Pot o' Gold II:
More Irish Fiction

FICTION

If You Could See Me Now, by Cecelia Ahern. Hyperion, 2006.
In this chick-lit with a twist, uptight interior decorator and reluctant surrogate mom, Elizabeth Egan, begins to worry when Luke, the nephew she is raising starts interacting with an imaginary friend named Ivan. Why, then, can she also see him? And why is she so drawn to him? By the same author: P.S. I Love You (2004)

Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy. 2007.
Outside the erstwhile sleepy Irish village of Rossmore is Whitethorn Woods where the "unofficial" shrine of St. Ann's Well attracts so many pilgrims that the little town overflows with visitors. But now a new highway bypass is slated to cut right through the woods, dividing the townspeople over the issue of the benefits & pitfalls of progress. By the same author: Nights of Rain and Stars (2005), Quentins (2002), Scarlet Feather (2001), Tara Road (1999), The Return Journey (1998), Evening Class (1996), This Year It Will Be Different & Other Stories; Christmas Treasury (1996), Circle of Friends (1991), The Lilac Bus (1991), Silver Wedding (1989), & Firefly Summer (1989).

The Pig Did It, by Joseph Caldwell. Delphinum, 2007.
New York-based creative writing instructor Aaron McCloud escapes romantic unfulfillment to County Kerry to stay with his Aunt Kitty. He encounters a lost pig that attaches itself to him and subsequently digs up a human skeleton buried in the backyard. Aunt Kitty identifies the the remains as that of her lover Declan Tovey. Multiple accusations fly and secrets are revealed in this comic tale in which Guinness and a lot of blarney flow in equal amounts.

The Dower House, by Annabel Davis-Goff. St. Martin's, 1998.
The dower house of Dromore was built to accommodate a series of Hassard widows displaced by the deaths of their husbands. As Ireland emerges from the postwar years, Molly Hassard sees that the Anglo-Irish tradition of exquisitely set tables (even though food is scarce) and all the talk of "suitable" marriages are rubbish. She flees her elegant poverty and painful memories of Ireland for the easier life to be found in swinging 1960s London, where houses are small but dry and people actually buy jewelry rather than inherit it. By the same author: This Cold Country (2002), The Fox's Walk (2003).

The Matchmakers of Kenmare by Frank Delaney. RH, 2011.
World War II is the backdrop for this tale of romance, intrigue & heartache when matchmaker Kate Begley falls for Ben MacCarthy, whose wife has gone missing. Sequel to: Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show (2010). By the same author: Ireland (2005); Tipperary (2007), Shannon (2009), etc.

A Star Called Henry, by Roddy Doyle. Viking, 1999.
Traces the making of an IRA terrorist from his birth to his participation in the 1916 Easter uprising. Followed by: Oh, Play That Thing (2004). By the same author: The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (1996), which was followed by Paula Spencer (2006).

Fallon's Wake, by Randy Lee Eickhoff. T. Doherty, 2000.
Ex-IRA assassin Tomas Fallon is persuaded to come out of retirement to stop the GDC, an unsavory splinter group of revolutionaries, from bringing drugs into Ireland. He borrows a papal passport rom his twin brother, and totally unaware of involvement by the American CIA, follows a trail to New York and finally to an Irish powerbroker in Boston and his ne'er do-well son. By the same author: A Hand to Execute (1987), The Gombeen Man (1992). Eickhoff is also author of the "Ulster Cycle" which recreates the ancient mythological figures and tales of Ireland, consisting of: The Raid (1007), The Feast (1999), The Sorrows (2000), The Destruction of the Inn (2001), He Stands Alone (2002) & The Red Branch Tales (2003).

How to Murder a Man, by Carlo Gébler. Boyars, 1999, 1998.
In this story inspired by true events, Thomas French, a land agent appointed to bring order to a decaying and profitless estate in County Monaghan following the Great Famine, offers the poverty-stricken farmers free passage to America in exchange for the rights to their land, In doing so he attracts the enmity of the local Ribbonmen, a brutal and merciless secret society, who sentence French to death.

The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate, by Andrew Gold. NAL, 2006.
In the 16th century, fiery Grace O'Malley does not let her gender hamper her as she sails the high seas plundering the ships of the Dutch, French, Spanish and Turks, and Queen Elizabeth I, who grudgingly admires this.

The Bird Woman, by Kerry Hardie. LB, 2006.
Ellen McKinnon has always had the "gift" of seeing, although to her it has been an unwelcome burden. After leaving her husband, who had had her committed because of her visions, she has found solace with Catholic sculptor. But then she develops the power to heal as well and as word spreads, she is beset by people wishing to have her healing touch. As she comes to terms with her roles as wife, mother, and Irishwoman, Ellen learns to accept who she is. By the same author: A Winter Marriage (2003)

Winter Bloom, by Tara Heavey. Galler, 2010, 2009.
Even though she knows nothing about gardening, recently widowed Eva Madigan finds herself drawn to a neglected, overgrown walled garden and asks permission to bring it back to life. She is aided by a motley crew of fellow Dubliners, who all discover common ground and a sense of healing in the garden.

The Dowry, by Walter Keady. T. Dunne, 2007.
In post-WWII rural Ireland, Brideen Conway and Kieran McDermot long to wed, but the couple can’t afford to marry. As the second son, Kieran isn't likely to inherit from his skinflint father. Wealthy pub owner, Austin Glynn has a very different problem. He can provide a substantial dowry for his homely daughter, Aideen, but thus far, none have asked for her hand until Kieran's ne'r do well brother steps forward. But is he motivated by love for Aideen or her money? Meanwhile, the town's new priest, Father Donovan, hatches a scheme to insure local youths to get married and stay rather than emigrate.

Once in a Lifetime, by Cathy Kelly. Downtown, 2010, 2009.
Kenny's Department store has been a mainstay for ages in the small Irish town of Ardagh, but now there are rumors of a takeover bid. As it's workaholic owner, David Kenny, struggles to keep the store afloat, bolstered by the women in his life--his celebrity TV journalist wife, Ingrid, and local "witch" Star Bluestone, who sells beautiful handcrafted tapestries at the store and who was formerly David's lover. By the same author: Always and Forever (2005); Past Secrets (2006); Just Between Us (2007).

The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marian Keyes. Viking, 2010, 09.
Seven neighbors in a Dublin townhouse find their lives entangled by the visitation of a sassy and prescient spirit that causes them to rethink their relationships, careers and values. By the same author: This Charming Man (2008).

Brendan, by Morgan Llywelyn. Forge, 2010.
The story of Saint Brendán the Navigator and his legendary quest to find the Isle of the Blessed. By the author of the "Irish Century" series: 1916 (1998), 1921 (2001), 1949: A Novel of the Irish Free State (2003), 1972: A Novel of Ireland's Unfinished Revolution (2006), and 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace (2008).

But Come Ye Back: A Novel in Stories, by Beth Lordan. Morrow, 2004.
Now that her husband, Lyle, has retired, Mary Curtin talks him into moving to her native Ireland. During their ensuing years in Galway, they discover that the surprises of life are not over and they rediscover their love for each other.

The Stray Sod Country, by Pat McCabe. Bloomsbury, 2010.
Follows the lives, squabbles, troubles, secrets, fears, friendships, and betrayals of the Catholic denizens of Cullymore in 1957, a small Irish town near the U.K. border. By the same author: The Butcher Boy (1993); The Dead School (1995); Call Me the Breeze (2003); Winterwood (2006); The Holy City (2009).

Authenticity, by Deidre Madden. Graywolf, 2005.
The relationship between erstwhile alcoholic painter Roderic Kennedy and a much younger artist, Julia Fitzgerald, is tested when she resolves to aid William Armstrong, a suicidal middle-aged lawyer she meets by chance.

Singing Bird , by Roisin McAuley. Morrow, 2004.
Prompted by a mysterious phone call from a nun who had arranged the adoption nearly 30 years earlier of her daughter, now a rising international opera singer, Lena Molloy travels to Ireland to learn what she can about the birth parents only to uncover a secret that nearly destroys her family.

Pomegranate Soup, by Marsha Mehran. RH, 2005.
Marjan, Bahar, and Layla, three sisters who have fled the violence of their native Iran, find a safe haven in the tiny village of Ballinacroagh, converting an old bakery into the Babylon Café, where their exotic delicacies charm the locals but earn them the enmity of the town bully. Followed by: Rosewater and Soda Bread (2008)

Civil and Strange, by Clair Ni Agonghusa. HM, 2008.
Ellen escapes Dublin and her failed marriage for the small village of Ballindoon, where her uncle Matt welcomes her with the rather mystifying advice to play it "civil and strange." She soon learns just what that expression means when she finds herself attracting the attentions of a younger man and subsequently the focus of gossip and judgment.

Wild Decembers, by Edna O'Brien. HM, 2000.
Neither Joseph Brennan, an Irish farmer in the rural community of Cloontha, nor his sister; Breege, ever left their ancestral home. From Australia Mick Bulger arrives to claim adjacent land inherited from an uncle. Soon Joseph and Mick are feuding and Breege is caught between loyalty and fear of her brother and her consuming love for the newcomer. By the same author: In the Forest (2002) & The Light of Evening (2006)

Ghost Light, by Joseph O'Connor. FSG, 2010.
In post-war London, aged, broken-down Molly Allgood recalls her rebellious youth in Dublin, the great love of her life (tortured playwright J.M. Synge), her once dazzling acting career, and her travels in America.

In the Province of Saints, by Thomas O'Malley. LB, 2005.
Growing up ad mist the poverty of 1970s Ireland, young Michael McDonagh deals with the rumors that link his own father to the recently dead Mag Delacey, his cancer-stricken mother, his IRA-connected uncles and his first love. And he discovers that becoming a man means that the choice between love and abandonment, loyalty and betrayal, survival and death, is not as easy as he once believed.

Knick, Knack Paddy Whack, by Ardal O'Hanlon. Holt, 2000.
19-year-old Patrick Scully is a small-town boy living in Dublin. Unhappy with city life and his dead-end job in a jewelry store, he retreats to the old certainties of his hometown and friends on weekends. But he finds he has less in common with his other friends now that everyone's out of school. Then his crazy pal, "Balls" O'Reilly, turns Patrick's semi-warm relationship with Francesca's into a tragic triangle.

The Tea House on Mulberry Street, by Sharon Owens. GPPS, 2005, 2003.
Daniel and Penny Stanley run a dilapidated tea house in Belfast where any number of patrons, who range from different walks of life and whose paths wouldn't normally cross, find refuge. Followed by: The Ballroom on Magnolia Street (2005, 2004) & The Tavern on Maple Street (2005).

The "Dublin Saga," by Edward Rutherfurd.
These novels--consisting of The Princes of Ireland (2004), and The Rebels of Ireland (2006)-- tell the epic story of love and war, family life and political intrigue in Ireland, from its pre-Christian origins to the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922.

As It Is In Heaven, by Niall Williams. Warner, 1999.
Story of an improbable love between Dubliner Stephen Griffin, a shy, naive, and withdrawn Irish schoolteacher, who has been lost since the tragic deaths of his mother and sister, and Gabriella Castoldi, a sophisticated, artistically passionate yet emotionally distant Italian violinist. Stephen's ailing father sees it and fears for his naive son. Nelly Grant, the greengrocer, predicted it and welcomes its sheer joy. Moses Mooney, the blind musician, has sensed its coming. None, however, can envision the depth and consequence of this union. For Gabriella will change not only Stephen's life but, in the deepest sense, the lives of everyone around them. By the same author: Four Letters of Love (1997) & The Fall of Light (2002).

IRISH MYSTERIES

Benjamin Black
Christine Falls. Holt, 2006.
When alcoholic Dublin coroner Garret Quirke finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, at the morgue one night, entering what turns out to be a false information about the death of a young woman named Christine Falls. Quirke launches an investigation and uncovers a transcontinental scandal orchestrated by members Dublin's high Catholic society.

Ingrid Black
The Dead. T. Dunne, 2004, 2003.
An ex-FBI agent living in Dublin is approached by a reporter who has been contacted by a man claiming to be serial killer Ed Fagan, a.k.a. the Night Hunter, who hasn't been seen or heard from in five years. As Fagan promises a new wave of terror, Saxon has good reason to believe it is a copycat killer. She killed him, a secret she has been keeping from everyone, including her lover, Chief Superintendent Grace Fitzgerald

John Brady
Police procedural featuring Inspector Matt Minogue of the Garda Murder Squad. Tenacious, unorthodox and brilliant, he is a world weary crime-solver with a well-developed sense of whimsy.

A Stone of the Heart. St. Martin's, 1988.
Unholy Ground. St. Martin's, 1989.
Kaddish in Dublin. St. Martin's, 1990.
All Souls. St. Martin's, 1993.
The Good Life. St. Martin's, 1995.
Carra King. Steerforth, 2001.

Ken Bruen
Life is an ever-downward spiral for Jack Taylor, who has been kicked off the police force for socking the wrong man's jaw and whose favorite pastimes (in no particular order) are boozing, drugs, and books. When he is functioning, he takes on investigations, using a Galway pub as his "office." There's nothing cozy about this series, which will appeal to fans of Elmore Leonard, James M. Cain, and Robert B. Parker

The Guards. Minotaur, 2003, 2001.
The Killing of the Tinkers. Minotaur, 2004, 2002.
The Magdalen Martyrs. Minotaur, 2005, 2003.
The Dramatist. Minotaur, 2006, 2004.
Priest. Minotaur, 2007, 2006.

Dicey Deere
Torrey Tunet is a 28-year-old translator from Boston who falls in love with Ireland and eventually settles in the little town on Ballnagh. Aside from her flair for languages, she is a curious sort--okay, nosy, and soon adds amateur sleuth to her resume.

The Irish Cottage Murder. St. Martin's, 1999.
The Irish Manor House Murder. Minotaur, 2000.
The Irish Cairn Murder. Minotaur, 2002.
The Irish Village Murder. Minotaur, 2004.

Ann C. Fallon
Mystery series on the "cozy" side featuring Dublin solicitor James Fleming.

Blood is Thicker. Pocket. 1990.
Where Death Lies. Pocket, 1991.
Dead Ends. Pocket, 1992.
Potter's Field. Pocket, 1993.
Hour of Our Death. Pocket, 1995.
Deadly Analysis. Pocket, 2000.

Tara French
In the Woods Viking, 2007.
Rob Ryan survived a unsolved horrible incident that left two of his friends dead as a boy and is now a member of the Dublin Murder Squad. His partner, Cassie Maddox, is also his best friend and is the only one on the force who knows about his past. Followed by: The Likeness (2008.)

Bartholomew Gill
Chief Superintendent Peter McGarr is head of Ireland's Special crimes Unit. An IRA sympathizer, he is a mastermind of detection with a penchant for intrigue. Being Irish gives him, according to Le Monde (he formerly worked in Paris) "a certain guile that allowed him to think like a criminal and keep one step ahead of them." He is ably assisted by his trusted staff and sensible, spirited young (much younger) wife, Noreen.

McGarr and the Politician's Wife. Scribner, 1977.
McGarr and the Sienese Conspiracy. Scribner, 1977.
McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher. Scribner, 1978.
McGarr at the Dublin Horse Show. Scribner, 1979.
McGarr and the P.M. Belgrave Square. Viking, 1983.
McGarr and the Method of Descartes. Viking, 1983.
McGarr and the Legacy of a Woman Scorned. Viking, 1986.
The Death of a Joyce Scholar. Morrow, 1989.
The Death of Love. Morrow, 1992.
Death on a Cold, Wild River. Morrow, 1993.
The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile. Morrow, 1995.
The Death of an Irish Seawolf. Morrow, 1996.
The Death of an Irish Tinker. Morrow, 1997.
The Death of an Irish Lover. Morrow, 2000.
The Death of an Irish Sinner. Morrow, 2001.
Death in Dublin. Morrow, 2003.

Jonathan Harrington
Irish-American Danny O'Flaherty comes to Ballycara to search for his roots and instead becomes the chief suspect in the murder of his cousin, Rose. This gives him two mysteries to solve. Danny relocates to Ireland where he works as a teacher in Dublin where the second title in the series takes place, but eventually moves back to NYC with his girlfriend to teach in the inner city.

The Death of Cousin Rose. Write Way, 1995.
The Second Sorrowful Mystery. Write Way, 1999.
A Great day for Dying. Write Way, 2001.

Cora Harrison
In Medieval Ireland, the western seaboard is home to an independent kingdom that lives by the ancient Celtic laws of their fore-bearers. 36-year-old Mara, the King’s appointed judge, who is responsible for maintaining law and order and for running the local law school, uses all of her investigative skills to solve a variety of brutal murders.

My Lady Judge. Minotaur, 2007.
A Secret & Unlawful Killing. Minotaur, 2008.
The Sting of Justice. Minotaur, 2009
Writ in Stone. Severn, 2010.
Eye of the Law. Severn, 2010.

Erin Hart
There are an awful lot of bogs in Ireland, which means there is always the chance of a discarded body popping up. When they do, it gives visiting American pathologist Nora Gavin something else to do besides give lectures at Trinity College. Not only does she get a chance to investigate, she gets to work with her sometime lover, archeologist Cormac Maguire.

Haunted Ground. Scribner, 2003.
Lake of Sorrows. Scribner, 2004.
False Mermaid. Scribner, 2010.

Declan Hughes
Ed Loy hasn't been back to Dublin for over twenty years. But his mother is dead, and her only son, who has been working as a Private Investigator in LA, has come home to bury her. He finds an Ireland in the grip of an economic boom, where new buildings have sprung up on streets that are now unrecognizable and cranes line the horizon, an Ireland that feels completely new. But beneath the shiny facade lurk the same old enmities, the same old secrets, the same old blood feuds.

The Wrong Kind of Blood. Morrow, 2006.
The Color of Blood. Morrow, 2007.
The Prince of Blood. Morrow. Morrow, 2008.
All the Dead Voices. Morrow, 2009.
City of Lost Girls. Morrow, 2010.

David M. Kiely
The Angel Tapes. St. Martin's, 1997.
A bomb explodes under a busy Dublin street, killing six and injuring many others just days before the visit of the US President. Detective Superintendent Blade Macken, whose personal life is a shambles, heads the investigation. He is contacted by the twisted bomber who calls himself Angel and who threatens more explosions if his demand for $25 million isn't met.

Andrew Nugent
The Four-Court Murder. Minotaur, 2005.
When a very unpopular judge is murdered in his chambers, Dublin police detectives Insp. Denis Lennon and Sgt. Molly Power uncover a wide variety of suspects, some of whom could be linked to the judge's lucrative sideline involving fencing stolen artworks.

Ian Sansom
Israel Armstrong, a Jewish vegetarian, is like a fish out of water in rural Ireland where he accepts a job driving the beat-up mobile library. Israel quickly finds himself in any number of zany situations.

The Case of the Missing Books. Doubleday, 2006.
Mr. Dixon Disappears. Harper, 2006.
The Book Stops Here. Harper, 2008.
The Bad Book Affair. Harper, 2010.

Leonie Swann
Three Bags Full. Doubleday, 2006.
In this whimsical "tail," a flock of sheep, whose shepherd, George, read to them every night, set out to find out who killed him.

Peter Tremayne
Set mainly in Ireland during the mid-seventh century AD, Tremayne's series features Sister Fidelma, a former member of the community of St Brigid of Kildare who is also a qualified dalaigh, or advocate of the ancient law courts of Ireland, and as such, she employs her considerable powers of reasoning and deduction to solve one perplexing murder after another.

Absolution by Murder. Signet, 1994.
Shroud for the Archbishop. Signet, 1995.
Suffer Little Children. St. Martin's, 1997.
The Subtle Serpent. St. Martin's, 1998, 1996.
The Spider's Web. Signet, 1997.
Valley of the Shadow. Minotaur, 2000, 1998.
The Monk Who Vanished. Minotaur, 2001, 1999.
Act of Mercy. Minotaur, 2001, 1999.
Our Lady of Darkness. Minotaur, 2002, 2000.
Smoke in the Wind. Minotaur, 2003, 2001.
The Haunted Abbott. Minotaur, 2003, 2002.
Badger's Moon. Minotaur, 2004, 2003.
The Leper's Bell . Minotaur, 2006, 2004.
Master of Souls . Minotaur, 2006.
A Prayer for the Damned. Minotaur, 2006.
The Dove of Death. Minotaur, 2010, 2009.

Short Stories

Hemlock at Vespers. Griffin, 2000.
Whispers of the Dead. Minotaur, 2004.

The Ground She Walks Upon, by Meagan McKinney. Delacorte, 1994.
The granddaughter of a witch, Ravenna vows to marry only for love but finds her fate linked to that of Lord Niall Trevallyan, an aristocratic man who wears a serpent ring that matches her own, rings that bind them to an ancient Celtic curse.

The Song of Ireland, by Juliene Osborne-McKnight. Forge, 2006.
The Sons of Mil long held the dream of the Island of Destiny close to their hearts. Bard Amergin and his followers land on its shores and build a settlement, but they soon discover they are not alone on the emerald isle. It is also inhabited by the Danu, a secretive people Amergin discerns are not human.

The Master of Earth & Water, by Diana L. Paxson & Adrienne Martine-Barnes. Morrow, 1993.
Years after being spirited away into the woods to be protected from the most powerful druid in all of Eriu, a boy learns of the remarkable destiny that awaits him. First entry in the chronicles of Fionn mac Cumhall. Followed by The Shield Between the Worlds (1994) and Sword of Fire and Shadow (1995).

Created and maintained by: Lynne M. Kennedy.

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