If you are not yet familiar with Occult Detective Daniel Muldoon, he is the star of the Muldoon Gothic thriller series set in 1890s Liverpool. This week, while things are a bit quieter, we grabbed him for a few questions before Salome and the long-awaited book 3 of his series. Scroll down for the full transcript:
I: So, Daniel. Thank you so much for coming. To start, can you tell us a bit about your background? Where are you from?
DM: I was born in Belfast, but I grew up in Holywood mostly. My father was (still is) a ship builder and my mother died when I was quite young, so I didn’t really get to know her that well. I was close to my Nana though—on my mother’s side. You see, in order to marry my father, my mother became a Protestant. It created quite the rift between her family and his. When I was about nine, I escaped from my boarding school and went to live with her. She understood me more than I understood myself.
I: When you say she understood you, do you mean with regard to your abilities?
DM: Yes. Plenty of the members of the McCann family were known to have similar gifts to what I have. Once, back in the pagan days, they were seers, I suppose… fortune tellers, that sort of thing, back when the Church first came to Ireland. It’s not unique to my ancestors or me, but it did run through that side of the family. I didn’t know much about this as a child. Not much at all. My Nana [laughs to himself] used to visit me a lot. It was only when I was about eight or nine years old that I realised she was visiting through astral projection. Not once did I question why she was in my dormitory and no one else saw her [shakes head, still laughing]. I went to live with her anyway, until she was too sick to care for me. Those years were good years. I remember them well, brief as they were.
I: And what happened next? After your grandmother died?
DM: At the funeral, the monks she cleaned and cooked for for took me into their care. I didn’t want to go back to my father. We don’t get on, as you’ve probably guessed by now. He would have sent me back to school and I didn’t want to go of course so it was Brother John who sought legal guardianship of me. I was brought to Rome, and that was the start of everything.
I: Did your father want to release you? That must have been an involved process. Are you his only child?
DM: It wouldn’t surprise me if I wasn’t. He’s probably married again since. When it came to handing me over, he had no trouble, actually. You see, when you have things like second sight or you can talk to the dead and so on, Protestants—trying to be as diplomatic as I can here—can often jump to the conclusion that it’s witchcraft, or it’s the Devil, or it’s some other kind of black magic or uncultured, ungodly thing. They’re not wrong of course, I mean, even many Catholic teachings suggest all magic is unholy. However, that was the stance my father took. Witchcraft. Did he know that my mother passed it down to me? Probably. He called my Nana a witch often enough. Releasing me to the Church was the best thing he ever did for me, and I mean that. Perhaps he thinks they’ve cured me [laughs again].
I: Well we love you just the way you are.
DM: Thank you.
I: I would like to ask you a bit more about the first book we met you in: The Spider. When you were first introduced in chapter fourteen, I very much got the impression that a haunted house was beneath you. You said, ‘Demons, sure, I’ll take a look. Ghosts though?’ and your justification was that nobody has ever been killed by a ghost. Why were you so reluctant to take on the work?
DM: Oh, that’s a long story. I suppose it was beneath me compared to the other things I’ve been doing in my life. Gill couldn’t let me go, and the pay was too good, to be honest. He sort of emphasised he owed me his life and all that after the [REDACTED] in 1891. It’s probably like—I don’t know—that Stephen King fella’s vampire book where they rush to hold on to the nearest Catholic or cross or something. He depends on me for that branch of work, and it’s difficult sometimes. I don’t have all the answers, but we’ve closed two big cases so far and he has promised me more staff.
I think after The Spider, I learned you can’t just dismiss something, especially when there’s a family involved. It wasn’t the line of work I wanted, but I’m glad I was there to help. [Smiles] I don’t regret any of it.
I don’t want to spoil anything about Salome but you’ll find out what kind of things I was doing before becoming this sort of, quasi-detective, paranormal investigator type. You might understand why I didn’t want to do something so ‘domestic’ shall we say? I didn’t really have any other options.
I wasn’t ready to go back to Rome. I didn’t want to start up my own private agency—it all sounds so ridiculous, doesn’t it? ‘Muldoon PI’, no thanks, not for me. Then I’d have every Tom, Dick and Harry calling in on the high street and asking me questions about the occult and all that. No. I prefer this discreet way. I’m happy to just be getting on and earning my keep. I like helping people, of course, but I don’t want to be famous for doing it, you know?
I: You don’t enjoy being the centre of attention?
DM: No, not at all! My cheeks are burning just thinking about it.
I: That’s really funny because you’re actually a household name here. Well, you definitely have a growing fan club on Substack.
DM: Is that so? What is Substack again? Is it like periodicals?
I: I’ll explain another time, but basically these people have read the Muldoon books and can’t wait to see more of you.
DM: They’re too kind.
I: Speaking of your next book and subsequent books… are you ever nervous, or afraid? There were a lot of murders in The Ring, and one of your own—Lacey—went missing. Did you ever feel out of your depth at times?
DM: Absolutely. Just because you can do things or see things that others can’t doesn’t make you immune to fear. In fact, I think being able to see what’s out there, or what’s looking back at you is truly terrifying. I’m not just afraid for myself. I fear for others. It took me a while to stop thinking about what happened in my first case with the Bryants. Truly chilling, and it’ll never leave me.
And I’ve met people much, much braver than me. Even in the face of death. People who’d lost everything, but [pauses] they carry on.
When Lacey disappeared in The Ring, I did worry about what happened to him. He was so young and I felt guilty because I wasn’t with him. I know that’s completely irrational because for starters, that case had nothing to do with me, so why would I be there? And secondly, we didn’t know it was going to be something supernatural or paranormal or whatever. But I felt guilty, and I was afraid. I’ve never lost anyone who I’d mentored, you know?
I feel out of my depth most days, being honest, but I do believe this is the work I’m meant to be doing and sometimes I’m fumbling around in the dark but, isn’t that just life? The fear doesn’t last, anyway. It’s God’s work, so even if I am afraid, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Am I explaining this well? [Laughs] sorry, I’ve never been asked if I was afraid before. They all just leave me to it.
I: Before we have to wind this down, can you tell us a bit more about Salome? This is a side to you we haven’t seen before. How did you feel about the book exploring that side of your character?
DM: I think enough time has passed now for me to look back without cringing, but it was hard seeing how cocksure of myself I was, you know? Salome is a great wee girl and a good friend, and thank God she was there for all of that. I’ve learned a lot since the incident on Norfolk Street. I was much more powerful before that, and it’s been a tough journey having to adapt and make something work. I think I’ve found some balance, and I’m flattered that anyone wants to see more of me, to be honest, warts and all. We’re all a bit arrogant when we’re young, are we not? And even more so if we did something as colossal as that time in Rome. I won’t spoil it—that’s Salome’s tale to tell. Sorry, when’s the book out again?
I: October 2026.
DM: Just in time for Samhain—sorry, is it Halloween you call it now? Good timing anyway. Cunning. I like it.
I: Thank you. That’s all we have time for, but let me just say, we can’t wait for Salome. We’re also looking forward to book 3 of your Muldoon series. Can you please confirm if the rumours are true by the way?
DM: Oh! Well she’s a lovely girl and we’re still—
I: No, no. I mean about your next book.
DM: Oh, [blushes] yes. Another mystery of course. I mean I hope it’s a mystery. Not sure what good I’d be if it wasn’t. The book is out in winter time. It’ll be good to get everyone back on the page. James Lacey will be returning, the poor lad. Just waiting for Hanna to get on with it. I don’t think I’m in the story yet. She never starts with me, but I look forward to it anyway.
I: Noted! Thank you for being here.
DM: Thank you for having me.
Get started on The Muldoon Thriller series below (click the image). Salome is coming to Tiny Worlds Publishing in October!
Daniel Muldoon is an occult detective featured in Hanna Delaney’s Gothic Thriller series: Muldoon. This series of supernatural horror mystery books is predominantly set in late-Victorian Liverpool and follows Daniel Muldoon as he assists the Liverpool City Police with their strangest cases. Each book is a standalone mystery with an over-arching wider plot following Daniel Muldoon and several other main or recurring characters.
The Muldoon Gothic thriller series of supernatural mysteries was inspired by classic Victorian detective fiction such as Wilkie Collins’ The Woman In White and The Moonstone as well as popular television series such as Showtime’s Penny Dreadful and Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting Of Hill House. Hanna wanted to combine the gritty realism of Victorian Liverpool and history with the supernatural legends and paranormal phenomena that still haunts the city today.
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