Hellfire

Author: Mia Gallagher

Publication Date: 2006

Category: Contemporary Fiction; Irish Fiction

Who'll want to read it? Not the faint hearted.

Point of no return: Page 5 "Then I duck through the bushes and the willa trees and when I get ta the big stone where I left her, I stop and scrabble around for a while. There's nothin there. I kick the brambles with me feet, hopin for a sign, dried blood, bone, anythin, and even though I know this is crazy, it was thirteen year ago, I'm still disappointed, and the ghost beside me more so, when I find nothin."

Classic line/s: Page 395 "They say in the telly wildlife programmes a mother will do anythin ta protect its cubs, even tear off its own foot in a snare, but they musta made another programme for Ma".

Page 471"Then ya push through that line - how I don't know - and drop yer face, breathin in the scenta me hair, and then ya kiss me throat with a kiss that's got more care in it than anythin else I've felt in me life..."

What's it all about? Lucy Dolan and her growin up in late 21st Century heroin drenched Dublin. There's murder, there's maimin, there's torture and a Ma that had her first kid when she was 14. Ma, Granny, Lucy and little sister Sam all have the sight, but none can prevent the tragedy the story revolves around. I'm not sayin what that is, cause that would be tellin and'd spoil the whole book. There is love in the book, but the only romance is the tellin' and retellin' of the tales of Buck Whaley and his dealins with the Devil. Or is that Nayler, Lucy's one-time hero, her Captain, and his dealings...?
Publisher: Penguin

Who killed channel 9?: The death of Kerry Packer's mighty TV dream machine

Author: Stone, Gerald Publication Date: 2007 Category: Social history/entertainment Who'll want to read it? Those interested in the Australian media. Point of no return: pg. 11 Classic line: "Am I still here? How f*%#@! long is this going to take?" Kerry Packer on his deathbed, 26 December 2005. What's it all about? The behind the scenes machinations that have changed the political and emotional landscape at channel 9 in the last few years. Publisher: Pan Macmillan

12:23 Paris, 31st August 1997

Author: McNamee, Eoin Publication Date: 2007 Category: Literary suspense Who'll want to read it? Conspiracy theorists. Point of no return: Having read Eoin McNamee's last 4 books, reading this was a foregone conclusion.
Classic line: "The thing he liked about tailing someone was that it added an extra dimension to the subject. He liked to think of himself as bringing ambiguity and drama to people's lives" page 5. What's it all about? Eoin McNamee possesses a certain mastery in writing novels based around actual people and events. 12.23 is set in Paris on the weekend Diana Spencer died. It is a fictional account of the lead up to the fatal accident in the Alma tunnel. We see most events from the point of view of a washed up ex-special forces operative employed to "watch and report" on people connected with Diana Spencer. McNamee portrays a chilling world of espionage and corruption - a world in which to "sanitize" is to remove all protective surveillance from the vicinity of a subject, leaving assassins clean access to their target. The story explores some intriguing possibilities about the weekend of "Spencer's" death (as she is continuously referred to in the novel). McNamee's ability to portray the inner nuances of so many different characters creates a rich and plausible cast. Even if you don't like the topic, you will be entranced by the atmosphere created.
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Interview with Eoin McNamee from the Belfast Telegraph, 23.09.2007:

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To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Publication Date: 1960 Category: Classic American Fiction Who'll want to read it? Everyone Point of no return: Page1 "We were far too old to settle an argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus. Our father said we were both right." Classic line: For context I'll give you a few lines: "Dill was becoming something of a trial anyway, following Jem about. He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him, then promptly forgot about it. He staked me out, marked me as his property, said I was the only girl he would ever love, then he neglected me. I beat him up twice but it did no good, he only grew closer to Jem." Chapter 5 What's it all about? The most beautifully written coming of age story I've ever read. Scout's innocent, honest and wise voice tells the story of a small town's prejudice, bigotry and snobbery. Yet it also tells of the strength of human spirit, the value of life, loyalty, patience, perseverance and love in it's many forms. Publisher: Warner Books