After the Rising: A Novel (An Irish Trilogy Book 1)

An Irish historical murder mystery of love, revenge and redemption, perfect for fans of Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor and The Irish Inheritance by M.J Lee. 

Twenty years ago, Jo Devereux fled Mucknamore, the small Irish village where she grew up, driven away by buried secrets and hatreds, swearing never to return 

Now she his back and wants to uncover the truth about what really went on between her family and their friends, the O’Donovans, during the Ireland’s bitter Civil War…

The consequences of that bitter division in the 1920s carried down into Jo’s own life, shattering her relationship with Rory O’Donovan, the only man she ever loved, and driving her to leave Ireland, swearing she’d never return.

Now, Jo’s estranged mother has died, leaving her a suitcase full of letters and diaries that seem answer some questions about the past. 

Was her great-uncle really murdered by Dan O’Donovan, his best friend? 

What would drive somebody to do that? 

And what part did her beloved grandmother play in this conflict?

Jo happy life in San Francisco has been unravelling since her friend Richard died last year. So now, much to her own surprise, she decides to stay on in Mucknamore and see if the letters and diaries bequeathed by her mother might provide the key to unlock the truth.

Over the course of a long hot summer, Jo is astonished to read about her grandmother and great-aunt, their part in Ireland’s fight for freedom and the repercussions that echoed throughout their lives. 

And to understand how the consequences of a cold-blooded murder are still ricocheting down through the generations. 

She draws close again to Rory, who still lives in Mucknamore and is mired in an unhappy marriage.

As she tells him about their shared family past, they realize their love affair was doomed long before they were born.

Now that they know, can there be a second chance at happiness? Rory is urging her to rebel, to forget the past and start over again. 

But reading their shared history has made Jo cautious. 

The strength of her feelings frightens her. She has learned how the passion of rebellion sweeps people up but what happens after the rising? 

Is there any way she can be true to Rory and herself, but also to the family she rejected when she was young and headstrong?

Is it possible that her mission to uncover the past might somehow reclaim the love that was lost to them all?

After The Rising is a sweeping, multigenerational tale set in the 1920s and 1990s Ireland and 1980s San Francisco. It is the first book in The Irish Trilogy, followed by Before the Fall. 
 

Praise for Orna Ross and The Irish Trilogy

“A highly ambitious, engaging and evocative novel and a hauntingly captivating read.” — Sunday Independent

“The sort of massive book you could happily curl up with for the entire winter, an impressive canvas interweaving a contemporary story of love, emigration and loss with the complex world of civil war politics, emerging women's rights and buried secrets. It explores the influence of our families on who we later become, in literary, lyrical language, while still being a captivating read.” —Irish Independent

“The writer has taken on a tough job - interweaving past and present and making them strike fire off each other... [and] has made brilliant use of original sources, including local historians in Wexford, adding the icing on the cake.” —Evening Herald

“No history book could reveal with as much compassion the impact of the Irish conflict on successive generations… This expertly crafted novel is an important work in terms of Irish social history, but it will also be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates intelligent and profound family sagas that make the reader count his own blessings.” — Historical Novel Society