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Experts in a Dying Field
The Heathens thought of themselves as 'the 1000th best band of all time'. Then their tour van crashed, and one of their members died.
Twenty years later, weird things are happening in Dublin, bringing the surviving members of the band together in ways none of them could have anticipated and lifting the lid on mysteries from their shared past.
Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion.
Praise for Patrick Freyne...
'Patrick Freyne is a comic genius' MARIAN KEYES
'A writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity' MARK O'CONNELL
'No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne' PAUL HOWARD
'A brilliant writer' BLINDBOY BOATCLUB
'Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling' SINÉAD GLEESON
'One of the funniest writers in Ireland' IRISH EXAMINER
Twenty years later, weird things are happening in Dublin, bringing the surviving members of the band together in ways none of them could have anticipated and lifting the lid on mysteries from their shared past.
Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion.
Praise for Patrick Freyne...
'Patrick Freyne is a comic genius' MARIAN KEYES
'A writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity' MARK O'CONNELL
'No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne' PAUL HOWARD
'A brilliant writer' BLINDBOY BOATCLUB
'Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling' SINÉAD GLEESON
'One of the funniest writers in Ireland' IRISH EXAMINER
Hardcover
Expected publication June 11, 2026
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 26, 2025
Experts in a Dying Field (2026) is a sporadically enjoyable and over ambitious book about a fictional Irish band called The Heathens. The band considered themselves "the 1000th best band of all time." After a tragic tour van crash kills one of the members, the surviving members are brought back together twenty years later by weird happenings in Dublin, uncovering mysteries from their shared past. I thought I was going to love this book as I generally love books about bands and music but alas it was just okay.
Patrick Freyne includes a plethora of different characters to try and keep track of, and this is often aligned to all manner of different points of view and styles of writing. I can't fault its ambition but I was often adrift and unsure what was going on. I went with it and found it all very readable but suspect I missed aspects of the story. Or maybe not? None of it felt very consequential.
3/5
The Heathens thought of themselves as 'the 1000th best band of all time'. Then their tour van crashed, and one of their members died.
Twenty years later, weird things are happening in Dublin, bringing the surviving members of the band together in ways none of them could have anticipated and lifting the lid on mysteries from their shared past.
Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion.
Praise for Patrick Freyne...
'Patrick Freyne is a comic genius' MARIAN KEYES
'A writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity' MARK O'CONNELL
'No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne' PAUL HOWARD
'A brilliant writer' BLINDBOY BOATCLUB
'Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling' SINÉAD GLEESON
'One of the funniest writers in Ireland' IRISH EXAMINER
Patrick Freyne includes a plethora of different characters to try and keep track of, and this is often aligned to all manner of different points of view and styles of writing. I can't fault its ambition but I was often adrift and unsure what was going on. I went with it and found it all very readable but suspect I missed aspects of the story. Or maybe not? None of it felt very consequential.
3/5
The Heathens thought of themselves as 'the 1000th best band of all time'. Then their tour van crashed, and one of their members died.
Twenty years later, weird things are happening in Dublin, bringing the surviving members of the band together in ways none of them could have anticipated and lifting the lid on mysteries from their shared past.
Experts in a Dying Field is a gloriously sharp, witty and surprising novel about friendship, secrets, the strange workings of grief and guilt, and the joyful alchemy of music, from a writer with a unique ability to access humour and deep emotion.
Praise for Patrick Freyne...
'Patrick Freyne is a comic genius' MARIAN KEYES
'A writer of rare humour, depth, and humanity' MARK O'CONNELL
'No one makes me laugh like Patrick Freyne' PAUL HOWARD
'A brilliant writer' BLINDBOY BOATCLUB
'Patrick Freyne has a distinct and enviable gift for story-telling' SINÉAD GLEESON
'One of the funniest writers in Ireland' IRISH EXAMINER
Displaying 1 of 1 review