L'Autriche Dans La Confederation Italienne (1859)

Forget about the best of times. This is the worst of times. Two years on and Paul Rooney is still hurting from the loss of his beloved Jenny, going through the motions at work (prosecuting the fraudsters of Ireland for the Revenue) and at home (eating Pringles and dreaming the same dream night after night) and, all the time, going slightly mad. Two years on and Mary Conroy is still grieving for her beloved David, taking photographs that no one wants to print and trailing round after her best friend, the dynamic Deirdre, who’s determined to pull her out of this slump some time soon. She wouldn’t mind dreaming the same dream night after night if she could just work out what it means. Both looking for answers, but finding nothing but questions, Paul and Mary have a way to go before they realize what everyone else has known for a while: some things are just meant to be. This witty black comedy is Kieron Connolly’s first novel.