Crime writing in Cork: Why female authors are to the fore
In recent years, a number of crime books have been set in Cork, many of them by female authors. Original image: David Creedon
Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Patricia Cornwell, Val McDermid — the list of female crime writers from further afield is a long and illustrious one. However, it is only in the last decade or so that crime fiction has really taken off among writers in Ireland, with women including Tana French, Liz Nugent, and Jo Spain leading the way. Crime fiction is booming in Ireland, with sales in the crime, thriller and adventure category in 2021 at their highest in ten years, with just over 900,000 books sold, at a value of more than €10 million, according to figures from Nielsen BookData.
Cork is holding its own in what has been termed the ‘Emerald Noir’ movement, with the Douglas writer Catherine Ryan Howard, the queen of psychological thrillers, at number four in the top sellers in the crime, thriller and adventure category. Cork natives Andrea Mara, living in Dublin, and Australia-based Dervla McTiernan, are also blazing a trail for emerging writers like Michelle Dunne and Amy Cronin.
