M is For Mammy by Eleanor O’Reilly
A thoughtful, funny and engaging debut novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. M is For Mammy is the story of The Auggusts: Annette, Kevin and their two children 10-year-old Jenny and 5-year-old Jacob.…
Ann Devine: Ready for Her Close-Up
A hilarious and charming tale of small-town Ireland that is fun to read. With a fantastic array of characters supporting Ann Devine this is a book in which you will recognize friends…
Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff
If dystonia fiction is your like, then this gripping and beautifully written debut novel is for you. The writing is superb, the storytelling engaging, the language beautiful and as I said gripping.
The Wych Elm by Tana French
WOW, that’s the word I’d use to sum up this sensational novel from one of my favourite authors. Tana French is an author under many people’s radar, although not so many as…
If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman
An adorable, beautiful and thoughtfully written novel that I read in two sittings. I would urge you to order your copy now for a book and be totally absorbed in this modern…
My Coney Island Baby by Billy O’Callaghan
A book that I’ve recently read and loved is My Coney Island Baby by Billy O'Callaghan. . What’s the book about On a bitterly cold winter’s afternoon, Michael and Caitlin escape their unhappy marriages to…
When All Is Said by Anne Griffin
When All Is Said is the story basically of one man, Maurice Hannigan, he is 84 years old and over the course of a Saturday night in June, orders five different drinks at the local hotel, the Rainford House. The hotel is one of…
January 2019 My Recommended Reads
Each month I'll pick out books that I've read and loved to tell you about. https://youtu.be/bYpZCx6ZUdw In this video I am recommending: Music, Love, Drugs and War by Geraldine Quigley Darkest Truth…
Music, Drugs, Love and War by Geraldine Quigley
What’s the book about? The end of the school year is approaching, and siblings Paddy and Liz McLaughlin, Christy Meehan, Kevin Thompson and their friends will soon have to decide what they're…
Milkman by Anna Burns
Milkman is set in an unnamed town with unnamed characters and without chapters. It is an astonishing book in which issues such as stalking, power, community, religious divide and first love are…
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
What’s the book about? A chance encounter in a Berlin hotel with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann gives Maurice Swift and our lead character an opportunity to ingratiate himself with someone more powerful…
Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain
Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead. In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people's lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege…
A Double Life by Flynn Berry
Loosely based on the Lord Lucan case this is very clever read in which Flynn Berry vividly re-imagines one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century. Claire is a hardworking…
The White Devil by Domenic Stansberry
Addictively creepy and brilliantly atmospheric is how I would sum up The White Devil. I can’t say I liked any of the characters however as a reader I was grabbed and intrigued…
The Librarian by Salley Vickers
A charmingly subversive novel about a library in 1950s England, by the acclaimed author of The Cleaner of Chartres. Sylvia Blackwell, a young woman in her twenties, moves to East Mole, a…
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow. Taking us…
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Based on a heart-breaking true story of love and survival, it tells of one man's determination to survive and live a full life with the woman he loved. Lale Sokolov survived the…
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone. Ten years on, Laurel has never…
Educated by Tara Westover
If you asked me what was the best memoir I've read in the last year I would say Educated . This is a memoir about the author’s discovery of education, its transformative power and…
The Hoarder by Jess Kidd
The mesmerising new novel from the winner of the Costa Short Story Award is a joy to read. Set in modern-day London and Dorset, this is a novel about life, death and unlikely…