Reviews by Darina Molloy
She Died Young: A Life in Fragments / By Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker had a tough life, there’s no doubt about it. Maybe that’s why she chose the approach she did for her memoir – it’s more a selection of linked anecdotes and musing about her eight decades, rather than a chronological blow-by-blow account of what happened in exactly what order. It works well, though, and makes it the ideal book to dip in and out of. From her cold, unloving mother, to her many childhood illnesses (including a catastrophic car incident), and more than one instance of sexual violence, she really had a lot to contend with. There’s not as much chat about her acting career – just a few little references here and there, including how she mocked Daniel Day-Lewis for staying firmly in character during filming of My Left Foot. She’d despise the term, but she’s definitely one of Ireland’s national treasures and this is a considered, thoughtful read.
The Secret Room / By Jane Casey
Oh. My. God. And that is probably all that fans of Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan need to know. This is the twelfth book in the compulsively readable series and it’s safe to say you won’t get anything done until you have finished all 400 pages. A strong word of warning, however: do not read this one in the bath. Seriously. Casey manages to work everything in here, bar the kitchen sink (there is THAT bath, though): a locked room mystery, a few major twists in the long-running Kerrigan-Derwent will they/won’t they saga, and some actual appreciation for Kerrigan’s tenacity and investigative skills from people whose opinion matters. Clear your evening and settle in – it’ll be a bumpy but very satisfying ride. If you haven’t met Maeve yet, start at the beginning with The Burning. The books can be read out of order, but it’s so much more satisfying to follow them in sequence. You can thank me later.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife / By June O’Sullivan
Life would have been hard enough in Ireland in 1867, one imagines, but it’s a whole other level of strain for Eliza Carthy when her husband James is appointed Principal Keeper of the lighthouse on Skellig Michael. Life on the rocky island is full of challenges, and when the assistant keeper and his wife arrive, their presence does not bring the relief that was hoped for. Eliza has her hands full with her two small boys and trying to keep them entertained and safe in such an inhospitable landscape, while James devotes every waking hour to making sure the lighthouse is kept in good condition. The boat which delivers supplies can only reach them when the weather is accommodating, otherwise they have to make do with what they have. When tragedy strikes, Eliza is convinced there is a malignant force on the island. A very atmospheric read.
The Dark Hours / By Amy Jordan
Retired Garda Detective Julia Harte lives a quiet life, which is just the way she likes it. She also makes sure to have plenty of weapons on hand, just in case she finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. Thirty years earlier, Julia and her partner came up against a serial killer, and the fallout has stayed with her, night and day. When the man responsible finally dies in prison, she wonders if she might be able to enjoy a release from all that haunts her. But when two young women are found brutally murdered, and the killing bears all the hallmarks of those older tragedies, Harte and a fellow retiree are brought on board to see what may have been missed in the previous investigation. Unfortunately, this is one of those books that was hugely hyped on publication but doesn’t quite live up to the advance buzz.
Deadly Evidence / By Marie Cassidy
Readers of a certain age will not be able to read Marie Cassidy’s second police procedural without picturing the diminutive blonde Scot in the lead role as state pathologist Terry O’Brien. She was a very familiar sight at murder sites in Ireland for many years. Fans of Patricia Cornwell will find much to like in the series, which is fast developing into a must-read for fans of the genre. When a detective garda is murdered and his body mutilated, Terry and the investigating team are initially thrown by the fact that he has been found in gangland territory. When she is assigned a dual role and asked to lead up a cold case review team, it puts her in conflict with some gardaí who think she has no place in their world. All the while, she is quietly obsessed with finding out what had happened to her sister Jenny years previously. It’s an engaging read.
Nesting / By Roisín O’Donnell
This is one of those books you might need to put down every so often just to take a breath. But you’ll want to pick it up again almost immediately just to find out what happens. Ciara Fay is the mother of two young daughters. She finds it difficult to breathe when her husband is around as she has to constantly gauge what kind of mood he’s in, and what he’s going to criticize her for. When she makes the decision to leave, she is faced with the inadequacies of emergency housing, the fact that she has no income (having not been allowed by him to work) and a lack of friends (her husband didn’t like her having other close contacts). Slowly, however, despite all of those daunting obstacles, she realizes that she is beginning to be able to breathe again. And her love for her small girls shines through every single page. When her sister, in a moving letter, apologizes for not acting sooner when she noticed Ciara’s personality beginning to change, it comes when she has already mastered the art of standing on her own two feet and is starting to look at a plan for her future. An excellent read.
Sophie: The Final Verdict / By Senan Molony
For all the acres of newsprint devoted to the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier through the years, Senan Molony still manages to pull together a captivating read which imbues the West Cork murder with a freshness that should have been impossible to capture. Molony was on the scene near Schull as a young journalist the day after Sophie’s brutal murder. A man living locally, who introduced himself as Eoin Bailey, agreed to act as a stringer for Molony, that is, he offered to supply details that would help the journalist in preparing his article. Molony was impressed with the level of detail supplied by the tall Englishman, but it was only after Bailey’s initial arrest – months later – that he started to wonder how Bailey knew so much. In the book, he follows the case from those early days in December 1996, right up to Bailey’s death in 2024. That death, of course, gives Molony the freedom to identify Bailey as the man he believes to have killed Sophie, and he finishes the book with his imagined scenario as to the night in question. It is a gripping but very poignant read.
The Unquiet Grave / By Dervla McTiernan
A detective series that is very deserving of more attention is Dervla McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly series. Set in Galway, the series is now on book four, and it just keeps getting better. When a German family find a body in a bog, Reilly and his team are called in to investigate. When the body is identified as that of a secondary school principal who went missing two years earlier, they start to dig deeper in the area, particularly when it becomes evident that the dead man was very unpopular and something of a bully. At the same time, Reilly’s ex-girlfriend seeks his help when her new husband goes missing in Paris. And his boss offers him a very different kind of job, urging him to think about it seriously. Lots going on, lots of twists and turns, and good solid detective work make for a great read.
Time of the Child / By Niall Williams
Niall Williams seems most comfortable in the Ireland of the 1950s and ’60s – it’s a place he returns to again and again. Not that I’m complaining or anything! His newest exploration of Irish life in that era centers around Doctor Jack Troy and his daughter Veronica. They live in the fictional village of Faha and Williams’ keen eye describes the other villagers – the postmistress, the resident drunk, the dying older resident and the priest who is losing his train of thought. They are all beautifully and vividly rendered, as is the west of Ireland weather. When a tiny baby is abandoned and brought to the doctor for help, his daughter falls hopelessly in love and wants to keep the child. The fact that Christmas is fast approaching makes this an even more poignant read. Another winner from the Clare-based writer.
The Wardrobe Department / By Elaine Garvey
At heart, The Wardrobe Department is that age-old Irish story of not realizing how far you’ve got until you have occasion to go back to where you came from and you can see how much you’ve moved on, both metaphorically and actually. Mairéad is struggling a little with life in London. She feels apart from her flatmates, and apart at times too from her work colleagues. Her job in the wardrobe department of an old West End theatre is not nearly as glamorous as she might have envisaged, and between fending off unwanted amorous advances and worrying about her weight, she just doesn’t seem to be living her best life. But when a trip home for her granny’s funeral reminds her of all the things she has been missing, it also points out starkly the things she couldn’t wait to escape. It’s a keenly observant book which tells a tale as old as time, but one that is still compelling. And the gorgeous cover also deserves a special shout-out.
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