*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2025*


‘A remarkable debut’ MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE

'A cool, bold image of female pain and liberation' GUARDIAN

It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone.

Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long-forgotten promise. There the story of Cora's family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…

An essential, immersive debut from an astonishing new voice, Confessions traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience in their own time the irresistible gravity of the past: its love and tragedy, its mystery and redemption, and, in all things intended and accidental, the beauty and terrible shade of the things we do.

'An irresistible read' YAEL VAN DER WOUDEN, Booker-shortlisted author of THE SAFEKEEP

'Propulsive and utterly captivating . . . airey has shades of the American novelists Donna Tartt and Jeffrey Eugenides in her style' IRISH TIMES

'An intricately woven epic, Confessions is both intimate and expansive, a novel that teems with raw, hungry life' COLIN WALSH, author of KALA

"A saga: its serious pleasures are its expansiveness and range, and Airey’s rare, particular instinct... a cool, bold image of female pain and liberation" - Guardian

"Propulsive and utterly captivating … Airey has shades of the American novelists Donna Tartt and Jeffrey Eugenides in her style" - Irish Times

"The beautifully written narrative goes on to reveal the secrets of three generations of women. It’s an epic family saga involving a host of mysteries and I galloped to the end. I loved it." - Daily Mail

"The narrative zips along with the crackling intelligence of Donna Tartt, full of twists and zips, and genuine surprises... Confessions is an astonishing and remarkable novel, and truly deserving of all the accolades coming its way" - Irish Independent