Louise Kennedy is the writer everyone wants to write like. I read her short stories first then devoured her novel, Trespasses, when it was published last year. Another Irish writer, Louise Kennedy came to writing late but absolutely flew once she started. She writes about love, marriage, sex, death and everything in between with dark wit and acute observations.

One of the most haunting stories in her debut collection is ‘In Silhouette’. Over a lifetime viewed in pieces, a sister hoards clippings and images relating to a soldier whom her late brother had helped abduct and kill. It stays with you.

First published in The End of the Road is a Cul-de-Sac, Bloomsbury 2020