The Ghostlights
The Ghostlights was published by Legend Press on 1st September 2021.
Summary
Can anyone really choose to be forgotten?
An elderly gentleman checks into a B&B in a small lakeside village in rural Ireland where he knows nobody. Four days later, his body is found in the lake.
The identity of their unknown guest raises questions for one family in particular, twin sisters Liv and Marianne, and their mother, Ethel, each of whom is searching for her own place in the world.
The Ghostlights brilliantly evokes the lives of the people in the town and explores the aftershocks of a stranger’s tragedy. What is identity? And strangerhood? What is the meaning of home, and what power do we have over whether or not we are remembered?
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Reviews
Gráinne Murphy laces a tale of life's disappointments with a delightfully wry humour, and conjures the inhabitants of Coolaroone...with incisive strokes, deft turns of phrase and great warmth
The Times 02/09/21
‘A haunting drama that reboots the rural Ireland we know and love.
Gloriously rich... An exquisite addition to the canon of fine Irish literature about life and death in the aul' sod.’
Sunday Independent 12/09/21
‘A subtle, penetrating delight of a novel’ Joanna Glen, Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award
‘Funny and moving’ Elske Rahill, author of An Unravelling
‘Murphy skilfully weaves a very Irish dark humour through this unflinching look at the choices we make and their impact on those around us’ Damhnait Monaghan, author of New Girl in Little Cove
‘A careful balance of wry humour, exposition of character, and unnerving mystery’ Frances Macken, Winner of the Beryl Bainbridge First Time Author Award
‘Quirky, thoughtful and exquisitely narrated, The Ghostlights is a beautifully observed story of family dynamics and the ripple effects caused by tragedy’ WI Magazine
Fiction at the Friary
Gráinne chats with Madeleine D’Arcy and Danielle McLaughlin about The Ghostlights 26th September 2021
