Orlagh Doherty

Writer and reviewer

Alan McMonagle: his protagonist is a troubled soul trying to figure out where she belongs

Review: Laura Cassidy's Walk of Fame by Alan McMonagle

Orlagh Doherty welcomes Alan McMonagle;s new novel, with its them of youthful ambition played out in Galway theatreland.

Books • 01 May 20

Irish novelist Sinead Moriarty - her fourteenth novel is an emotional roller-coaster

Reviewed: Seven Letters by Sinead Moriarty

Just out in paperback, Seven Letters is an agonizingly gripping read, a heartbreaking tale of the loss of hope, writes Orlagh Doherty.

Books • 03 Mar 20

Book review: The Personals by Brian O'Connell

The creative and imaginative approach which Brian O'Connell takes in his investigations into the back-story of seemingly mundane small ads makes reading The Personals a magical experience.

Books • 06 Jan 20

Pat McCabe: The further adventures of Francie Brady

Reviewed: The Big Yaroo by Patrick McCabe

Disturbing and disgusting, one of Patrick McCabe's most memorable characters, Francie Brady is back with a bang.

Books • 26 Nov 19

Emma Donoghue, best-selling author of Room, is back with Akin

Book review: Akin by Emma Donoghue

Emma Donoghue's new novel Akin felt more like a tour around Nice as opposed to an engaging story writes Orlagh Doherty.

Book Review • 05 Nov 19

Review: Cecelia Ahern's PS I Love You sequel Postscript

A heartbreaking tale that doesn't simply continue on the narrative from PS I Love You, but, rather, elegantly grows with it - that's Orlagh Doherty's summation of the sequel to the aforementioned novel from best-selling Dublin author Cecelia Ahern.

Books • 21 Oct 19

Who the hell has forty eight women at a hen weekend?! asks Orlagh Doherty.
Authors Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (photo Al Higgins)

Reviewed: Once, Twice, Three Times an Aisling

Laugh out-loud storylines and cultural relatability, the latest in the highly bankable Aisling series is the love child of Derry Girls and Bridget Jones Diary.

Books • 01 Oct 19

Lucy Sweeney Byrne: her protagonists travel the world and experience loneliness in beautifully-written stories

Reviewed: Paris Syndrome by Lucy Sweeney Byrne

Self-aware yet unapologetic, Paris Syndrome captures the highs and lows a young woman experience's while trying to find her feet in the world.

Books • 25 Sep 19

Current affairs journalist and first-time fiction writer Henry McDonald (pic Bobby Hanvey)

Reviewed: Two Souls by Henry McDonald

Brimming with testosterone and angst, Henry McDonald's fictional debut Two Souls is an engrossing account of the love lost and blood shed during the Northern Troubles.

Books • 19 Sep 19

Edna O'Brien: exploring trauma and serial loss to extraordinary effect in Girl (Pic: Murdo MacLeod)

Reviewed: Girl by Edna O'Brien

Edna O'Brien's nineteenth novel depicts the trauma which Nigerian schoolgirls experienced when ambushed and captured by Boko Haram militants. This raw account of a young girl's captivity and escape is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Books • 12 Sep 19