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Irish Examiner
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Summer books catch-up: 20 of the best novels so far in 2025
1. The Children of Eve by John Connolly There are few more enjoyable crime series characters than Detective Charlie Parker, John Connolly's former cop whose cases invariably find him knee-deep in the supernatural in picturesque Maine. This time out of the traps, he's tasked with finding an ex-soldier on the run who has apparently abducted the children of a mob boss. 2. Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way by Elaine Feeney Elaine Feeney is one of Ireland's most talented novelists. In her third novel, Claire, moves back from London to Athenry following her mother's death, needing to care for her dying father. When her old flame moves into a house close by, it opens up a pandora's box of personal and family drama. 3. Flesh by David Szalay Flesh is the sixth book from the Booker Prize nominee David Szalay. He writes brilliant, meandering novels. His latest story is about a teenage Hungarian boy whose life over the course of decades takes a downward spiral owing to misfortune. 4. Fun and Games by Patrick McHugh Patrick McHugh's debut novel – following on from a well-received short story collection, Pure Gold, in 2021 – has been hailed. It follows the tribulations of a 17-year-old boy on an island off the coast of Mayo over the summer of 2009, a time of romance and ambiguous friendship. 5. Stories of Ireland by Brian Friel If you're looking to pack something in your suitcase for holidays, look no further than Brian Friel's short story collection published this year by Penguin, which is in paperback and mercifully slim. Most of the 13 stories were published in the New Yorker in their day. Each one is a marvel. Patrick McHugh's Fun and Games; Eimear McBride's The City Changes its Face 6. The City Changes Its Face by Eimear McBride Eimear McBride's quasi-sequel to the brilliant The Lesser Bohemians re-unites us with the actors Eily, 20, and Stephen, 40. It's set in London in the mid-1990s. Stephen's teenage daughter has resurfaced. Something terrible has happened, which will have consequences. 7. Air by John Boyne Air is the fourth instalment in John Boyne's elements series (following on from Water, Earth, Fire), novellas which examine abuse in different circumstances. In Air, a father, 40, is 30,000 feet above ground, in a passenger plane, flying with his teenage son. Both are trying to mend their broken lives. 8. The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O'Connor Joseph O'Connor returns to wartime Rome – scene for his previous novel, My Father's House, about wartime hero Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty – for a second instalment. Again, the theme is about escape lines for refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe, as Contessa Giovanna Landini, member of the activist group 'The Choir', tries to evade the unwanted attention of a Gestapo chief. 9. Twist by Colum McCann Colum McCann has a gift for storytelling. In Twist, Anthony Fennell, a journalist, in pursuit of a story to do with fibre optics, finds himself on board a boat off the west coast of Africa and in thrall to the ship's captain. When he disappears, Fennell goes hunting for him. John Boyne's Air; Emma Donoghue's The Paris Express 10. The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue The brilliant Emma Donaghue, author of Room and Oscar-nominated screenwriter of its movie adaptation, goes back in time to Paris in 1895 for her latest novel, a story inspired by the moments leading up to a fatal train crash, and the lives of several of the train's passengers. 11. Eden's Shore by Oisín Fagan Oisín Fagan's second novel has been acclaimed. His character Angel Kelly is a dreamer. In the late eighteenth century, he sets sail from Dublin, via Liverpool, intent on living in a commune in Brazil but ends up, unwittingly, in the middle of the slave trade, a mutiny and a colonial dispute, amongst other capers. 12. The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan Amy Jordan's crime novel, The Dark Hours, has been lauded by the New York Times. In 2024, Julia Harte, a retired Garda detective, gets a call from her old Superintendent. Two women have been murdered in Cork, in identical circumstances to a case she worked on 30 years earlier, forcing Julia to tackle some demons and hunt down a vicious serial killer. Amy Jordan's The Dark Hours; Patricia Scanlan's City Girls Forever 13. City Girls Forever by Patricia Scanlan The first three books in the City Girl series by the popular Patricia Scanlan were written in the 1990s. Dubliner Devlin Delaney and her best friends, Caroline and Maggie, return in middle age for more adventure and heartbreak, weighed down by their blended families, aging parents and sibling rivalries, but buoyed by friendship. Some of This is True by Michelle McDonagh 14. Some of This Is True by Michelle McDonagh On a January morning, a body is discovered at the bottom of the Wishing Steps at Blarney Castle. The mother of the dead tourist girl, who came to Ireland looking for her father, travels over from Boston. She's convinced her daughter's death wasn't an accident, setting in train an investigation that divides the local community. 15. The Bureau by Eoin McNamee The Bureau is perhaps Eoin McNamee's most personal novel yet, as it features his father as a central character in the action. It's a story of love and death during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, set along the border involving the vivacious Lorraine and Paddy, who's caught up in smuggling and money-laundering. Cork Fiction Highlights William Wall's Writers Anonymous; Catherine Ryan Howard's Burn after Reading 1. Writers Anonymous by William Wall: During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Jim, an Irish novelist, organises an anonymous online writers group to pass the time. Things get messy when one of the writers starts drip-feeding him details about the suspicious death of Jim's childhood friend, which draws the reader back into the teenage world of a seaside Irish village in 1980 and a crime that must be resolved. A magnificent mystery novel. 2. Camarade by Theo Dorgan: Poet and writer Theo Dorgan has just released a philosophical thriller. A teenager abandons his life in Cork, having killed a policeman in a revenge plot. He flees to Paris, during a time of tumult, May '68 and camaraderie. Several decades later, he begins writing his memoir, which forces him to address the seminal event in his life. 3. Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard: Catherine Ryan Howard's novels are always page-turners. In Burn After Reading, Emily, a ghostwriter, gets a gig working on the book of a possible murderer who might be about to admit his guilt. Emily harbours her own secret, one of many twists in this tale. Catherine Kirwan's The Seventh Body; Louise Hegarty's Fair Play 4. The Seventh Body by Catherine Kirwan: Excavation comes to a halt on a Cork building site when six bodies are discovered. Therein lie the remnants of men from centuries ago. When the remains of a seventh person, a female less cold in the grave, emerges, a historical find turns into a murder case Detective Garda Alice McCann is desperate to solve, despite interference from her superiors. 5. Fair Play by Louise Hegarty: Louise Hegarty grew up in Glanmire, Co Cork. In her debut novel, a group of friends gather on New Year's Eve 2022 to celebrate Benjamin's birthday with a murder mystery-themed party. Friendships and affairs blossom and fray as the night unfolds. In the morning, they wake to find Benjamin is dead and so begins the real murder mystery investigation. Next week: 20 non-fiction tips
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Book review: Ageing sleuth fights old and new demons
Rarely do you set foot inside a bookshop without noticing the latest John Connolly novel. The only name that might be more familiar to readers is that of fictional private investigator Charlie Parker, who is about to become even more widely known thanks to an upcoming on-screen adaptation. In The Children of Eve, Parker may be getting on in years, but he can't resist taking on another intriguing and mysterious case, even if his bones creak more than they used to. The PI's old wounds still haunt him 20 years later — namely, the brutal murder of his wife and young daughter — and the world only seems to grow bleaker: all the more reason, perhaps, Parker's skills remain in high demand. 'From what I've heard, you've been at Death's door so often, he's probably left a key under the mat for you.' Zetta Nadeau, a quirky young artist from Maine waiting for her big break, turns to Parker for help with a troubling case. Her ex-military boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins, has vanished into the night, leaving behind a suspiciously outdated phone containing just one message: RUN. What initially appears to be a case of cold feet quickly spirals into darker territory, as Parker uncovers Riggins' connection to the kidnapping of four children who are all mysteriously linked to Blas Urrea, a Mexican cartel boss. It doesn't take long for Parker to realise that Urrea will stop at nothing to get the children back, including hiring Eugene Seeley, a calculating and dangerous man with no qualms about getting his hands dirty. Travelling with Seeley is a terrifying, unnamed woman who seems to take great pleasure in carving out the hearts of her victims, of which there are many. '[Seeley] looked like someone a stranger might be inclined to trust: an asset for a salesman, even if you weren't convinced you wanted what he was selling.' Possibly in over his head, Parker calls on old friends for help as they race against the clock to solve this complex case. But, as is typical of the crime genre, nothing is ever as it seems. Connolly juggles an intimidating number of perspectives during the novel and even introduces new characters right up to the story's climax, a difficult writing feat by any standard. As a result, some of these newcomers feel more like a means to an end than fully fleshed-out characters, taking attention away from the protagonist. Throughout the lengthy novel, parts of the story also tend to drift into filler-like side-quest territory, rather than adding any crucial elements to Charlie Parker's overall arc. With exciting hints dropped throughout the plot of what's to come in future sequels — particularly focusing on the eerie, supernatural relationship between Parker's living and deceased daughters, one of whom exists in a shadowy realm bordering the underworld — The Children of Eve occasionally feels more like an optional spin-off than a must-read instalment. But that's understandable given the length of the 22-book series, especially with each functioning as a standalone work. Still, the novel will undoubtedly hook die-hard Parker fans and leave them eagerly asking what's next for their favourite private detective. It also serves as an enticing entry point for newcomers, who won't hesitate to take a deep dive into Connolly's other works thanks to his immersive, clever writing.
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
New crime novels and thrillers to read this May, featuring John Connolly and Andrea Mara
Reviewed this month: The Children of Eve by John Connolly, Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey, The One You Least Suspect by Brian McGilloway and It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara Today at 21:30 Our thriller and crime critic Myles McWeeney on the best new novels to read this month. Hodder & Stoughton, 416 pages, trade paperback €17.99, e-book £12.99 Maine-based PI Charlie Parker is asked by his lawyer friend Moxie Castin to help a local artist find her missing boyfriend Wyatt Riggins, a former soldier turned legal cannabis salesman.
