A well written debut novel that touches on some very emotive subjects such as 9/11 and dementia. At times a bit slow and definitely not an uplifting novel. Set in Ireland and America thus gaining a varied potential audience. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I love it when a book from a debut author grabs me in, forcing me to read.

This book is too good to be able towrite a suitable review. It has to be read.

This melancholy novel moves back and forth in time to tell the story of three generations of Irish women, each of whom has a voice and all of whom are affected in some way by mental illness. Cora is 16 in 2001 when her father Michael is killed on 11 September. Her mother Maire died when she was 8 so now she's back in Ireland to live with her aunt Roisin. And then her daughter Lyra picks things up in 2018 but it all loops back again to when Maire went to New York to study art. The trauma here is immense, the issues this family struggles with oppressive. It's a lot. That said it's also atmospheric and immersive and if the ending is a little.....no spoilers. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is a big book that reads quickly and you will be rooting for all of these women.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an early read of this debut novel from Catherine Airey. 'Confessions' spans three generations of women,two countries-USA and Ireland and multiple points of view. It's at times an emotional read as we uncover the secrets that families hide - from outsiders and each other. I'm happy to recommend this well written novel.

"We are only as sick as our secrets." -Roisin Dooley

This is a brilliant and ambitious family saga. The novel starts in New York in September 2001. Cora Brady’s father worked as an accountant in the World Trade Centre and has not returned from work after the 9/11 atrocity. Cora’s mother, Maire, died seven years previously. This now leaves our young protagonist facing an uncertain future. However, as the weeks pass, Cora’s aunt Roisin contacts her and offers her a home and new life in the small town of Burtonport in County Donegal - the place that her parents met as children.

This book tells the stories of Cora, Maire, Roisin and Lyca (Cora’s daughter) over the course of five decades (from the 1970s to the later 2010s). Each narrative perspective is absorbing and Airey explores the themes of love, identity, loss and motherhood through the intricate lives and experiences of our female characters. I found this book utterly absorbing and a joy to read. An outstanding debut from a writer to watch out for in the future.

I believe this is a debut novel which is extraordinary! So well written, the characters are so well developed that I found myself thinking of them when I had put down the book. I loved the dual timeline, opening with the horrific events of 9/11 before going back to the 70s. The mother and daughter thread was so believable , heart breaking and beautiful. I really enjoyed this and it will stay with me for a long time.

This is a story about three generations of women and the secrets in their family, unearthed only decades later in the post-Covid world that we now know and inhabit. In 1970s Burtonport, Ireland, Maire and Ro are two sisters who have an intense love-hate relationship. Their mother has depression, their father's struggling financially, and they have half-African friend, Michael, who is in love with Maire but who Ro is in love with. Ro and Michael submit Maire's art to a school, hoping that she will get accepted there and someday become a real artist. It works, and in 1979, Maire goes to NYU on scholarship. It does not end well for her, and she leaves behind her daughter Cora.

On 11/9/2001, Cora's finds out that her father, Michael, died because his office was in one of the Twin Towers. Ro becomes her legal guardian, and as it turns out, Cora's pregnant at sixteen, so she gives birth to Lyca and raises her while working as an activist for women's reproductive rights. After Ro dies, Lyca pieces together the secrets in Maire and Ro's lives and learns that there is more to her ancestors and that she inherited from them than she ever imagined. This is a story about mental illness, art, and a lineage of both.

When reading Plath's 'The Bell Jar,' Ro says, "Right away it made me full of longing, hungry for the lives I'll never lead. Maybe it's just the fact that it's set in New York. There's a shininess to the narrator's life, the experiences she exposes herself to. Still the same feeling, though, of being trapped, not knowing how to act. It doesn't matter how many people you know, or where you go. You're left with yourself." I find that this passage encapsulates the three women's lives as they yearn for what/who they don't have, comparing themselves to others and letting their desires make them reckless. The videogame is an apt metaphor for the sisters and the bitter regrets they carried till the end of their lives; in the end they did not manage to choose each other, to reconcile and confess and seek forgiveness, until it was too late.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin General UK, and the author Catherine Airey.
I really enjoyed this story and the multiple narratives and timelines that linked up succinctly at the end. Although you had to suspend disbelief for the resolution a little bit, it didn't make it any less satisfying. An engaging read, 4 stars.

This beautifully written, panoramic novel was an absolute joy to read. I was engrossed by the characters and loved the breadth of storytelling. I liked the different PoV of the narrative and the setting.

The themes of family relationships, mental health, reproductive choice and sexual violence were well addressed within the story. The characters were strongly drawn and distinctive as well as being memorable. It''s a haunting story.

The only negative thing for me was that just occasionally the storyline felt a bit too on the nose and convenient. The section with Scarlett felt slightly shoehorned in and bizarre.

Otherwise I was completely taken with this. I'd recommend this to everyone.

The debut novel stands out as truly exceptional, offering a powerful portrayal of three generations of women within an Irish family living in New York. The writing style is impressive, showcasing unique and engaging characters, each with their own compelling stories. These narratives are skillfully interwoven, resulting in beautiful storytelling that captivates the reader. The contrasting settings of New York and Ireland enhance the exploration of social differences, and the author brilliantly describes and creates an atmosphere that transports you to these places. I was shocked to learn it was a debut. Thanks to Viking books and penguin random for the access to this book

Ok I’ve already found a top read of the year ! I can’t even express how much I loved this book . The NY setting is so vivid , I would have loved to have Ben reading this whilst in Manhattan .. The characters are so real , the story just had me , just read the book!! An amazing debut and I cannot wait to see what Catherine writes next !

An incredible novel and even more incredible that it is a debut novel. It is so well crafted with interesting, unique characters and their individual stories. Lightly interwoven which adds intrigue and tension. The settings of New York and Ireland allow the prevailing social attitudes to add to the stories of these strong but vulnerable individuals. Difficult to put down at times.

'Confessions' is a superb debut novel which powerfully depicts the lives of three generations of women in an Irish family living in Donegal and New York.

In the 1970s, teenage sisters Máire and Róisín both drawn to their neighbour Michael who has come to their small Irish town from across the Northern Irish border with his unmarried border. They are also fascinated by a mysterious house known as the 'Scream School', home to the Atlantis Primal Therapy Commune.

In 2001, Cora travels from New York to Donegal to live with her aunt Róisín, whom she has never previously met, after her father is killed in 9/11, having lost her mother to suicide nearly a decade before.

In 2018, Lyca starts asking questions about her mother and her great-aunt's past, and the strange house in which she has grown up.

Airey deftly combines different perspectives and time periods in a non-linear narrative structure, linked by what initially appears to be a 'decide-your-destiny' adventure story set in the Scream School (later revealed to be the text for an early video game), adding an almost Gothic sense of mystery and fear to the novel. Some connections between different narrative strands only become apparent as the story develops, including one particularly coincidental twist towards the end - but these add to the satisfaction of reading the novel.

Through the lives of Máire, Róisín, Cora, Lyca and others, we learn much about the experiences of women in Ireland and the US over several decades. The novel doesn't shy away from weighty and often harrowing topics including rape, abortion, mental illness and suicide, but the novel does also offer some hope for the future in its final section.

This is sure to be one of the most interesting literary debuts of 2025, Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

I enjoyed reading this story about family and secrets, told over three generations between New York and Donegal. But I'd heard a LOT of hype and I have to say it didn't really deliver: it felt like a good story, an entertaining read, but nothing particularly special. I'd give it 3.75 🌟

My first read of the year and the first of the books creating a lot of buzz in 2025. The publishers are promoting it for fans of The Goldfinch and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, for me it wasn't particularly like either of those books but Confessions doesn't need comparisons and stands on its own merits. This is an excellent debut novel from Airey, she has a beautiful style of writing and this multigenerational family saga told from multiple viewpoints will undoubtedly be a big hit this year.

The book opens with 16 year old Cora in New York in September 2011. Cora is skipping school and has just taken acid when the planes hit the twin towers. Her father, Michael works there and is killed that day. We then learn of Cora's mother's death seven years previously. Alone in the world, she discovers an aunt she never knew existed until now living in rural Donegal and Cora moves to Ireland to live with her. The narrative changes to the viewpoint of said aunt, Roisin and to other women in this family as the story unfolds switching back and forth in time from the late 1970's until present day, from Donegal to New York.

All the women of this family tell their stories. Of love, secrets, revelations, loss, friendship and heartbreak. The book is brilliantly paced and each woman's voice is unique as their lives intertwine and their stories and secrets impact on the next generation. A detailed family drama is very much my type of book and for the most part, I really enjoyed this book, it is intensely readable and well structured with a small choose your own adventure type game interwoven which offered a break from the dramatic events (I would have loved more of this)

My only small complaint is there are a lot of issues portrayed in the book ( mental health, abortion, adoption, suicide, racism) some just glimpsed off, others in detail but maybe too many for one book, for me. Also the last 50 pages of the book were probably my least favourite and I can't say more without spoilers but I felt I had to suspend belief just too far and I was a smidgen disappointed after what was a skillfully written and hard to put down novel.
These complaints are minor though, this is a super read, a really impressive debut and I would very much recommend you pick up a copy when it's published next week.

4 stars.

An amazing debut novel from Catherine Airey. I really became very immersed in the beginning which sees teenage Cora, the main female character in the aftermath of the Twin Towers in 2001 in which her father tragically died. Some of middle of the book became a little wayward with the history of the characters in Ireland and New York but it all came back together at the end with lots of 'what goes around comes around' along the way. Involving three generations of one family with all the twists and turns involved, love, loss, tragedy with huge amounts of true honesty makes this a compelling read. Quite powerful and dramatic but tenderly executed

Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin General Uk for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This is an outstanding debut novel which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend if you enjoy family saga spreading over three generations of woman, Marie who is Cora’s mother, Roisin who is Marie’s sister and Cora’s aunt and Cora’s daughter Lyca.
The story is told in the past and the present and starts with the tragic events of September 2001, Cora’s father Michael is missing, like many others she makes a poster, she is alone now as her mother is deceased. Unexpectedly she receives a letter from her mother’s sister in Ireland, she is offering Cora a home and a new beginning.
Their stories are each told, they weave together, there is heartache, conflict, power, dynamics, tragedy, mystery, secrets, loss, love and hope as many different relationships entwine through this family saga, which includes teenage pregnancy, abortion and rape.
The story is well written and draws the reader into the lives of the woman. I will look forward to more reading by Catherine Airey.

Brilliant debut novel - I was hooked from the “poor teenage decision to drop acid the morning of 9/11” onwards. Telling the story of generations of Irish / Irish American women from the 70s to the present day, this is both expansive in scope and laser-focused in its treatment of the core family members.
There’s a rather retro choose your own adventure computer game narrative threaded throughout the book; arguably this could have been used more but on balance I think Airey did well to establish the principle without overegging the importance of this part of the narrative.

Looking forward to future work from Airey

Confessions by Catherine Airey

Cora Brady’s world is turned upside down on 11th September 2001, when her father Michael does not return from work at The World Trade Centre, New York. Having already lost her Mum,a semi reclusive artist, she is facing the future alone. A surprise letter, however,marks this as only the centre point for a family story where the mysteries of the past are matched by the revelations to come.

It is a truly wonderful novel where generations, time and place are beautifully interwoven; New York and rural Ireland become characters themselves.

Though a new voice, I am reminded of John Boyne. High praise for what must be one of the books of the year.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book about Cora and how she dealt with the attack of the twin towers.
When the story moved to the history of her mother and aunt I took me a while to get interested in their stories.
A book about family, relationships and the difficulties that women encounter during their lifetime.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin General UK for my e- copy in exchange for an honest review.