This was an original story with a plot that kept you guessing. It follows the fate of three generations of women from the same family and moves between Donegal and New York. A major premise is how life would have been entirely different if a different choice was made in a given moment. It does not fight shy of controversial issues and explores rape, abortion rights and infertility/forced adoption . While it is an absorbing story with a complete ending, there is no dramatic climax. However, you are left with a sensation that life is strange and there is a connectedness between people no matter how unlikely. A really fulfilling read.

You’ve gotta love January for the whopper new novels, and so many of the good ones are debut novels like this one. Catherine Airey grew up in England to mixed Irish-English parentage and wrote her debut novel Confessions in Cork.

If you love sprawling, literary, multi-generational novels spanning continents, this is one for you - think The Secret History, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow or In Memoriam.

Confessions is seriously addictive reading, maintaining quite a pace almost throughout the entire ~480 pages. It is intricately plotted and plays with narrative styles, switching for one of the voices to second person narrative. It uses an old-school video game as a plot device that perhaps didn’t always work for me but I admired the author’s boldness in putting it front and centre.

The book opens with a bang: “Two days after she disappeared most of my mother’s body washed up in Flushing Creek”, and propels the reader through to the end, turning pages, dying to know what happens.

It’s New York in 2001 and Cora is a 16 year old girl to single father Michael, who works for Cantor Fitzgerald. Michael loses his life in the North Tower on 9/11, and so the story of three generations of women is launched. The story moves to Burtonport in Co Donegal, and back to NYC.

It touches on a range of social issues (abortion rights, AIDS, rape, mental illness to name but a few) and perhaps this is where it lost me a little. Some issues were shoehorned in a bit. It’s a minor complaint in what is a pretty astonishing debut novel that is bound to be a huge hit when it’s published on 25 January. 4.5/5 ⭐️

Many thanks to @vikingbooksuk for the arc via @netgalley. As always, an honest review.

It's September 2001 during the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11 and Cora Brady is feeling it in a very personal way as her father is missing. He is her only parent, her mother having died many years previously. So now she is orphaned and adrift in New York when a letter arrives from an aunt in Ireland. The aunt, whom Cora has never met and suspected she wasn't actually real, is suggesting Cora go stay with her...

I must admit to struggling with this book. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. In the first half of the book I was quite interested in Cora and what she would do, but the second half I found so slow it was all I could do to get through it, and actually gave up after about two thirds. Don't get me wrong, it's well written and well researched, I just wasn't interested enough to keep going to the end.

Confessions is one of those novels which leaves you thinking that there is no way this could be a debut - it is so accomplished, so beautifully written, engaging and moving that it has to be someone with a long time in the trade. Confessions is a debut, though.

The first section about the child of a man who died in the tragic events of 9/11 hooked me immediately, and then the narrative switches back decades, to Ireland in the 1970s, and I was fully committed. Catherine Airey manages to capture such distinctly different voices and tones with natural ease. There is more to this novel than you first realise, and you have to admire her ambition here. I am certainly very keen to see what she does next.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

Confessions is an interesting, complex debut novel telling the story of three generations of women set in New York and rural Ireland from the 1970s onwards. It touches on many topics affecting women throughout this period. It starts with Cora, in New York on September 11th 2001 - she skips school to wait on her drug dealer boyfriend, switches on the TV and sees the destruction of the towers. Her dad works for Cantor Fitzgerald and doesn't return home. With her mother having died some years earlier Cora takes up the invitation to go back to rural Ireland to live with her aunt.
The story extends to the story of her mum, her aunt and her grandmother, the treatment and rights of these women over the years in an interwoven social history particularly of women's reproductive rights.
With strong characters who will live with you for a while and interesting plot turns this novel has.a lot of potential for 2025. It's one I expect to hear spoken about and discussed in many circles which might open up lots of unexpected conversations in book groups.

I really wanted to love this book, but alas, I did not. Whilst I can appreciate how well written this book is and don't get me wrong, the writing is exquisite. That's the only thing that I enjoyed. One of my biggest bug bears in literature is authors who write about sexual assault and do not pay it due diligence. It seems gratuitous and unnecessary.
I found I didn't relate to the characters at all, and when I was slightly invested in Cora's story, it changed perspective. For the second half of this book, I was incredibly bored. I'm all for a character study and a slower paced read, but this unfortunately didn't work in Confessions at all. It's probably only one of the books I've ever skim read the last 30 pages of because I just couldn't bear to read it anymore.

For me, Confessions is a book about family and place. It's about belonging and knowing who your tribe are - whether you're related by blood or not. As so many of the characters in the book discover - who you thought was your blood is not necessarily the truth and they aren't always the people who will fight for you or that you'll be closest to.

Confessions begins with Cora Brady whose father has just died in the North Tower on 9/11. Her mother had passed a few years previously and as Cora begins to navigate her new world she receives a letter from an aunt she had not known about.

The rest of the story carries us back to the lives of Cora's mother and aunt (with firays into their pasts). It follows the sisters as they deal with their own father's death and mother's withdrawal from the world.

Throughout the book there are also glimpses of a computer game called Scream School, which is the house that dominates the whole book. It is a place where all the women have differing experiences of life bit where they continually return to.

I found this book quite hypnotic at times as it delves backwards into the recent past dealing with it in a very personal way. There are difficult subjects tackled such as teenage pregnancy, abortion, rape, women's rights, death and dementia.

Not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination but it's also extremely well written; a beautifully told tale of love, loss and hope. A marvellous debut. I look forward to reading more by Catherine Airey.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Rachel Quin/Penguin for the advance review copy
Most appreciated.

This book is quite something for a debut novel. It is so full of depth and feeling. The writing seems to evoke a real sense of the feelings between all the characters creating an atmosphere of warmth but sadness at the same time. All the characters really want the same thing just to love and be love but they somehow feel misaligned just never really being able to connect at the right time. This is a deep and thoughtful read.

This is an amazing debut novel. It covers many sensitive issues as it moves from New York to Ireland and back again through three generations of women. I found some of the family connections a bit confusing at times and wished I had started a family tree at the beginning! But it's a great read, full of feelings and emotions, angst and not much joy - a very Irish trait. Highly recommended, I hope the book does really well. With thanks for the e-ARC to read and review.

The novel opens with a troubled young girl, Cora, waiting for an older boyfriend who’s not going to show. Her life is starting to spiral even before her father’s death. She ends up in Ireland to live with her aunt. We then hear the background story of the sisters Maire and Roisin. And how they went their separate ways.
I found this book a struggle as I couldn’t get involved with the characters. It started well but drifted once different people were introduced: sometimes in the past and sometimes in the present. Unfortunately I couldn’t wait to finish it.

It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone. Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long-forgotten promise. There the story of her family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…

Wow, what a fabulous book. So well written with real, loveable characters who come alive in print. The story, intertwined as it is, is breathtakingly good. It’s a modern saga, entertaining and impossible to put down. I even read the acknowledgment (which is a first for me.) Great writing.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is slowly woven together through different times and places. It is written beautifully. The characters are rich and flawed but you understand the motivations of them all. I would have like Sanjeet and Scarlett’s back story developed a little more but I appreciate that would have let to a longer book. Definitely recommend this and thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read this early copy.

Oh my goodness; it’s rare to find a title with three strong and powerful female voices. Each distinct and with a story to tell and this debut is an astonishing accomplishment. It’s immersive, the people feel real and the issues tackled are relevant. As an aside, I found the cover alone a strong pull into this book. There’s something wistful and lost portrayed and I immediately wanted to know more.

The story takes place over a number of decades and life in rural Ireland along with 21st century New York is well portrayed. This is a tale of loss and injustice. The past reverberates into the present as family secrets are revealed. It’s also a story of redemption and hope and is beautifully constructed with moments of sadness and joy as the pieces start to fall together to make the whole. It’s quite introspective, but not depressing and I’m sure this is an author who’s one to watch.

This was a really absorbing read and managed to tell a complicated tale that spanned decades and countries. I found all the characters so intriguing and there was a lot of sadness and regret in the choices they had made. It was fascinating to see Cora and Emily somehow find each other and it was sad, really to read about Maire’s near constant unhappiness right up to the end of her life. I’ve been thinking about scenes in the book since I finished it a few days which I think is always a sign of a good read, so I would recommend it.

Confessions is a multi-generational story of 3 women: Cora, Maire and Roisin. It opens with Cora's search for her dad after 9/11 and leads her to her aunt in Ireland. Through the backstory of Maire and Michael we learn about Cora's past, present and future. The prose of Maire was rich and engrossing, allowing her to come off the page and become a 3 dimensional person. Michael at times felt like he needed more character development. The story switches between, past and present which at times felt a little disjointed. Confessions is a great read in showing family dynamics at their core and the secrets that each generation hides.

4 stars
This book was beautifully done. The story was told with such an intricacy that l've not found in a lot of other books. I really enjoyed seeing the different generations of women interwoven together. The timing was occasionally choppy, but something I can look past for such a complex thread of generational character study and traumas. I felt like I got to know each character adequately. I wish there'd been a bit more depth and clarity on the scream school game though. Finally I enjoyed the social commentary in this book, specifically surrounding abortion in Ireland.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an ARC of this book.

This book is set in the USA and Ireland.
It starts in New York in 2001 at or around the time of the twin Towers attack.
The story is effectively the story of three generations of Irish women.
These women are unusual and live a full, but strange and interesting life.
The book moves from 2001 back to Ireland in 1974 where it all started, then later to 2018, where it ends, at least for now.
The characters are strong and interesting, the stories are good but not complete.
I really enjoyed this book but finished wanting more of some of the parts of the story.
This may be accidental, or it may be left so that a sequel can be brought out. I would definitely look forward to a sequel.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Confessions by Catherine Airey
Published by Penguin General Uk
Publication Date 23/1/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was invited to read this and was so glad that I was as it totally enthralled me from start to finish. Original, honest and extremely moving, I could not put it down. Opening on 9/11, and then skipping back and forward a generation from the viewpoints of 4 women from the same family, I was interested and engaged through. Loved it.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and to netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Catherine Airey’s Confessions is a hauntingly intricate story of family, secrets, and the enduring pull of the past. Spanning New York City post-9/11, 1970s County Donegal, and contemporary Ireland, the book weaves together three timelines connected by a mysterious video game, “Scream School,” and the complex relationships between generations of women.

The characters are the book’s greatest strength, each vividly drawn and connected through shared quirks, history, and trauma. Cora Brady’s search for her father in 2001 sets off a chain of revelations, while her daughter Lyca unearths long-buried family secrets in 2018. At the heart of the story is the fraught sisterly bond between Roisin and Moira in 1974, whose choices echo through time.

Airey’s ability to balance emotional depth with sharp, evocative prose keeps the narrative engaging, even when the shifting timelines and perspectives become a little disorienting. While the book tackles heavy themes, moments of humour and warmth provide balance.

Confessions is a richly layered and beautifully written debut that rewards attentive readers with its compelling exploration of family, memory, and identity.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This is a tome covering three generations of women, their relationships and traumas. It starts with 9/11 where Cora realises her father has died in the terror attack as he was on the 104th floor of the North Tower. She meanders through the streets in a haze along with everyone else and tries to piece her life together as a newly orphaned 16 year old. A letter from Donegal arrives revealing an aunt who has knows nothing about with an invitation to visit- she flies to Burtonport.
The story continues with the narrative of her mother Maire and her journey from Ireland to New York and as she fights her personal demons. For a debut author, this is a highly ambitious story but it works and despite the sorrow, it is gripping. Donal Ryan has competition!