‘It wasn’t until the following morning that her body was found. The ground had been frozen overnight, an Arctic mass having moved south and extended over Ireland, bringing with it a widespread, severe frost.’
– Some of This is True
[ About Some of This is True ]
On an icy morning in January, a body is discovered at the bottom of the Wishing Steps at Blarney Castle, seemingly the tragic death by falling of a young tourist.
Jessie DeMarco had travelled to the Cork village in search of the father she’d never known. When her bereft mother Dani arrives from America to identify her daughter’s body, she brings with her a story of Jessie’s father’s past – now a pillar of the community – that will soon lead to shocking accusations and fervent denials.
Convinced that her daughter’s death was not accidental, Dani sets about uncovering evidence, as the local community begins to take sides. But who to believe – the local man they have known all their lives, or a devastated mother with nothing to lose?
[ My Review ]
Some of This is True by Michelle McDonagh publishes June 5th with Hachette Ireland and is described as ‘a gripping, twist-filled story of secrets, deception and suspicion.’
Set in the village of Blarney in Co. Cork Some of This is True is a story about broken families, duplicity, guilt, and a dead body. When young Jessie DeMarco arrived to Ireland from Boston, she came with a dream. Having had a grievance with her mother Dani about her paternity, she went in search of her father without informing any members of her family. When Jessie’s body is discovered one cold winter’s morning at the base of the famous Wishing Steps in the grounds of Blarney Castle the village is shocked. Peeping out windows and gossiping with neighbours and friends is only to be expected but, when strange accusations follow, rumours circulate that something more sinister may have been at play.
Dani is notified of Jessie’s death when the local police call to her home in Dorchester. This traumatic news sends Dani into a spiral. Dani is devastated and unable to accept the fact that her baby is dead. The journey across the Atlantic is fraught with anguish and deep sorrow and the identification of Jessie’s body in a Cork morgue is almost too much for Dani to process.
By request she stays in the B&B that Jessie was staying in, sleeping in her bed and smelling the last few remnants of her scent in the guest room. Noelle, the landlady, is uncomfortable with Dani staying with her, and with the idea of having to comfort her. While Noelle is a solid member of the community she has enough of her own issues to contend with and is overwhelmed by this larger than life loud American.
Maria, Noelle’s friend and neighbour, and local school teacher is, like all of Blarney, upset that something like this has happened in their warm community. She is a mother of two teenagers, married to the local school principal, Tadhg, a man with a fine upstanding reputation and a long-time GAA supporter. As Dani begins to get more restless, convinced that there is more to her daughter’s death than a tragic accident, Maria is initially enthralled, encouraging updates from her best friend, but this curiosity soon turns to concern when something totally unexpected transpires.
As secrets are slowly revealed, the seemingly welcoming veneer of this small village starts to slip. Dani is relentless to the point of being quite aggressive in her search for the truth. With her own mental health crashing down around her, she persists on getting justice for Jessie. Her approach is quite unorthodox, soon placing her on the wrong side of quite a few people as she casts aspersions and throws out some very distressing comments.
Some of This is True is a domestic village mystery with many unappealing and toxic personalities and a tragedy at its core. It is the story of a community protecting its own and the constant challenges faced by an outsider trying to break through its ranks. Dani DeMarco has suffered all her life. Her misfortunes continue to shadow her as she negotiates her way through local bureaucracy and whispers, determined to find out what happened to Jessie. But will Dani ever find peace?
Some of This is True is very much a novel about its characters and their actions. There is something quite familiar with all the different personalities that will appeal to many readers, with recognisable traits and features that make them easy to visualise. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the Blarney setting in this tale that Gill Perdue describes as ‘compelling intergenerational domestic noir’ and Catherine Kirwan as ‘a perceptive dissection of small town Ireland in 2025’.
[Thank you to Hachette Ireland and PR Plunkett for a copy of Some of This is True in exchange for my honest review ]
[Bio ]
Michelle McDonagh is an Irish journalist with over twenty-five years’ experience, including twelve years as a staff reporter at the Connacht Tribune. She now works freelance, writing features and health pieces for numerous Irish papers, including The Irish Times.
She is married with three children and lives in Cork.
She is the author of three novels: There’s Something I Have to Tell You, Somebody Knows and Some of This is True.
Having visited Blarney Castle this past year, I’m eager to add this title to my TBR.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention Mairead.
You are kidding me!! I could have met you for a cuppa.