Synopsis

From the bestselling author of When All is Said comes a delicious new novel about a young woman who can hear the dead – a talent which is both a gift and a curse.

Jeanie Masterson has a gift: she can hear the last words of the dead.

Passed down from generation to generation, this gift means she is able to make wrongs right, to give voice to unspoken love and dying regrets. She and her father have worked happily alongside each other for years, but now he’s unexpectedly announced that he wants to retire early and leave the business to her and her life is called into question.

Does she really want to be married to the embalmer, or does she want to be with her childhood sweetheart, off in London? Does she want to have children, and pass this gift on to them? And does she want to be stuck in this small town, or is there more of the world she wants to see – like the South of France, where she’s discovered a woman who shares her gift?

Tied to her home by this unusual talent, she begins to question: what if what she’s always thought of as a gift is a curse?

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Review

The premise of this book sounded fascinating, those that could talk to the dead even only for a short time before they moved on to the other world or wherever someone goes when they die. But this book is a bit more than that, it is how it impacts those that can hear the dead and their family. It is also about finding love and setting it free and then losing it when you least expect it to happen.

Jeanie has had the ability to hear the dead since she was a young girl and this is a blessing and a curse because she finds herself tied to her small town in Ireland despite wanting to see the world. Is it duty that holds her back or her own fears? Her mother encourages her to go off to the University and find a passion, and the love of her life moves to London and wants her to join him. Essentially, it is fear of the unknown that holds her back and turns her life in a direction that maybe isn’t the best choice for her. She does marry a childhood friend, but is it the same love she feels for the one she lost to London?

I was hoping to hear more stories from the dead, but the ones that are shared are intriguing and it explains so much when other facts are revealed down the road regarding her father and her aunt.

The road is bumpy for all of the characters as they endure life from childhood forward. Jeanie has to deal with bullying from classmates, a business thrust upon her without consulting her, and a rocky relationship with her husband, Niall. Jeanie’s brother, Mikey, is on the spectrum and has his quirks about him and he reminds me of some others that I know that are focused on a few things in life and are steadfast in their dislikes. I don’t feel like all of the characters were fully developed and felt somewhat shallow.

This book has some witty moments and others that you might relate to in your own life. I think the biggest turning point for Jeanie was with an event regarding the childhood sweetheart. This was the pivotal point for her and she did step up and make some big decisions.

The ending isn’t quite wrapped up but you can surmise what happens and it really isn’t a huge surprise as you read about the struggles of some of the characters.

Overall, we give this 3 1/2 paws.

About the Author

AI was born in Dublin in 1969. I received a BA in History from UCD. Over the following eight years, I worked for Waterstones in Dublin and London. I left the bookselling trade to undertake a Post Graduate Diploma in Community and Youth Work in Maynooth University. I have worked with various charities over the last twenty years including Women’s Aid, Youth Work Ireland, and the Dyslexia Association of Ireland.

I began writing in 2013, and in 2015 undertook an MA in Creative Writing in UCD studying under James Ryan, Éilis Ní Dhuibhne, Frank McGuinness, Lia Mills, Paul Perry and Anne Enright.

I have been shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award with my short story ‘Grace’, the Sunday Business Post Short Story Award for ‘Some Tiny Clue’, and the Benedict Kiely Competition with ‘Mr. Henry’. My short stories have also been published in The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, Crannóg, The Lonely Crowd, Ogham Stone, The Incubator, The Weekend Read For Books’ Sake, and Bunker, a collection of short stories published by Cork County Libraries. In 2017, I received the John McGahern Award for Literature from Roscommon County Council in recognition of my short story work and in support of my endeavours to complete my first book.

My debut novel  ‘When All Is Said’ was published in 2019 and received the Newcomer of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards. It is translated into twenty foreign languages. My second novel, Listening Still, was published in April 2021 and is available in the UK and Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and will be published in the US and Canada in March 2022.

I am grateful for the arts grants I have received from Westmeath County Council in 2017 and the bursary in literature from the Arts Council of Ireland in 2020.

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