2021-07-04 16:16
Checking out my library books this week, I noticed someone returning The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. You might recognise Moriarty’s name as the author of the novel behind the T… Read More
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Welcome To The Izzy Reads Book Reviews Blog
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Welcome to izzyreads.com -- a book reviews blog that I created in 2009 when I first started to chat online about the books I read.
2021-06-30 16:24
Although Claire Allan has at least 8 other novels to her name, I hadn’t come across her until I picked up The Liar’s Daughter in the library this week. This is a fast, suspensefu… Read More
2021-06-16 10:15
From time to time, Dr Sabina Brennan pops on the radio discussing topics like brain health, ageing and dementia. She has the knack of making science accessible and explaining how it can help… Read More
2021-04-13 09:25
Rummaging around on why To Be Read (TBR) shelf last week, I came across The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton. Published around a year ago, the blurb describes this as a “pacy, gossip-fuelle… Read More
2020-08-10 15:32
Two things drew me to Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. First, O’Farrell herself whose earlier fiction and non-fiction stand out in my mind as some of the most enjoyable reads that I h… Read More
2020-05-20 10:52
Our Little Cruelties is a character-driven novel about three brothers — Will, Brian and Luke Drumm — and the rivalries of their family life. The story begins at a funeral. One of… Read More
2020-05-02 13:50
The three main characters in CL Taylor’s Strangers have led entirely separate lives up to the moment when fate brings them together at a death scene in a Bristol shopping centre. Ursul… Read More
2019-01-13 16:30
Helen Fields has recently added two new titles to her Scotland-based police procedural series that began with Perfect Remains and continued with Perfect Prey and Perfect Death. Perfect Silen… Read More
2019-01-13 16:24
The blurb: Emilie Pine speaks to the business of living as a woman in the 21st century – its extraordinary pain and its extraordinary joy. Courageous, humane and uncompromising, she wr… Read More
2018-09-16 15:55
Set on a remote island off the coast of Scotland, The Last of Us is the story of six children who have survived some kind of plague that took the lives of their parents and the other islande… Read More
2018-09-10 14:35
The title may be Skin Deep but there is nothing superficial about the characters in Liz Nugent’s third novel. The story opens with Cordelia Russel in a room where she has just mu… Read More
2018-08-10 14:32
Chaos opens on a hot summer evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Dr. Kay Scarpetta on her way to meet her husband FBI agent Benton Wesley for dinner. Before they get a chance to eat, how… Read More
2018-06-26 15:27
Patrick McGrath showed up on the programme for the 2018 Festival of Writing and Ideas at Borris talking madness and menace with historian Roy Foster. While I didn’t make it to th… Read More
2018-06-15 15:16
Hilary Mantel came to my notice back in 2012 when I fell in love with Wolf Hall. Since then, I’ve read a few of her earlier novels including A Change of Climate and Beyond… Read More
2018-05-01 16:13
Like Lockhart’s earlier work, Genuine Fraud explore themes of privilege, truth and lies. In an author’s note, E Lockhart lists her sources of inspiration for Genuine Fraud… Read More
2018-01-20 16:55
This week, thanks to Wicklow and Waterford City and County Libraries, I got my hands on a copy of I am, I am, I am – Seventeen brushes with death by Maggie O’Farrell. Although I… Read More
2018-01-10 17:31
If you are a fan of police procedurals, keep an eye out for the third title in Helen Fields DI Callanach series. Due out out this month (January 2018), Perfect Death follows on Perfect… Read More
2018-01-07 21:12
The Therapy House by Julie Parsons won Crime Fiction Book of the Year at the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards 2017. Set in Dun Laoghaire, it’s the story of two murders… Read More
2018-01-05 17:43
This description of The Chalk Man was what first drew me to C.J Tudor’s debut novel. ‘None of us ever agreed on the exact beginning. Was it when we started drawing the chalk figu… Read More
2017-12-30 16:44
I first came across Julie Parsons a few years ago when I read The Guilty Heart, a thriller about a father whose son disappeared. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a review of The Therapy House, w… Read More
2017-12-13 17:30
Recently, a friend mentioned she was reading The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz. Whether through grief, marital breakdown, family, health, financial or… Read More
2017-11-22 17:35
The blurb for Tony Connolly Brexit & Ireland promises the inside story of the Irish response to the outcome of the UK’s 2016 referendum on EU membership. Connolly, Europe editor fo… Read More
2017-11-08 21:38
I really liked how In a Cottage in the Woods opened. Cass Green sets up the story in just a couple of pages. She introduces a troubled heroine, Neve Carey and a suicidal woman called Isabell… Read More
2017-11-02 14:55
Marian Keyes takes a wry look at midlife crises in The Break. The Break by Marian Keyes is the story of how a husband’s midlife crises sparks personal growth in his wife. Following the… Read More
2017-08-16 13:35
Although Neil White is a bestselling author, I hadn’t come across him until I saw From the Shadows on Netgalley. What drew me to the title was the description — “a gripping… Read More
2017-07-20 13:37
Three-quarters of the way through Perfect Prey by Helen Fields, at 10.30 on a summer’s evening, I dragged a lamp out to the conservatory so I could read on until I reached the end. Tha… Read More
2017-07-18 09:41
Haylen Beck delivers a tense thriller about an isolated mother struggling to find her children before it’s too late. Leaving behind an abusive husband, a young mother packs her belongi… Read More
2017-07-17 14:49
Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner is the second in a crime fiction series featuring Detective Manon Bradshaw. It is set in Cambridgeshire, where Manon who is 42, single and pregnant, lives wi… Read More
2017-07-10 10:48
Give Me the Child by Mel McGrath is a cuckoo-in-the-nest psychological thriller. It’s the story of a family pushed into meltdown by the unexpected arrival of an 11-year old love child… Read More
2017-06-12 14:44
House of Names by Colm Tóibín is the retelling of a Greek tragedy so it’s not surprising that vengeance, betrayal and passion are central themes. Arguably the real themes… Read More
2017-05-03 15:37
In Deep Water is Sam Blake’s second novel featuring Detective Garda Cat Connolly. A tense crime procedural, it is set in South Dublin and North Wicklow with the action kicking off… Read More
2017-04-13 16:16
Work and female friendship are central themes in Joanna Trollope’s latest novel, City of Friends. This is the story of four women who met as economics students and whose friendship has… Read More
2017-04-07 16:07
It’s not often I read a book in a single sitting, but that’s exactly what happened with Girl Unknown by Karen Perry. Part domestic drama, part psychological thriller, this story… Read More
2017-04-01 17:44
The first thing to say about My Husband The Stranger by Rebecca Done is that it isn’t really my kind of book. While it’s a domestic drama — which I usually like &mdash&hell…Read More
2017-03-28 15:56
I first heard about Apple Tree Yard at a book club meeting. Someone described sitting up all night to finish it. That persuaded me to buy a copy. Then, before I had time to read it, BBC tele… Read More
2017-02-24 17:08
A Life Discarded by Alexander Masters is the most unusual book I’ve read this year. Thinking about this review, I tried to come up with a novel to compare it to and the only one I can… Read More
2017-02-10 16:27
Over the last year or two, I’ve read a few different accounts of Ireland’s financial downfall. In different ways, and from different points of view, such accounts shed light on e… Read More
2017-02-01 10:54
The Good People by Hannah Kent is an engrossing read. Set in County Kerry, Ireland in the 1820s it’s a richly imagined story about folk beliefs. This is a very visual, sensory and… Read More
2017-01-16 15:47
Today, I finished Conclave by Robert Harris — a novel I waited ages to read. What took me so long was that I spent the last few weeks slowly reading Sebastian Barry&rsqu&hell…Read More
2017-01-12 15:09
Last month, Days without End by Sebastian Barry won the 2016 Costa Novel Award. It’s the story of two young men — Thomas McNulty and John Cole — who join the US army i… Read More
2016-11-29 10:03
Do your friends give you Christmas books? I’ve forgotten most of the toys I received at Christmas as a child but I still remember many of the books. So, today I thought… Read More
2016-10-16 18:16
The Woman Next Door by Cass Green is a dark psychological thriller about two women who become unlikely partners in crime when they collude to conceal a murder. Hester is a widow. We first en… Read More
2016-10-13 14:15
The Pearl by John Steinbeck was on the recommended reading list when I was at school. It’s the story of a pearl fisherman whose life changes forever when he discovers a large and… Read More
2016-10-10 14:19
In her police procedural Little Bones Sam Blake sets the action in and around Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey, County Dublin. More mystery than crime thriller, this is the story of t… Read More
2016-08-29 21:18
When the exam results come out in August every year, do your thoughts go back to the Leaving Cert novels? Mine certainly do. While I loved English at school, like most of my classmates… Read More
2016-08-23 13:33
Her Turn to Cry by Chris Curran is an atmospheric suspense story. It’s about Joycie Todd, a famous model living in London in the 1960s with her photographer boyfriend Marcus Blake.&nbs&hell…Read More
2016-08-07 19:55
If you enjoy a Scottish crime novel and haven’t come across Mark Douglas-Home, you’re in for a treat. Set on a fictional island in the Outer Hebrides, The Malice of Wav… Read More
2016-08-03 16:37
Local Girl Missing is a tense psychological thriller. This is the second novel by Claire Douglas. Her earlier work, The Sisters, was one of the best selling debut novels of&nb&hell…Read More
2016-07-28 17:30
A fraught friendship lies at the heart of Liane Moriarty’s domestic drama, Truly Madly Guilty. The story is about events at an impromptu barbecue on a Sunday after… Read More
2016-07-20 17:40
Watching Edie by Camilla Way is a twisty psychological suspense story. Written by Camilla Way, it’s the story of a dark friendship between two women who met as teenagers. Edie was a be… Read More
2016-07-16 10:21
My Name is Leon is an insightful account of a child’s experience of fostering. It is the first novel by author Kit de Waal who worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law. Set… Read More
2016-07-06 17:01
Set mostly in Aberdeen in Scotland, Valentina by SE Lynes is a psychological drama about two young mothers who develop a friendship. Shona McGilvery is a journalist, living with her partner… Read More
2016-06-15 16:31
Liz Nugent has produced another cracking psychological thriller in her second novel, Lying in Wait. Set in Dublin of the 1980s, Lying in Wait is a twisty, psychological suspense tale of lies… Read More
2016-06-07 12:57
A Perfectly Good Man is an excellent title for Patrick Gale’s novel because this is a story about “goodness” and “perfection”. But don’t let the morality… Read More
2016-05-31 23:15
[Updated review] This month, I’ve been rediscovering Patrick Gale, a novelist that I first came across several years ago. Gale is the author of Notes from an Exhibition, a beautif… Read More
2016-05-30 10:09
Not being a fan of chick lit, I hadn’t read Cecilia Ahern until her publisher sent me a review copy of Flawed. It arrived just days after I had watched Love, Rosie — the movie ba… Read More
2016-04-30 23:50
My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry is an interesting debut novel. A psychological suspense story, it explores the idea that sometimes people have to do something wrong before they can mak… Read More
2016-04-25 11:43
Vanessa Ronan, an American author living in Dublin, has produced a stunning debut novel in The Last Days of Summer. Beautifully written, The Last Days of Summer is the story of Jasper Curtis… Read More
2016-04-06 14:17
Page turners —those books you can’t put down — are great for relaxation. While I enjoy literary fiction, history and current affairs, it’s hard to beat a good thrille… Read More
2016-03-18 13:37
Bernice Barrington is a writer and journalist based in Ireland. Sisters and Lies is her debut novel. I enjoy domestic thrillers so when Penguin Ireland gave me an advance review copy of Bern… Read More
2016-03-05 23:56
You’ve heard about the Man Booker Prize but have you heard about the Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors? At a book event this week, I was told about this interestin… Read More
2016-03-05 17:01
Bishop’s Delight by Patrick McGinley is a delightful and deceptively easy read. On the surface it’s the story of a missing Taoiseach and two journalists determined to find out wh… Read More
2016-03-01 14:49
When it fell to the floor and stopped working, here’s how I fixed my Kindle Paperwhite broken screen. It was Saturday night. There was nothing on the television so I headed to bed… Read More
2016-02-23 15:38
Overcoming anxiety is a challenge for many people. Just this week, I heard a guest on a radio show describe how he had repeatedly checked that his phone was turned off on the way to the stud… Read More
2016-02-22 18:35
Fionnuala Kearney published her debut novel in 2015. You, Me and Other People attracted positive reviews and saw Kearney compared to JoJo Moyes and Liane Moriarty … Read More
2016-02-18 16:53
If you’re a fan, you’ll be familiar with Dr Kay Scarpetta, the forensic medical examiner introduced by Patricia Cornwell in her novel, Postmortem in 1980. Since then, more than 2… Read More
2016-01-16 17:59
Bantam Press have a new domestic thriller out this week. The Widow by Fiona Barton is a well written and readable debut novel in the domestic noir genre. It explores the dark dynamics o… Read More
2016-01-08 16:28
Things seem to be going according to plan for Roy, an elderly con man, and the antihero of The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle. Roy has his sights set on stealing the savings of an indepen… Read More
2016-01-08 15:56
If you’re on the look out for a good thriller to while away these dark January nights, you could do worse than pick up a copy of Rebound by Aga Lesiewicz. Dark, and full of surpri… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Sour by Alan Walsh is a modern retelling of the myth of Deirdre of the Sorrows. And, since a bit of escapism doesn’t go astray every now and then, when I got the opportunity to review… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
When I spotted The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright at a book sale recently, it reminded me that I had been meaning to read more of her work. So, I bought the book and settled down to read ju… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Never Surrender : Winston Churchill and Britain’s Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940 is popular historian John Kelly’s account of a critical year during… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Dulough, the Black Lake property, from which this novel takes its name, is a fictional rundown estate on the exposed northwest coast of Ireland that has been in the Campbell family for gener… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
February’s list contains several Irish authors whose novels I’ve been planning to read for some time, among them Benjamin Black (the alias of John Banville) whose Quirke series s… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Kate Atkinson scooped the Costa Award for her bestselling novel Life after Life — the story of Ursula Todd, a girl who gets to live her life many times over. The idea for the novel is… Read More
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