This was a wonderful read, drew me in immediately and found it difficult to put down. I read and enjoyed Anne Tiernan's first novel, appreciated the writing but maybe didn't fully connect with the characters. I had a completely different experience with this novel, the characters are so carefully created , realistic, intriguing and well developed.

Juliet is home in the small Irish town she grew up. She never planned on being the other woman but Rory was her one true love and now he has died and Juliet is sat at the back of the church during his funeral mass , will his wife Erica and son sit in the first pew. Erica is grieving her husband and Maeve, Juliet and Rory's childhood friend is also there, questioning her own life decisions. The novel traces the three women's lives, jumping back and forth between timelines and narratives. as their lives interweave after the funeral.

I really enjoyed reading main characters in their late 40's. Their regrets, their past and futures, these women felt like women I know. They are flawed and interesting and they make messy decisions and I was wholly invested from start to finish.
Very much recommend.

this book flow and the way it reads is a beauty in itself. there was just something about it. it felt more hitting and readable then a book ive read in a long time. the characters i could picture in my head. how they sat,how they behaved in to the rooms they were sitting in,i could imagine it all.
i love books like this. its a saga type with everything in between. i couldnt get enough of this book or the writing of it. i cant beleive this is my first by this author and i hope it wont be my last.
the story tells of how one man dies and the woman in his life come out, carry on, are linked. we have a wife,lover,friend. all who are dealing with things in their own lives. all who comes together when a mystery is revealed. and how they handle both their own internal struggles and those that now brings them together.
its tough and messy in some parts but heartfelt and warming in so many others. this book had it all for me. and i would tell anyone with it on their Tbr shelf to move it up to read very soon with no regrets!

The Good Mistress
By Anne Tiernan

There are a couple of things about this book that I didn't know before I began reading it. The author is from the town I live in and the story is set in a fictionalised version of that town, the end of my road, and the only things she has changed are the names. It's hard to find fault with anything that registers as true about a place you are inextricably connected to. She also has a very famous brother who is a school pal of most of my in-laws, and is practically the patron saint of the town. His particular type of wit is not so unique and outlandish when you get to know the people of this area, and it obviously hasn't bypassed the author either.

This is a character driven story of friends reunited told through the perspectives of three women, about a group of four friends who palled around in 1990. The story opens at the funeral of one, in 2022. It contains coming of age, love triangles, an untimely death, secrets and misunderstandings, and a lot of coming to terms with past decisions.

Tiernan paints messy characters whose choices and decisions are hard to fathom but she embues them all with a vivid wit that makes them interesting and loveable. They all have hidden vulnerabilities that would make your heart go out to them.

There's a running theme of parental concern for their teenage children and how different a world they are growing up in, a stark contrast to the free ranging, smoking/ drinking by the river adolescence they experienced themselves.

This was a complete surprise for me. I worried it was going to be a version of "Dirt birds" at the beginning but if anything, with all it's heart and soul, it almost gave me vibes of Maeve Binchy.

I will make it my business to make all my friends and neighbours read this one this summer. I won't be able to go up Swan's
Lane or past the Old Bridge ever again without seeing shadows of Juliet and Rory, Maeve and Dan.

Publication date: 15th April 2025
Thanks to #Netgalley and #headlinebooks for providing an eGalley for review purposes

The story opens at a funeral with a woman, Juliet hiding on the edges of the party. She was the dead man, Rory's lover and cannot risk being found out by the family. Rory's wife, Erica, appears to all as teh perfect wife but had secrets from her past that Rory knew and his childhood friend Maeve, now a best selling writer, feels her family life is exasperating but also hollow. Maeve discovers a secret and the story weaves so the three women's lives collide. I found the book a little hard to get into but my patience paid off and I was rewarded with a deftly woven tale of small toen Irish Life and secrets and lies.

One of the best books I’ve read in years! So well written and absorbing. I couldn’t put it down! Loved loved it

Compelling and tense, this is a page-turning story of three women's lives unravelling in the wake of their friend/lover/husband's funeral. It has echoes of Kala, with a woman's return to smalltown Ireland, and a dark secret from childhood slowly revealing itself, but a sort of post-One-Day feel as well in the romance. The women are beautifully and sympathetically drawn, in all their flaws. Manages to be both dark, but tug on your heartstrings.

I knew this was going to be interesting from its premise and title. My first read by Anne Tiernan and I would like to certainly read more.

A set of messy and distinct characters coming together thinking that the other has got it better. Found the dysfunction, relationships and love to be messy yet with so much heart and reality. Loved the interactions and how it was narrated.

Thank you Headline, Hachette Books Ireland and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

The way these women’s lives intertwine is so powerful, and Anne Tiernan handles their emotional journeys with such grace. There’s this sharp wit throughout the book, but it doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff; the quiet heartbreak of realizing you’ve been living someone else’s life, the moments of self-reflection that are uncomfortable but so necessary. It left me thinking long after I closed the book. It’s raw, it’s messy, but most of all, it’s real. If you’re looking for a story that will make you think, laugh, and maybe even shed a tear, this one’s for you.

I was looking for a good book that encompasses the topic of friendships, love and infidelity, and this novel fit the bill perfectly! I loved the story and the development of characters!