Tirgearr Publishing Logo

Digital Released: February 2016
ISBN: 9781310485930
ASIN: B01ATGYAA0

Print Released: October 2016
ISBN: 9781910234228
Amazon US, Amazon UK


Audio Released: June 2017
ASIN: B073DMHQF7
Amazon US, Amazon UK
Audible US, Audible UK

DUBLIN'S FAIR CITY
Author: Cathy Mansell
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Digital Price: $4.99
Print Price: $11.99
WHAT THE REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

Amazon US - Amazon UK - Goodreads

On her deathbed, Aileen’s mother reveals a secret she has kept for eighteen years, and pleads with her daughter to fulfill a last wish. Torn by grief, Aileen leaves Dublin, the Fair City, and Dermot, the man she has grown to love.

Lonely and vulnerable, she unwittingly befriends a salesman at the seed mill where she has found work. Suddenly, her life becomes entrenched with danger.

On a visit back to Dublin, Aileen discovers a devastating truth, but her mother’s last request is still shrouded in a mystery she is determined to unravel. When she finally decides to return to Dermot, and the family she loves, will the secret she too is now hiding tear her and Dermot apart?

Excerpt
Aileen Maguire stood up to stretch her back and looked out the bedroom window overlooking the busy Dublin street. Business went on as usual. England had won the World Cup, and men walked out of the newsagents with rolled-up copies of the morning’s newspaper stuffed into their jacket pockets. But, in the bedroom above the haberdashery on the corner of upper Dorset Street, eighteen-year-old Aileen’s mother lay dying.

With a sigh, she turned her attention back to the bedroom where her father was slumped in a chair by the side of the bed, his head in his hands. She picked up a cup of beef tea and held it out to him. ‘Come on now, Da. You’ve got to stay strong.’

He glanced up, exhaustion on his pale face. ‘Your mother’s been rambling again,’ he said. ‘For the life of me, I don’t know what she’s on about.’

‘Look, Da, you go and get your head down. I’ll sit with Ma.’

Jonny Maguire stretched his tall, lean frame and stood up. His hair, the colour of gunmetal, hung limply below his ears and across his forehead. Aileen had given up nagging him to have it cut. Since Ma had taken ill three weeks ago, he had dug in his heels. He cupped his hands around the mug as if he was cold. ‘You’ll call me if…’

‘I will, Da. Now, go on! I’ll nip down and check the shop later.’

Her ma’s eyes were closed but she appeared agitated, as if she was having a bad dream. Aileen pulled a chair closer to the bed and held her hand.

‘Jonny. Is that you, Jonny?’ Jessie Maguire’s voice was but a whisper.

‘It’s me, Ma. Da’s having a kip.’

Jessie turned her head towards her daughter. ‘Aileen! My perfect little girl!’

‘Not little any more, Ma, and not perfect either.’

As her mother gripped Aileen’s hand, the doorbell jingled in the shop below. Her mother tightened her grip and struggled to sit up ‘Is…someone looking after the shop?’

‘Everything is fine, Ma. No need for you to fret.’ Her mother appeared to have forgotten she had recently employed a woman part-time.

‘You’ll look after things. Your da won’t…cope well without me. And watch out for Lizzy. I don’t have long, so…listen to me.’ Her mother’s voice rasped as she struggled to breathe. Aileen stood up, dipped a cloth in a bowl of cool water, wrung it out, and gently bathed her ma’s brow.

‘Don’t try and talk,’ Aileen said, concealing her distress. ‘Da will be fine, Ma, and so will you. So, please, no more of that talk.’

Her mother’s face looked grey against the white cotton pillowcase. Aileen gently lifted her ma’s head and helped her to suck through a straw the nourishing drink recommended by the doctor.

‘I need to confess. Ask…the priest…to call in.’

Aileen placed the glass back on the side table. ‘But it’s only a week since he was here, Ma. What do you need forgiveness for?’ Aileen kissed the side of her mother’s face.

Top Reviews
Great novel written with an authentic voice
What a fantastic book! I have missed Maeve Binchy and to have discovered Dublin's Fair City by Cathy Mansell is wonderful. ~ Kiritaki, Amazon

• • •

Cathy transports you back to Ireland in the sixties. Her descriptions are terrific and her characters, compelling. A naïve girl discovers her mother's deathbed confession which leads her to the search for the truth. You'll love the story. I was sorry when it ended. ~ Amazon reader

• • •

I really enjoyed this book
I really enjoyed this book. The story kept me very intrigued.! I felt like I really got to know Aileen and really felt for her. ~ CCNelson, Amazon

• • •

a weekend well-spent
Not at all surprised to find this another absorbing and engaging read from the pen of Cathy Mansell. The characters are well-drawn and believable . . . Cathy has woven another touching story with an added sting in the tail. I'd thoroughly recommend this novel. ~ Anne Brown, Amazon

• • •

Thoroughly enjoyed this book
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Such a heartwarming story. Sat late into the night reading so caught up in the story wanting to know how life was going to turn out for young Aileen. Will be looking to read more of this authors work. ~ Suzanne Lambert, Amazon

• • •

Loved it could not put it down
Cathy has done it again , another great book its got it all romance, mystery, sadness and tragedy , Cathy puts so much feeling in to her books, you feel you almost know the people she is writing about, you feel their happiness and their sadness I have read all Cathy's books and enjoyed them all, I get so engrossed in them i have a job to put them, this one was no exception I have recommended this book to my friends and they have all said how good it is, cannot wait for her next one, well done Cathy. ~ Dawn Hnylycia, Amazon

• • •

. . . characters so vividly drawn and described that they spring to life in your minds eye as you read . . . the writing is enjoyable and crisp with Cathy's trademark descriptive style making the story live . . . the usual elements of romance, emotion, period and suspense that characterise her stories and have made her previous books such a success. Here we have a more intricately plotted tale that weaves in directions that her readers won't necessarily expect, adding twists and excitement while still staying true to her style. So I can't spoil any of this for those yet to read. ~ Stephen, Amazon

• • •

PERCEPTIVE AND ENGROSSING
Cathy Mansell is a born storyteller. I have read her other novels and came to this one with keen anticipation. And I wasn’t disappointed. I felt for Aileen’s bewilderment and anguish as her home life disintegrated, and she was forced to leave her home city of Dublin. With perception the author has described how innocent and trusting a young woman could be even in the mid-sixties. But once in the Midlands, Aileen soon discovers the realities of life and finds herself drawn into a situation that brings with it at first fear and then danger. The strength of this novel is Aileen herself, not only her loyalty and courage, but her desperate struggle to ‘do the right thing’, which is why she shoulders the burden of her mother’s secret. Peopled with well-drawn characters, I found it an absorbing and enjoyable read - and I do so love a happy ending. Highly recommended. ~ Minskip, Amazon

 

HOMEAUTHORSBOOKSSUBMISSIONSNEWSLETTERTIRGEARR
                            

• Copyright © Tirgearr Publishing - All Rights Reserved •