When Maire leaves Burtonport to study art in New York, she leaves behind her sister, Roisin, and her childhood sweetheart, Michael. Told over a number of decades, and split between rural Ireland and New York, 9/11 is a catalyst for a family’s secrets to surface. Confessions is a beautiful, complicated debut about sisterhood, loss and connection.

I love how this book is written. There is a strong sense of longing and nostalgia as the narrative unfolds from the different family member’s perspectives. I like how the different view points build up the story and adds a vulnerability to each of the characters. I was initially thrown by the concept of the video game but enjoyed it more as it progressed. I thought the themes of addiction, mental health and women’s reproductive rights were really well handled. I can’t recommend enough.

The story of three generations of women, star ting in 2001 in New York and ending in 2018, but what makes this so interesting to read is the way we slowly read what happened even before 2001 too.
We start with Cora Brady in New York but it is also the story of her mother Máire, her aunt Róisín, Cora’s daughter Lyca and not to forget Michael, Cora’s father. We switch from New York to Ireland and back.
I found it sometimes a little hard to understand who was who but each and every character has a unique voice so after a few pages in a new chapter it soon became clear. In fact, I understand why the author did this, and it adds an extra layer to an already multi-layered story.
Gripping, interesting and captivating. A wonderful debut and I hope to read more from this author in time.

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for this review copy.

Confessions by Catherine Airey

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

A debut novel that you need to have on your 2025 releases radar. A fiery, devastating and absolutely a must read for this year!

In 2001, Cora was a teenager living a simple life after her mother died, with her dad Michael. That is until she suddenly finds herself alone, after the twin towers attacks wandering the streets of New York looking for her dad and taping her missing person poster.

When Cora finally goes back home into the empty apartment, between the letters of condolences she finds one from her mother's estranged sister asking her to move in with her in Ireland. And this is where our journey into her family history starts.

A very beautiful tale full of mystery, twists and secrets that kept me hooked all the way through. With multiple points of view, the tale shifts quite often uncovering Cora's family background with heartbreaking truths and some very difficult stories. Each character felt very real and developed having a significant voice and role in the book.

While maybe slightly confusing, I found the sudden changes of characters and writing style to be very engaging and made my experience with the book a lot more enjoyable.

Just a heads up that a lot of very difficult topics are discussed in this book like drug abuse, self harm, suicide and sexual abuse. If you are sensitive to these topics this book may not be for you.

Review #1 : 2025
Confessions by Catherine Airey. [Out 23rd January]

What a debut novel this is! The opening pages place the reader in NYC; September 2001. Cora is a delinquent teen whose world pivots around her mostly absent boyfriend and bunking off school. She knows little about her familial roots when the cataclysmic collapse of the twin towers drags the darkest of family secrets out into the light.

The storyline then pivots to Donegal to Cora's mother and Aunt Ro's story. These young girls have a complicated relationship and upbringing in the 70s in Catholic Ireland, in the midst of the troubles. Finally, the last segment of the storyline skips on a generation to Cora's own daughter, Lyca, now in a more modern Ireland, with gay marriage and abortion legal. While the societal status of women may now be significantly different to generations before her, the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood don't change much at all.

This is certainly very ambitious storytelling, multiple generations, and locations. I am always interested in wide spanning stories delving into the impact of generational trauma, and Airey does a pretty decent job here. The story really hones in on complex mental health issues, the impact of sexual assault, pregnancy out of marriage, and complicated nuanced relationships and emotional connections.

However, if I had any complaints, I felt that the recurrence of some events and connections between stories to be somewhat unbelievable. The videogame element of the plot, which is parachuted into random sections, felt wholly unnecessary. IMO the story and character development was strong enough without this element and may be problematic in the marketing due to the tenuous links to Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, which are weak at best.

Irrespective of my small gripes, this is great storytelling, I hurtled through over 400 pages and really was invested in the different women in the story. For a debut, I think it's most accomplished and I am already looking forward to seeing what comes next from this author.

There must be thousands of novels out there where the storyline encompasses Ireland and America but "Confessions" certainly merits being placed up there with the best. We follow the lives of 2 sisters born in Ireland in the 1960's in Ireland and how they end up going very separate ways. One, Roisin, staying in Ireland and the other, Maire, leaving to go to America on an Art scholarship. Maire's life turns out to be endlessly tragic and she dies young. In 2001, her daughter, Cora, orphaned as a result of the Twin Towers disaster claiming her father's life, receives a timely letter from Roisin inviting her to return to Ireland. The subsequent years Cora spends in Ireland reveals parts of the story of the life Maire and Roisin shared together but by no means all. It is only on Roisin's death that the full picture emerges. And this turns out to be full of both grim and heart-breaking revelations.
The episodic nature of this novel, switching between countries, characters and generations is, at times, slightly hard work to follow but sticking with it is certainly worth the effort.
For a first novel Confessions is exceptional in developing both a gripping storyline and believable characters If it weren't for the conclusion relying somewhat too much on convenient coincidence I would be giving it 5 stars. That being said, Catherine Airey, is undoubtedly an author of exceptional promise and ability and I, amongst many, will certainly be following her future writings with real interest.

Confessions is an intriguing read. Uncovering the story of three generations of women as they experience love and tragedy has the reader gripped from start to finish. It seamlessly weaves redemption, mystery, love and forgiveness. Confessions does not shy away from the dilemmas of life, living, death and the terrible shades of the things we do. Cora’s relationship with her mother and father reflect some of the intricacies in so many families. Author Catherine Airey tells a beautiful and sometimes sad story.

A sweeping novel, taking you from NYC in the aftershocks of 9/11 to pro-choice activists in Ireland, this book is completely unexpected and beautifully written. While the subject matter is very serious, Airey commands your attention throughout. If you love Kala and Little Fires Everywhere, you’ll adore Confessions.

I found Confessions a little slow to get into and I kept putting it down and picking it up again. The original blurb, relating to a half lost game seems to be more incidental than integral and in reality it is an inter-woven story of women within the same family. As a result, depending on what you are initially drawn to your e enjoyment may vary. It was fine but I find it hard to whole heartedly recommend.

This is a book that popped onto my radar as a recommendation. Now I love a recommendation and have tried a whole host of books on the back of them, some have worked out better than others. This was a real find though. Possibly even more so since I really considered passing this one over. The blurb sounded potentially interesting but nothing special, so I dithered for a bit before deciding it was recommended to me for some reason and I'd give it a look to see. My expectations were fairly low though, just good enough to be worth a try really. And how I underestimated this book! I gut drawn in quickly and think it's amazing, I can't believe I almost didn't bother. Now, I see that longer blurbs are appearing online which sell the book much better than the one I was faced with so hopefully it's looking a bit more promising to future readers because this should probably be much higher on people's radar.

No bear with me here, because a quick summary isn't easy. The book covers the stories of three generations of women from the same family. At the simplest level you could say it's the coming of age stories of these women, each telling a story from their teens. But because they are family, these stories intertwine across ages and we see many stages of life, and death. Oh yeah, I mean the blurb talks about one of them being orphaned so I guess the death part may be obvious but keep in mind this book touches on some pretty sensitive issues. Some heavy ones. From my perspective they seem to be handled quite sensitively and well, but there are some not unexpected issues that will be far more relevant to female readers and they are the ones most likely to hit hard so keep it in mind.

Back to the summary! The stories of the various character's stages in life would all serve as very good short stories or novellas, but here they are woven together spectacularly to create a cohesive single story on top. And it feels valid saying it's in addition to the individual arcs because it really does feel like it achieves both a full novel and an anthology at once. The themes resonate, we see them developing their early crushes, we see them bonded over similar life patterns, but for me the most interesting dynamic is them finding their place in the world. I want to say their differences shine through here, and they really do become such clear individuals on different paths, and yet in truth there are similarities in their callings too.

See, this book did that to me a lot. It offers up a great little plot that feels so distinct and then with a small flourish it all falls into place within the larger story. So I think I need to give up explaining it, it's just so multifaceted I stumble over the contradictions. It's an easy read that doesn't get bogged down on the bigger issues it addresses, yet it never shies away from them either. This is a powerful read without feeling heavy. One of the rare gems that is both technically accomplished and just plain enjoyable. You know how when people find you like reading they ask about what you read and suchlike? This is going to be the book I drone on about for months to come, it's one of those that's going to linger with me.

This was a very impressive debut, a couple of bits didnt really work for me - the video game and the very convoluted family tree - but the story was a page turner and the writing was so good that I wanted to know about all the character's stories and how they developed through their lifetimes. It was good to have strong, flawed women as the main protagonists and the author bought the different locations to life. I feel we will be hearing a lot more about Ms Airey and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advance copy of this book.

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.