Books of the Month

by Lucy Kennedy

€14.99

Five old friends catch up on a sun holiday together - what could possibly go right? Five girls met on the first day of secondary school and have been very best friends ever since. They vowed to always find time for each other. For the last twenty-two years, no matter what and despite leading very different lives, they go on a week's holiday together to relax and exchange gossip. This year the girls are going to Portugal. But what dramas await? As they open up about their relationships, careers and "women's issues", will there be scandals, sexy shenanigans and shocking revelations? Because anything is possible for the middle-aged, perimenopausal and thirsty messers that are the Mini Breakers. Ideal for readers who: Want sunny comic fiction about long-term female friendship and midlife mess. Enjoy holiday stories where gossip, secrets and perimenopause all come along for the trip. Like Irish humour with warmth, scandal and a little chaos by the pool. Appreciate books about friends who know each other well, but not quite well enough.

by Kathryn Stockett

€13.49

'Smart, funny, and driven by unforgettable characters... a must-read' Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry You give a girl a taste of fresh air and then you take it away - she'll grow fierce and wild to get it back. Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Ever since her beloved mother failed to come home last Christmas Eve, she's been one of the 'unadoptable' girls at the town's orphanage, where she fights each day to keep her wits sharp and her spirit unbowed. When she meets Birdie, a young woman who has come to Oxford determined to remind her socialite sister of the impoverished family she left behind, for the first time in a long while it seems someone else might care about Meg's future. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie begins to suspect her sister's charmed life may be founded on a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman haunted by loss who has been pushed to the brink with nothing left to lose. Drawn together by circumstance, they find unexpected kinship among a disreputable, determined band of women. But in a town steeped in hypocrisy, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences... Bold, heartwarming, and riotously funny, The Calamity Club is an unforgettable story of resilience and friendship, and a sisterhood of underestimated women who risk everything to take back control of their fates. 'With exquisite storytelling and unforgettable characters, The Calamity Club is a joyful, heartbreaking, heartwarming read. I loved it so much' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things 'As witty, bold, and transportive as it is heartbreaking and compassionate, The Calamity Club is storytelling at its finest. Stockett's masterfully drawn characters are simply unforgettable' Shelley Read, author of the international bestseller Go as a River PRAISE FOR THE HELP 'Daring, vitally important and very courageous, I loved and admired The Help. Fantastic' MARIAN KEYES 'Outstanding, immensely funny, very compelling, brilliant' Daily Telegraph 'A laugh-out-loud, vociferously angry must-read' Marie Claire 'Touching, disgraceful, funny. Highly recommended' Daily Mail

by Séamas O'Reilly

€14.99

A comedy about tragedy. Séamas O'Reilly has written a brutal, profound, and very funny novel' NINA STIBBE 'Sparkling with heartache and wit. I'm in love with every character in this novel' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE 'Prestige Drama is bristlingly funny, richly humane... Séamas O'Reilly is a writer with a rare and vital comic gift' MARK O'CONNELL Derry is already abuzz with news that famous American actor, Monica Logue, has flown to the city and will be starring in a new series set during the Troubles. And then she goes missing... All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, Prestige Drama follows the city's cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica's disappearance. Séamas O'Reilly's debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past. 'Séamas is one of my favourite living writers. Honestly - there is nobody else who could write a book like this about tragedy, loss and who gets to tell a story, with such deft and moving wit' EVA WISEMAN 'Prestige Drama is a hilarious and profound novel. Seamas O'Reilly has an acute ear for the rhythms of real speech, and for the lies we tell ourselves' ED CAESAR Ideal for readers who: Respond to novels where grief, absurdity and public storytelling collide with real bite. Expect Derry’s voice, humour and history to feel specific rather than decorative. Enjoy ensemble casts where every character has a reason to be watching the mystery. Appreciate comedy that lands cleanly while leaving something tender behind.

by Shane Ross

€16.99

Since it arrived on the airwaves in 1961, RTÉ has been buffeted in different directions, eventually slipping into a steady decline which accelerated over the past decade into a catastrophe. The 2023 revelations regarding secret payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy weren't the first time Ireland's national broadcaster has found itself caught up in scandal. Shane Ross, author of #1 bestsellers The Bankers and Mary Lou McDonald , winds back the clock to examine RTÉ's history of broadcasting excellence alongside the accusations of corruption, waste and ineptitude it has faced along the way. With clarity and wit, Ross rakes over RTÉ's colourful past while also considering what the future might hold for this once beloved institution. Ideal for readers who… Follow Irish current affairs and want context on RTÉ’s recent public scandals. Are interested in media studies, broadcasting history and Irish public institutions. Read Shane Ross for sharp political and institutional non-fiction. Want a timely paperback on corruption, waste and accountability in public life. Are buying for readers of Irish politics, journalism and contemporary history.

by John Connolly

€16.99

The players call it the Game, and its aim is simple: to abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught. They're very good at it. They've been playing it for a long time. And they can keep playing so long as everyone stick to the rules: No Killing Close to Home and No Killing Outside the Game. But those rules have been broken. When the drowned body of a troubled teenager is recovered from a river in Maine's Kennebec Valley, and a young woman disappears from a small rural town, they draw the attention of the private investigator named Charlie Parker. Now Parker will be forced to confront a band of men without morality and without loyalty, not even to one another, in a place where the very darkness is alive. Because something has emerged from the shadows, something very bad. And it wants revenge. Ideal for readers who: Follow Charlie Parker and want another dark Maine investigation with a supernatural edge. Enjoy crime fiction built around ritualised murder, broken rules and moral rot. Like private investigators facing villains who feel almost mythic in their cruelty. Appreciate thrillers where darkness is both literal atmosphere and spiritual threat.

by Kathleen MacMahon

€12.99

A brilliantly observed, funny, poignant and utterly real portrait of a mid-life woman and her family. I loved it.' Claire Fuller 'An elegant and beautifully-observed novel by one of our finest contemporary writers' Louise Kennedy 'I found myself taking screenshots to send to friends because MacMahon nails it over and over again' Claire Kilroy --- 'Marriage was the biggest decision of their lives and yet they made it so lightly it was barely a decision at all' As schoolgirls, Justine and her best friend Iseult dreamed of a future that revolved around marriage. They saw it as a happy ending, never imagining for a moment that the reality would be more complicated. Coming up to fifty, they're still best friends. Justine has been married to Iseult's brother for twenty-five years and lives in her childhood home. Iseult has spent her adult life abroad, her marriage clearly unhappy for reasons she won't discuss. When Justine's daughter suddenly announces her engagement, Justine is thrown into planning a big family wedding. Afraid that her daughter is making a mistake, she finds herself questioning the choices she and Iseult made decades earlier. This crisis of confidence tests Justine in new and unexpected ways. From the Women's Prize longlisted author of Nothing But Blue Sky and The Home Scar, Other People's Lives is a captivating story about the decisions we make in a heartbeat, and their lifelong consequences. --- 'A book to inhale' Belinda McKeon 'Warm-hearted and relatable, perfectly captures the messiness of modern family life' Aingeala Flannery 'MacMahon is an astute chronicler of modern life' David Park 'A tender-hearted portrait of modern life, told with MacMahon's trademark wit and warmth. I flew through it' Louise Nealon 'Beautiful' Hilary Fannin 'Incisive, witty and tender, there's not a woman in the country who won't relate to this fine and thought-provoking novel.' Christine Dwyer Hickey 'Thoughtful and provocative, a beautifully narrated story of friendship and marriage' Anna Fitzgerald 'Simply exquisite. MacMahon is one of Ireland's finest writers.' Anne Griffin 'Perceptive, tender, astute, beguiling' Martina Devlin 'I really and truly loved this tender, deeply satisfying novel' Orla Mackey 'So beautifully observed, so penetrating, so coolly aware of the texture of people's lives.' Neil Hegarty 'This wise, truthful novel explores brilliantly all the complexity of women's lives' Anne Tiernan 'Thought-provoking and utterly absorbing' Sinéad Crowley Ideal for readers who: Prize beautifully observed fiction about marriage, friendship and midlife uncertainty. Reach for domestic comedy when the awkward details feel painfully exact. Gravitate toward contemporary Irish novels that are elegant, funny and quietly devastating. Notice the unspoken tensions around family rituals, weddings and old choices.