Scenes of a Graphic Nature: 'A perfect page-turner' (Dolly Alderton) from the bestselling author of The Rachel Incident

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I really, really enjoyed the mystery part of this book, and that was a part of the book I wasn't expecting. Small town/village secrecy is one of my favourite tropes in mysteries/horrors. However, I had a hard time distinguishing Clipim locals from one another (mainly the younger generation).

A witty story of second-generation immigrants trying to belong, Scenes of a Graphic Nature grapples with love, friendship and identity A moving and extremely funny look at family, roots and the myth of Irishness’ THE i, ESSENTIAL SUMMER READS I didn’t understand why that happened,” de Armas said. “I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than ‘Blonde.’ But to tell this story it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained. Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.” Like her debut, 2017’s Promising Young Women, Caroline O’Donoghue’s second novel has a young female protagonist; Charlie is an aspiring film-maker with Irish roots who, in trying to explore her dying father’s traumatic past, makes a truly terrible film. Along with her friend and co-creator Laura, Charlie sets out for Clipim, a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland where her father was the only survivor of an unspeakable tragedy in the 1960s. Something doesn’t add up about his story. Can the not-quite British, not-quite-Irish Charlie uncover the mystery, while finding a way to reconcile her confused identity? We are certainly going to find out.An] edgy and astute second novel . . . Caroline O'Donoghue is a master of the Technicolor character, fleshing out even the minor ones with brightness and wit . . . As ever, O'Donoghue is impressive on the complexities of being a young woman and delivers this insight with lively dialogue and a droll acuity that occasionally calls to mind the likes of Nora Ephron . . . O'Donoghue possesses an edginess and a wry sensibility that, despite the book's dark subject matter, ultimately translates into something zesty and companionable. Her easy curiosity about love, lust, loss and losing one's way will doubtless leave readers wanting more I was not expecting this to be thriller / mystery genre but it almost falls into this and is probably what kept me gripped and meant I finished the book in under 24 hours. Alongside the mystery element of the book their is a very sweet love story and a not so sweet exploration on a friendship - the kind of intense friendship you have in your 20s which has to evolve and change as you grow up but it always hard when someone is left behind.

THE RACHEL INCIDENT – Caroline O’Donoghue’s bestselling new novel, a hilarious and heartfelt story of unexpected love – is out now Caroline O’Donoghue’s delightfully quirky second novel is a propulsive and colourful adventure that moves at a galloping pace. After an inauspicious showing of Charlie’s film at the festival, the two English girls travel on to Clipim, a small fictional island off the coast of Kerry, as west of Ireland as you can possibly get and where Charlie’s father came from. Charlie wants to connect with her dad’s history before she loses him. Only ever half-listened to before, as parents’ repetitive stories to their children tend to be, his memories have taken on heightened significance and relevance to Charlie as he has become frailer and closer to death. Sara Manning Red A darkly humorous, keenly observed blend of millennial drift and murder mystery from a razor-sharp writerThis book hit me hard all over the place - funny bone, gut, head, heart, balls, the whole lot. It’s the best new book I’ve read this year and I’m going to read it at least once more before the year is out.

Charlie's ignorance about modern Ireland and her sense of entitlement because of her roots is a big part of the story and is very well done, because I very much disliked her for it...the book isn't preachy about it, but I've met people as ignorant as her in real life and it's just tiring how naive she is. A moving and extremely funny look at family, roots and the myth of Irishness' THE i, ESSENTIAL SUMMER READS I can’t say that it has all been revelatory but, amongst all the lip-biting loves-that-almost-were and anguished inner monologues on the river bank, there are definitely some absolute *queens* doing great work in contemporary literature. And the queen of those queens is, for me, Caroline O’Donoghue. Put this book somewhere safe, because it is set to be one of those you spend your life reading over and over - discovering new moments and new lessons each time. I've been a huge fan of Caroline O'Donoghue's writing for a long time and I think Scenes of a Graphic Nature - blisteringly funny and clever - is her best work yet. Raw, heartfelt and incredibly compelling, I can't recommend this enoughHowever, the mystery and the town’s growing hostility wasn’t the main driving force for me. It was Charlie, her humour and the look into her friendship with Laura and possible, budding romance with Maria. Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O’Donoghue | Virago | €13.99 pb | 352pp | 9780349009957 review by Joanne O’Sullivan This was an intriguing character driven book, with a hint of small town mystery thrown in for good measure. While the characters were interesting, the plot was enjoyable and the mystery held a lot of promise, I am left feeling a bit conflicted about my feelings for the book altogether.