When Eleanor Morrissey leaves Kildoran on a dark September night in 1930, nobody is sorry to see her go and nobody expects to see her return. As far as the villagers are concerned, the Morrisseys have been shamed out of town forever. Fifty years later, some visitors attend the funeral of the convent’s Mother Superior. When the funeral is over, one woman stays behind. Until she is free to leave again, she must struggle to understand her legacy – a legacy of voices. Threatening, angry, accusing voices that only she can hear, because they are soft voices. Whispering.

Adrienne says…

As a cradle Catholic I never questioned the authority of the women who controlled my education. These were God’s wives, above question, certainly beyond criticism. Then I grew up and the questions began.

It is fashionable now, not just to ask the questions but also to call to account. I don’t need to do that. There were great women and there were awful women and they both played their parts.
What is the theme of the book? I suppose it’s to do with fear of the truth and the fact that until we face up to it, we can never find peace. It’s about why we hide things from others and ourselves. Penance and Redemption and a good story well told!

Reviews

The third book from Dublin-born Adrienne Dines, Soft Voices Whispering will appeal to anyone who can’t wait until the next Maeve Binchy comes along. Adrienne Dines is a name to watch out for in the future. - RTE Entertainment

I loved the intertwining of sombre gothic elements with strands of comedy. Also the evocation of a bit of Ireland I’ve visited a few times now you know all these stories are bubbling away in these communities and are never but never going to reveal themselves to you. Your dialogue zips along too and I kept thinking how well it would work on the radio. Has anyone at Transita sent it to Woman’s Hour? It would serialise wonderfully!  - Patrick Gale

This redemption tale of good people who have bad things done to them is a well-written page-turner with wonderful characterisation.  - Nottingham Evening Post

“Another compelling read from Adrienne Dines. Among a gallery of memorable, well-drawn characters the nun, Sister Pius, stands out as a moving creation. Pius’ relationship with her ne’er-do-well brother Patrick is a miracle of subtle characterisation and there’s much food for thought here for reading groups.
Hard to put down and impossible to forget, this is a book with a big heart. “ - Amazon Review

“I read this book on holidays and was annoyed at having to put it down to do holiday activities with my family. This is one of those special books that you get lost in. It is in my top five books ever read and I loved every page right from the start. Adrienne, I look forward to more”. - Reader review on Transita Website

The basic business at the core of this book is a difficult topic– violence to women. Adrienne Dines handles it well, though, with sensitivity to both the characters involved and to the reader. This is a novel about love, both the light and dark sides of it. It is set in a small village in Ireland and the story moves between 1980 and 1930. The characters are well drawn and unfold like early spring blossoms to reveal their fullness as the story goes on. Well done!  - Bookcrossing Review 5*

When stranger Jim Nealon walks into Lizzie Flynn’s shop and proposes that she help him make his beautiful jigsaws, Lizzie agrees. It’s a project she can fit into her humdrum life without making too many changes. She’s about to turn fifty – she could do with the distraction.

Then Jim shows her the photos he intends to use.  Now the settled picture that was lizzie’s life is in the air. Falling in a thousand different pieces.  As she scrambles to put her life back together again, Lizzie is startles to realize that it can’t be done.  It was never a whole picture anyway. Too many of the pieces didn’t fit. And one piece is missing…

Adrienne says…

Who is The Jigsaw Maker? It could be any one of three people.

It could be Jim Nealon, photographer, who with his keen eye has noticed something about tourists:  what they come to look at and what they come to look for are two different things. What they look at are the places their ancestors looked at too – grand cathedrals, castles – the pieces of our common heritage.  And the pictures of these they take home in their cameras. What they look for are the private places, the places where their ancestors lived, belonged, died and the pictures of those they take home in their hearts.

Jim’s idea is to capture the image of these hidden places and make jigsaw puzzles with them.  Then he’ll sell with it a living memory of what it was like to be there, on a particular day, during a particular year. And the year he chooses to recall is 1969, when Lizzie Flynn was 11 years old.

It could be Lizzie Flynn, shop owner, spinster, who lives a very settled life in the village where she was born.  Every event in her life that touched her became part of the picture of who she is and those events are locked in her past like the pieces of a tight- fitting jigsaw.  She intends to keep them that way – till Jim shows her the first photograph and then it’s too late.

In trying to recall a memory so that others can feel part of it, Lizzie is forced to re-examine her own memories and what she realises is that what she saw then is not what she is seeing now.  There are flaws in the jigsaw picture of her life; pieces are in the wrong place and one vital piece is missing.
Lizzie Flynn is not who she thought she was at all.

Before assembling a jigsaw, all the pieces have to be visible and that’s how this book works.  The reader is shown all the events that shape Lizzie’s perception of who she is exactly as she witnessed them and it is up to the reader to work with her as she tries to put it all together again.

Ultimately, the reader is The Jigsaw Maker.

Reviews

The pieces fit together very well indeed.’ - Fay Weldon 

‘A brilliant follow up to Adrienne Dines’ debut Toppling Miss April… Well plotted and very enjoyable.’ - Lovereading.co.uk

‘This seemingly light novel has a dark underbelly – a complex tale of secrets and lies.’ - Irish Examiner 

‘An engaging story.’ - Newbooks Magazine 

‘A seemingly light book till dark undercurrents, secrets and lies from the past resurface and shake the foundations of Lizzy Flynn’s quiet life – what a treat!’   - Heavenali BX

‘Loved this book.  As the dual narrative of past events began to unfold, I became completely involved in the novel and the raw and painful emotional life of Lizzie Flynn.’ 9/10 - LindyB28 BX

5* Amazon Reviews

‘This book was a delight to read, it is wonderfully written and the characters really came alive as the story progressed. It was compelling right from the start but towards the end it became a real page-turner as I was anxious to know what was lying ahead. There were so many unexpected twists too!’

’Put this one down if you can – THE JIGSAW MAKER intrigues at first, then amuses. Finally it grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. A tender portrayal of a lively, troubled child who grows into a guilt-ridden woman, unable to make sense of tragedy she has witnessed, possibly even caused. Dines juggles comedy and drama with ease, racking up almost unbearable tension in the last 100 pages. The plot is clever, the characters likeable and the pace never flags. This is a hugely enjoyable and accomplished 2nd novel and I can’t wait to see what Dines will come up with next.’

Twenty years ago, when Father Barry ruled the Tullabeg roost, Bernadette Teegan and Monica Moran vied for his attention. Life was a maelstrom of mixed emotions and misplaced extremities – two young girls with plenty to learn. Then Monica went away and life settled down.

Now Monica is back.

And Bernadette has no intention of making it a happy visit. She has plans – to snare the most eligible bachelor in town, Cormac Hegarty, Estate Agent, and keep nephew Michael’s soul (and overalls) spotless.

But Monica has plans too.

A comedy of errors, misdirection and cross-wired agendas, TOPPLING MISS APRIL is a triumph of flesh over fantasy, where menopause is just a pause between men and experience counts for everything.

Adrienne says…

The original remit for this story was to write something’ upbeat and outrageous’ that would serve to get attention as a first novel. I planned to write a murder story. The first line would be ‘Imelda Hegarty had six brothers and at the age of 50 realized that Monica Moran had had them too.’  Then Monica and Imelda would travel around Ireland ascertaining to what extent association with Monica destroyed the lives of each of the brothers.

Unfortunately, Bernadette Teegan had other ideas.

She was only ever a bit-part character, useful for making tea but when she squeaked onto the page in her Hush-Puppies it was out of my hands. It became a twisted love story, a tale of two beautiful women, rendered beautiful not because of what others saw when they looked at them but what they realized when they looked at themselves.

‘Miss April”, the conventional idea of what makes a woman beautiful, is well and truly  toppled.

Reviews

‘A cross between Father Ted and Ballykissangel…hilarious!’ - Irish Examiner

‘Toppling Miss April is a mélange of hilarious misunderstandings and risqué innuendo, which makes it a pleasure to read.’ - Ireland on Sunday

‘A laugh-out-loud screwball comedy featuring lust, mistaken identity and knitting. This is humour sized 44FF: uncontainably funny.’  - Meg Gardiner

‘An outrageous tale – a ridiculous riot!’ - Irish Independent 

‘At last – a REAL book for real women who’ve lived long enough to know that love is never perfect. This funny-sad Irish novel will restore your faith in human nature and make you realise that the wobbly bits don’t matter!’  - Sharon Kendrick 

“…great opening, clever plotting and lovely characterisation…”  - Marina Oliver

“Full of wonderful characters… I laughed out loud!” - Jan Simpson

‘Loved this book.  The plot was not one bit believable and every stereotype under the sun made an appearance at some point – a good read in a carry on sort of way!’ 8/10 - Smallbluepebble BX

‘Pure farce. The complex plot was lightly woven and carried out admirably…a good rollicking funny read with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most demanding reader with the small details beautifully observed.’  - Lizzybee BX

‘This is a laugh-out-loud read. Misunderstandings & misinterpretations abound, some very unsympathetic characters but I felt this just added to my reading experience.’  9/10 - scotsbookie BX