John Walshe | Business Post

John Walshe

johnwalshe

Shrines of Gaiety: Sprawling novel of 1920s London life beguiles and dazzles

Set in 1926, Kate Atkinson’s family saga is a rich tapestry of plots and sub-plots that will keep readers guessing till the end

Haven: A religious zealot takes his spiritual quest to the edge of the world

Following the journey of three monks to the uninhabited Skellig Michael in the early days of Christianity, Emma Donoghue’s latest novel is a study of fanaticism, hardship and the relationship between the men

The Queen of Dirt Island: Ryan returns to his roots with a memorable multi-generational tale

The Irish author’s sixth novel follows a family of Tipperary women whose relationship becomes almost symbiotic as the years pass

The Last White Man – An unnerving parable of racism is short and sharp

Mohsin Hamid’s 180-page tale of what happens to white people when they have their racial appearance altered overnight will stay with the reader for a long time

How Minds Change: A well-argued study that goes in search of the truth

Journalist David McRaney was convinced that we all remain stuck in our views, but when he saw that people could be persuaded to change their minds, he started to investigate what brings us to the tipping point that forces change

The Stone Age: A rocking account of pop’s legendary bad boys on their worst behaviour

Journalist and author Lesley-Anne Jones captures the adventures, excesses and the extraordinary careers of one of the world’s most entertaining bands in her lively history of the Rolling Stones

Rose Dugdale: The remarkable story of an upper-class debutante turned republican revolutionary

Irish Daily Mail news editor Sean O’Driscoll shines a light on the wild life and times of the woman behind the Russborough House art theft, which was only one of her daring exploits carried out on behalf of the IRA

Risking it All: A Musk hagiography fails to gain any real traction

South African journalist Michael Vlismas’s biography of the Tesla founder seems rushed and ramshackle

The Amusements: Convincing and bleakly funny slices of life in seaside Tramore

Aingeala Flannery’s debut novel, set in the faded former Victorian holiday resort in Co Waterford, follows the lives of its residents, some of whom may appear briefly, but all of whom leave an impression

London in Black: A frighteningly plausible dystopian debut

Jack Lutz’s tension-filled first novel follows a series of deadly terrorist attacks in the British capital, and a tough but traumatised detective determined to solve a related murder

Edith: Tender portrait of a half-forgotten Irish literary figure

Martina Devlin’s new novel looks at the life of Edith Somerville, the co-author of The Irish RM with her second cousin Violet Martin

The assassination of Sir Henry Wilson – the spark that lit the flames of Ireland’s Civil War

Journalist Ronan McGreevy skilfully lays out the repercussions felt in Ireland after the murder of an Anglo-Irish MP by the IRA in London in 1922

The Trial of Lotta Rae: MacGowan’s debut novel is a bleak and brilliant tale of female reilience

Journalist and musician Siobhan MacGowan (sister of Shane) has set her story of oppression and fight in the tumultuous early years of the 20th century

‘It’s not a political novel, Mary Lou’: Ardal O’Hanlon on writing, religion and Irish republicanism

When Covid put a stop to live performances, the comedian returned to the draft of a book he had started years previously and the result is a laugh-out-loud novel with some dark and bloody twists

What Eden Did Next – Sheila O’Flanagan’s gift for literary authenticity serves her 30th novel well

A tale of social mores in a modern setting is by turns poignant and funny

The Deadwood Encore – A madcap midlands adventure combines black humour with serious themes

Kathleen Murray’s memorable debut novel has plenty of laughs, but also captures the subtleties of family relationships

Irvine Welsh interview: ‘I retired when I was 30, and I’ve basically been on a working holiday since then’

Almost three decades after becoming an overnight sensation with Trainspotting, the Scottish author is in no mood to slow down as he prepares to return to Ireland for the Beyond the Pale festival

All Along the Echo – a journey towards nuclear oblivion, or just another humdrum weekend in Cork?

Danny Denton’s second novel flits about like an attention-deficient wasp, yet holds us rapt and imbues his characters with real warmth and humanity

Book review: Duffy and Son – a warm, witty and wise tale of a male Monaghan matchmaker

Damien Owens knocks a barrel of laughs out of a septuagenarian father’s attempts to help his middle-aged son find love

Book review: This Woman’s Work – A fascinating fusion of female perspectives on music

Journalist Sinéad Gleeson and musician Kim Gordon have put together an entertaining collection of essays on the influence of music on women’s lives