The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon: Fictionalised murder mystery inspired by a towering real-life midwife
Martha Ballard’s impressive life and legacy in the 18th century are celebrated via fiction
Book reviews in brief: Moral Formations, A Fool’s Kabbalah, Motherland
Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane: A potentially transformative vision
Gustav Parker Hibbett wins John Pollard Prize
The Illegals by Shaun Walker: The Russian agent who couldn’t get Irish people to shut up, and other spy stories
Rebel Notes: A timely take on republicanism and music, from The Wolfe Tones to Kneecap, via Alan Partridge
Writers’ shelfies: the must-have books on authors’ bookshelves
Audition by Katie Kitamura: This hotly anticipated novel is psychologically chilling
SHORT STORIES
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POETRY
Bodily takeover: New poetry from Gwyneth Lewis, Jennifer Horgan, Dedalus Introductions and Peter McDonald
By Vona Groarke
Author Shane Tivenan: ‘People who veer away from the norm have always had a magnetic effect on me’
By Martin Doyle
The Gatsby Gambit: Spin-off whodunit is a marketer’s dream and a literary reader’s nightmare
By Kristen Malone Poli
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: A masterclass in how to exquisitely put words on human frailty
By Anne Griffin
Rebel Angel: The Life and Times of Annemarie Schwarzenbach by Padraig Rooney - A biography of an enigmatic and still relevant Swiss writer
By Adrienne Murphy
Rembrandt’s Promise by Barbara Leahy: Historical fiction about the mercurial painter’s dire revenge
By Brigid O’Dea
Mary MacSwiney by Leeann Lane: A revealing, well-researched and compelling biography of this patriot
Good Trouble: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972 by Forest Issac Jones
By Daniel Geary
Am I Irish, British, or both? After decades pondering this question, a life-changing journey helped reveal my identity
By Nicholas Mackey
Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin: Inventive exploration of identity, faith and family
By John Boyne
The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz A Gerges – engaging read for seasoned observers
By Oliver Farry
