Books by Ann

A Letter from Ireland

October 2024

My whole life, I’ve been haunted by a secret I’ve left behind on the coast of Ireland. I may be gone, but if you’re reading this Casey, I need to tell you everything…

When Casey’s dear friend Rosie passes away, her heart breaks in two; Rosie didn’t even tell her she was sick. And when a mysterious letter arrives from beyond the grave, describing the secluded island where Rosie spent every summer, Casey questions if she
really knew her friend at all. With Casey’s hectic job ruling her life, and her marriage crumbling around her, she books a ticket to this beautiful Irish island to feel close to Rosie again, and find out what secrets she has hidden there.

Casey rushes to Rosie’s tumbledown cottage and immediately falls in love with the glimmering shores and breathtaking coves of Scarty Island. Why did Rosie keep this magical place a secret, even from her own husband? Desperate for answers, she jumps to the aid of locals organising afternoon teas for tourists, and helps handsome but overworked pub owner Shay. Though Shay stays tight-lipped, Casey notices how his hazel eyes shine when she makes him laugh, and how her heart skips a beat when his rough hands brush hers.

But just as Casey finds herself falling for Shay’s quiet strength, a final letter arrives that changes everything. The tear-stained pages tell the story of a forbidden romance and a tragic day at sea that destroyed Rosie’s life. It could shatter Casey’s blossoming romance
and tear the small island community apart.

Will Casey find the strength to confront the ghosts of the past and confess her love for Shay? Or will she decide that some secrets are meant to stay buried, and say goodbye to Scarty forever?

Secrets of the Irish House

Bookouture, 2023

Perched on the edge of the roaring Irish Sea, Kilcashel House was somewhere New Yorker Katie never imagined she would live. But her whole world shattered when her partner Harry died suddenly with a diamond engagement ring in his pocket. Devastated, Katie is shocked to discover Harry has left her a house in Ireland. But that is not the only secret Harry was keeping. Katie soon learns that Harry also left the house to his ex-wife Maggie.

Questioning if she knew the man she loved at all, Katie is forced to move to Ireland with Maggie to settle the estate. Met with a crumbling house and a band of friendly locals, Katie soon learns more about the life Harry was building at Kilcashel, including a kitchen for her lifelong dream of starting a bakery. Harry had a plan, but Katie worries she’ll never know what it was, or why he’s thrown her and Maggie together.

Soon, as Katie and Maggie’s unlikely friendship blossoms, Katie begins to feel the first flicker of hope for a future since losing Harry. With the help of local gardener Dan, together they turn Kilcashel into a stunning home full of life once more. And Katie realises it might be more than just the house that has stolen her heart…

But when a letter arrives revealing the truth about Harry’s past and an unexpected tragedy strikes, can Katie find the strength to realise her Irish dream, or will she be forced to leave everything behind for good?

The Irish House

Bookouture, 2023

My dearest Marianne, by now you will be confused and a little mystified as to why I have made this great ask of you…. But I promise the reasons will become apparent. There are secrets, you see….

When New York-born Marianne’s grandmother Colliepasses away at home in rural Ireland, no one expects Marianne to be the one to inherit everything. Surely beautiful Kilteelagh House, with its avenue of trees, its acres of wildflowers, and its mysteriously locked front door should have gone to Marianne’s aunt–who’d nursed Collie in her dying days?

But Collie had a different plan. Her last wish was for Marianne to come to live in the house–for a year–raising her two headstrong young nieces at the same time. Marianne is overwhelmed by the challenge. As letters–written before her death–begin to arrive from Collie, Marianne soon realizes that her grandmother has a lot to still teach her.

Her growing attraction to local handyman Jack and her new circle of friends means Marianne can’t help but begin to fall in love with this place that is so full of memories, of secrets, and perhaps even a little bit of Irish magic.

That is, until a letter arrives that changes everything Marianne thought she knew….

The Secrets of De Courcy Square

Orion, 2020

What if your life was built on a lie…?

When Cora Gartland learns that her long-term partner, Jack, has been killed in a car crash in Ireland her world falls apart. But then she is told that there was a woman in the car with him, a woman identified as his wife Amelia.
Devastated, she flies to Dublin to try to make sense of Jack’s secret life. As she grieves, she must learn to survive, and to do that she must find the truth. What else has he been keeping from her and how will she survive this betrayal…?

A compelling and emotional novel of families and the secrets we keep…

My Mother’s Daughter

Orion, January 2019

County Wicklow, Ireland. Margo has just lost her husband Conor and is grieving his passing, unsure how she and her daughter Elsa will survive without him. Then she receives a letter that turns everything she thought she knew on its head. Not only has she lost her husband, but now Margo fears she could lose her daughter as well.

Ohio, United States. Cassie has just split from her husband acrimoniously. Upset and alone she does not know how to move forward. Then her ex-husband demands a paternity test for their daughter Tilly and sorrow turns to anger as Cassie faces the frightening possibility of losing her daughter.

A powerful, moving stories of family, resilience and compassion, and how women support each other through the most difficult times, My Mother’s Daughter takes the issues closest to our hearts and makes us ask ourselves the most difficult questions – what would we do in Margo and Cassie’s place?

The Ludlow Ladies’ Society

Black & White, 2017

Understand. Forgive.

Connie Carter has lost everyone and everything dear to her. Leaving her home in New York, she moves to a run-down Irish mansion, hoping to heal her shattered heart and in search of answers: how could her husband do the terrible things he did? And why did he plough all their money into the dilapidated Ludlow Hall before he died, without ever telling her?

The Ludlow Ladies’ Society is a story of friendship, resilience and compassion, and how women support each other through the most difficult times.

Praise for The Ludlow Ladies’ Society

“The Ludlow Ladies’ Society brought me to a beautiful place and into a circle of friends that I didn’t want to leave. Unputdownable” – Kate Kerrigan

The Judge’s Wife

Black & White, July 2016

When Emma returns to Dublin to put her estranged father’s affairs in order, she begins to piece together the story of his life and that of Grace, the mother she never knew. She knows her father as the judge – as stern and distant at home as he was in the courtroom. But as she goes through his personal effects, Emma begins to find clues about her mother that shock her profoundly.

A tale of enduring love and scandal that begins in 1950s Dublin and unravels across decades and continents, digging up long-buried family secrets along the way, The Judge’s Wife asks whether love really can last forever.

Praise for The Judge’s Wife

Ridiculously pleasurable to read
Sunday Times

A love story hovering between the Philomena territory of Ireland in the 1950s and […] 80s is told with skilful ease by Ann O’Loughlin
Irish Examiner

A stunning book that broke my heart, on more than one occasion. It was devastating, it was perfect and it was beautiful. I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters and their lives long after I’d read the last page.   A magnificent read!
Kim The Bookworm

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30235391-the-judge-s-wife

The Ballroom Café

Black & White, May 2015
North America: Skyhorse Publishing
Germany: Goldmann Verlag

Sisters Ella and Roberta O’Callaghan live in separate wings of their crumbling Irish mansion. They haven’t spoken for decades, torn apart by a dark family secret from their past, and only communicate through the terse and bitter notes they leave for each other in the hallway.

Debbie, an American woman, is searching for her birth mother. She has little time left but as she sets out to discover who she really is and what happened to her mother, she is met by silence and lies at the local convent.

With the bank threatening, Ella tries to save the family home by opening a café in the ballroom much to Roberta’s disgust. And when Debbie offers to help out in the café, the war between the sisters intensifies. But as Debbie finally begins to unravel the truth, she uncovers an adoption scandal that will rock both the community and the warring sisters.

Powerful and poignant, The Ballroom Café is a moving story of love lost and found.

Praise for The Ballroom Café

Secrets emerge, there’s a whopper of a twist and this unabashed tear-jerker ends with a well-earthed, well-calculated emotional finale
The Irish Times

A moving tale of loss, love and redemption
Bella Magazine

Deftly written, moving and courageous
The Sunday Times

Slow-marching, romantic prose draws us into an old world that is rustic, genteel, quaint…[but] scandals lie in wait
Irish Independent

Highly engaging debut you will want to dive into
Sunday Independent, Ireland