskey, and look out at the trees and the dark sky.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
My sister Erin is a fantastic cook so I love anything she makes although I have a fondness for Spaghetti Bolognese. And I would never say no to Banoffee pie for dessert.

Do you have any hobbies?
I love running and boxing. Running helps relax me, and boxing is a way for me to work through my feelings of frustration and anger, emotions I often face in my job.

What music do you listen to?
My tastes are eclectic, I like jazz, a lot of the old classics and lots of modern stuff too. Etta James, Billy Holliday, and Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Gordon Lightfoot, Roxy Music, Zero Seven.

What is your favorite color?
I don’t know, do guys have favourite colours? Maybe blue?

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I learned French at high school and in my second year my parents took me and my sister to Paris. That first time, speaking the language, (badly), smelling the coffee and Gauloises cigarettes. Just being there in that fabulous city – I’ve never forgotten it, even though I’ve been there many times since.

Are you a morning or night person?
Morning, I blame my dog.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Waking up to a sunny morning, taking Finn for a long walk in the fields and woods behind my cottage. Dropping him off and heading into Belfast and walking around St George’s market. Buying some great food and wine, maybe some old albums and books as well, and then meeting my friend Abbott and my sister for a nice pub lunch downtown in the Cathedral District.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Where Did The Time Go?

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m a police detective in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and I work with a great guy, my friend, DS Billy Lamont.

What is a typical day in your life like?
I have no typical days really. It depends on what the case throws at me. If it’s a murder investigation I’ll be out with Billy interviewing witnesses or suspects, writing reports or sitting through team updates. Any other day I might be filling out reports or researching pending cases.

Blood Relations, A DS Ryan McBride Mystery Book #2
Genre: Police Procedural
Release: August 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Belfast, Northern Ireland: early spring 2017. Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride and his partner Detective Sergeant Billy Lamont are called to his desolate country home to investigate. In their inquiry, they discover a man whose career with the Police Service of Northern Ireland was overshadowed by violence and corruption. Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present? And who hated the man enough to kill him twice? Is it one of Patrick Mullan’s own family, all of them hiding a history of abuse and lies? Or a vengeful crime boss and his psychopathic new employee? Or could it be a recently released prisoner desperate to protect his family and flee the country? Ryan and Billy once again face a complex investigation with wit and intelligence, all set in Belfast and the richly atmospheric countryside around it.

About the author
J. Woollcott is a Canadian author born in Belfast, N. Ireland. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers and BCAD, University of Ulster. Her first book, A Nice Place to Die won the RWA Daphne du Maurier Award, was short-listed in the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in 2021 and a Silver Falchion Award finalist at Killer Nashville 2023. Visit Joyce at jwoollcott.com and on Twitter at @JoyceWoollcott.

All comments are welcomed.