THERE ARE SOME for whom a new year means one thing: a list of new novels to look forward to.
We’ve pored through the lists of upcoming novels for 2024 and selected the cream of the Irish crop who will be publishing next year.
Whether your taste is for literary fiction, commercial fiction or crime, there’s plenty here to look forward to. (Plus some short story collections too).
Three Little Birds by Sam Blake (4 January, Corvus)
Crime fans will be drawn into this story from Sam Blake, which centres on a skull being found in Lough Coyne. Facial reconstruction expert Dr Carla Steele is drawn into the 14-year-old case – but she and DS Jack Maguire realise the case isn’t cold when they find the murdered body of a local woman close to the water’s edge.
The Favourite by Rosemary Hennigan (18 January, Orion)
Former solicitor and Fulbright Scholar Rosemary Hennigan’s second novel centres on Jessica Mooney, a talented student who’s top of the charismatic Professor Crane’s Law and Literature class. But her sister is dead – and Crane is to blame. She’s on a quest to bring Crane to justice, but will her search for revenge get in the way?
Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney (18 January, W&N)
Set to be one of the year’s most talked-about novels, Cathy Sweeney’s debut novel is about a middle-class woman who leaves her suburban home one morning – and decides not to return. We follow as she journeys by car, train and ferry to a new destination, trying to figure out how she got to this point, and what she’s set to gain and lose from abandoning the life she knew. Cork-based Sweeney’s collection of short stories Modern Times was published by Stinging Fly in 2020.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (18 January, Penguin)
Described as “Roddy Doyle meets Pat Barker – in a fifth century BC quarry (with jokes)” this is set in ancient Sicily. In 412 BC, thousands of Athenian soldiers are held captive in the quarries of Syracuse. Two local potters, Lampo and Gelon, visit the prisoners and find them reciting lines from Euripides’s plays for food. They hit on the idea to put on a performance of Medea in the quarry. But, of course, best laid plans… Lennon, the son of an Irish mother and Libyan father, was born in Dublin. He has a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin and an MA in Prose Fiction and is based in Norwich.
Wild Houses – Colin Barrett (25 January, Penguin)
Barrett’s short story collections, Young Skins and Homesickness, have many fans – now we finally have a novel from this distinct Irish voice. This is set in Ballina and focuses on a feud between small-time dealer, Cillian English, and County Mayo men Gabe and Sketch Ferdia, which turns into a kidnapping orchestrated by the latter. It brings us the story of two outsiders – kidnap victim Doll and his girlfriend, Nicky – trying to find themselves in a chaotic world.
Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy? By Rachael English (1 February, Hachette Books)
Morning Ireland presenter Rachael English has carved out a nifty second career as a bestselling author, and her latest book is for fans of the likes of Daisy Jones and the Six. In the early 1980s, trailblazing Irish all-woman rock band The Diamonds were on the brink of international success when they vanished. Stacey Nash, host of the popular podcast ‘Whatever Happened To…?’, becomes fascinated with the band and front woman Birdy Troy, and sets out to discover what happened.
The Hunter by Tana French (7 March, Penguin)
Tana French has amassed quite the fanbase over the past decade, thanks to her gripping crime novels. In her latest, two men arrive in a village for gold – but bring trouble. It centres on Cal Hooper, a former Chicago detective who has moved to the West of Ireland, where he has a relationship with local woman Lena, and a bond he’s formed with teenager Trey. Complicating things is the fact that one of the men who turns up is Trey’s father. Cal wants to protect Trey – but what does Trey want?
Habitat by Catriona Shine (7 March, Lilliput)
This debut novel has a really intriguing premise: it follows seven people over the course of a week as their mid-century apartment building in Oslo begins to disappear. Shine is definitely one to watch in 2024.
In Her Place by Edel Coffey (28 March, Sphere)
Journalist and author Edel Coffey’s follow-up to her bestselling debut Breaking Point is about Ann, a woman who devoted years to caring for her mother. After her mother’s death, Ann meets Justin in a bar in upstate New York. Justin’s wife has been dying for a long time and he’s grieving her imminent death. He asks Ann to move in and soon Ann is pregnant. But then comes unexpected news: a drug trial has worked, and Justin’s wife Deborah is coming home. Expect intrigue and empathy in this second novel from Coffey.
Girl in the Making by Anna Fitzgerald (21 March, Penguin)
Aimed at fans of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Claire Keegan’s Foster, this coming-of-age tale is about a gentle girl called Jean Kennedy growing up in suburban Dublin in the 1970s and ’80s alongside her mother, her Aunty Ida, and her little brother Baby John F. Dublin-born and West Cork-based Fitzgerald shows us how Jean is not safe at home, but when she tries to speak about the truth, she has to deal with the consequences.
Seaborne by Nuala O’Connor (April, New Island)
This is Nuala O’Connor’s sixth novel, and her most ambitious yet. She writes here about Anne Bonny, a one time pirate, who O’Connor images as uncompromising, queer, neurodivergent, brave and passionate. The author of the bestselling Nora journeys from Kinsale to South Carolina to Jamaica for this novel about the 18th century figure.
Reality Check by Vicki Notaro (11 April, Sandycove)
Fans of the Real Housewives franchise and juicy Jilly Cooper novels will devour this blockbuster that centres on an imagined Irish reality TV family (the Daniels, with mother Dessie the star of TV show Ladies of Los Angeles) á la the Kardashians. Given her years as a Real Housewives fan and glossy magazine editor, Notaro brings a believable and fun voice to this story, grounding it in real issues – like not having children, and difficult family relationships – while having a lot of fun with the gossipy plot. It focuses on Portia Daniels, who has to flee to be with her family when her boyfriend drops a bombshell – only for scandal to engulf various members of her family.
Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell (11 April, Eriu)
Leeanne O’Donnell – who was born in Dublin and now lives in rural West Cork – began her storytelling career working in radio with RTÉ and BBC. After making a number of award-winning documentaries for RTÉ’s Doc on One, she’s turned her hand to historical fiction. This is set in Georgian London, where Irish-born apprentice Peter Woulfe is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book – the Mutus Liber. But when he loses it to a young prostitute called Sukie and then finds a group of dangerous men pursuing him, he realises its value.
Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson (11 April, HarperCollins)
Sinéad Gleeson has edited multiple anthologies of Irish writing, and her award-winning debut essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life left readers eager to find out if she’d ever be turning to longform fiction. The long-awaited debut, Hagstone, is about an artist called Nell who lives on a rugged island, where she is invited by a mysterious commune of women known as Inions to make art that celebrates their history. This journey breaks open what she knows about the women, the island and herself.
The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes (16 April, OneWorld)
Hughes’s third novel is about a woman called Olwen, whose parents died in tragic circumstances, When Olwen goes missing, her three sisters try to find her, ending up in an isolated bungalow figuring out their pasts, and the future that their geologist sister is so worried about.
The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey (18 April, Pan Macmillan)
In her debut novel, Mulvey explores Ireland’s history of control over women and their fertility through the story of Nell and her partner Adrienne. They are about to have a baby, but are having issues because Nell was a mother before, and can hardly bring herself to speak to her own mother, let alone return home to Ireland.
The Honeymoon Affair by Sheila O’Flanagan (25 April, Headline Review)
One of Ireland’s commercial fiction favourites, Sheila O’Flanagan is back with a new novel. In this, we meet Izzy, who is in the Caribbean on what should be her honeymoon, after her fiancé broke her heart. She can’t deny the electricity when she meets Charles Miller, a successful writer holidaying alone. Meanwhile, back in Ireland, Charles’s ex-wife and agent Ariel flits from party to party and wonders if they should get back together.
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes (11 April, Penguin)
Ireland’s commercial fiction queen Marian Keyes has a huge and dedicated following who love her wise, funny and empathetic page-turners. In her latest, we meet Anna, who had everything – a New York loft, boyfriend, and successful career – but is now living back home in Dublin without any of them. After losing her purpose, she needs a challenge and finds it in a PR crisis in the town of Maumtully. But then an old love interest appears…
The Grateful Water by Juliana Adelman (May, New Island)
One for the historical fiction fans, this debut is set in Dublin in the summer of 1866, when a young butcher, Denis Doyle, spots a strange shape on the banks of the River Liffey. The case of infanticide is investigated by Detective Martin Peakin, who soon begins to realise that not all is as it seems.
This is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka (2 May, Canongate)
Catherine Prasifka is a young Irish writer who likes to explore the impact of social media on our relationships and view of the world. In her debut, the bestseller None of This is Serious, she examined what happened when a mysterious crack appears in the sky. In her follow-up, she looks at the dangers of growing up online, and how being online shapes us and our relationships.
When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips (2 May, Penguin)
In this thriller, a woman finally gets the chance to speak out against her elite Dublin school. That woman is Lou Manson, who is initially an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor. But the privileged school is hiding a dark secret, and Lou wants to expose it. This is interrupted when she befriends Shauna Power, because speaking out against the school would mean betraying her friend. Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation, and 30 years later she’s called to testify in a court case against Highfield – but it means confronting her past.
The Instruments of Darkness: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly (7 May, Hodder & Stoughton)
Bestselling crime novelist John Connolly returns to Maine for his latest Charlie Parker novel. Colleen Clark stands accused the abduction and possible murder of her child, and everyone has an opinion on the case. Defending Colleen is the lawyer Moxie Castin, who is working alongside private investigator Charlie Parker. And Parker has the feeling that there’s another twist to this tale that needs to be unravelled.
Ravelling by Estelle Birdy (9 May, Lilliput)
This explosive debut novel, set in Dublin’s Liberties, focuses on young men let loose in the city, navigating between drug-dealers, the Gardaí and family networks.
Exile by Aimee Walsh (23 May, John Murray)
Belfast writer Aimee Walsh’s debut novel is about a young woman named Fiadh, who has moved to Liverpool for university but has her life suddenly turned upside down on a night out in Belfast. The incident leads to gossip and rumours, leaving Fiadh in freefall and trying to find solace in drink, drugs and random hookups.
Mouthing by Orla Mackey (30 May, Penguin)
Another debut, this time from Orla Mackey, a writer and teacher based in Kilkenny in Ireland. Mouthing is set in the world of Ballyrowan, a sleepy town that’s a hotbed of gossip and intrigue. The novel is narrated in a dark, humorous and confessional style by several generations of villagers, from the mid-20th century to the early 21st. Naturally, each has their own version of the truth. Described as an “acerbic, unsentimental love letter to rural Ireland”, anyone with experience of a small town will be drawn to this.
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (6 June, Canongate)
The always delightful and darkly funny Kevin Barry brings us to the Wild West for his follow-up to Night Boat to Tangier. Set in 1890s Butte, Montana, we meet a pair of star-crossed lovers – hard-drinking young poet Tom Rourke and Polly Gillespie, the new bride of a devout mine captain – as they strike out on their own, only to find themselves pursued by a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen.
Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara (20 June, Penguin)
Andrea Mara is adept at writing gripping, twisty thrillers that play on our worst fears. In her latest, she takes the ‘stranger in an attic’ trope and plays it out to its worst conclusion. Anya is killed after a stranger emerges from her attic. Across town, her old school friend Julia sees a video of an intruder exiting an attic in a house – and realises it’s her own home in a gated community. Why would someone target Julia – and is that person a stranger at all?
The Drowned by John Banville (3 October)
Banville brings us to 1950s rural Ireland for his latest Strafford and Quirke mystery. In this, a loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field and soon becomes embroiled in a missing person’s case.
Quickly, While They Still Have Horses by Jan Carson (4 April, Penguin)
Multi-award-winning author Jan Carson is a short story aficionado, so this new collection will be one to treasure. It takes the form of 15 stories that touch on the thrills and horrors of growing up, the grief when youth is over; first love, mature love, parenthood and loss. Carson’s second novel, The Fire Starters won the EU Prize for Literature and she is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast.
Old Romantics by Maggie Armstrong (18 April, Tramp Press)
If someone gets published by Tramp Press, it’s always a sign that they’re set for great things. Armstrong has been published by Stinging Fly and the Dublin Review, and this is her first collection of short stories.
Barcelona by Mary Costello (7 March, Canongate)
Finally, a new short story collection from the wonderful Mary Costello, who won the Novel of the Year award at the Irish Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Costa First Book Award. Described as one for fans of Alice Munro and Wendy Erskine, this new collection explores “love, loss and the turbulent lives of ordinary people”.
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