Changes

It's Ireland, it's the 1980s, and a young woman is dead. Whether or not she deserved to die is up for debate, but Lydia, our first narrator, certainly thinks she had it coming. By the end of the book, Annie will not be the only person in whom life is extinguished, and for all the characters life lives will be irrevocably changed.

I don't read a whole lot of Irish fiction, nor many books set in the decade I was born, but I took to this story easily. It's unusual to have a story that is semi-modern and semi-historical at the same time, especially one which does not steadily make its way forward to the present day, but the Ireland described here is traditional and one I recognise from the news during my childhood. Lydia is a devoted, conservative mother to Laurence her much loved only child. He is growing up, but she is reluctant to let go of their relationship, which is much closer (unhealthily so) than the one he has with his father. As girls come and go in his life, his mother is the one constant...until he meets Karen. As transformations go, Karen's is the starkest. From small -town girl to young wife to career girl, she became one of my favourites and I was so pleased when she stood up to the men who tried to control her life.

Another family -focussed thriller that hits the spot, [[Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson]] is excellent. We've also enjoyed [[Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent]].