What washes up in Roscarrig… doesn’t stay buried / The Payout Game

Release date 01.24.26

The Payout Game is an Irish crime thriller featuring Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe — a flawed but dediicated detective living in the small coastal town of Roscarrig that keeps giving him big-city problems.

Crowe is hoping for a quiet Christmas in Roscarrig, but during a charity regatta, a body washes up on the rocks beneath a lighthouse — a man known across Ireland: a celebrity bookmaker with deep connections to high-stakes gambling, and people who don’t forgive debts.

The death is quickly ruled a misadventure. Case closed.

But Crowe doesn’t buy it.

The deeper he digs, the more dangerous the world becomes. Someone powerful wants this death forgotten, and they’re willing to put Crowe in the ground to make sure of it.

What makes Crowe compelling is that he’s brilliant, stubborn, and deeply human. He doesn’t always get it right — but he never walks away.

The Payout Game will appeal to fans of Stuart MacBride, Tana French, and Ian Rankin. It delivers Irish noir with atmosphere, pace, and a sting in the tail. It’s about power, secrets, and the cost of integrity — and it asks one simple question:

What happens when the house always wins…

and you decide to fight back?

find out more here -
https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie/