Cork-based crime thriller author Catherine Kirwan talks literary inspirations, writing process, and the grand notion that ‘in the particular is contained the universal’.
Catherine Kirwan grew up in the parish of Fews, Waterford, and later studied law at University College Cork, where she lives and works as a solicitor and writer. She is the author of three previous legal thrillers featuring Cork solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick. The Seventh Body is her fourth book.
When parts of a human skeleton are discovered, building work on a derelict site in Cork grinds to a halt. An archaeological excavation soon unearths seven bodies. Six are men who died centuries ago. The seventh body is different: female, and much more recent.
What began as a historic find is now a crime scene. Detective Garda Alice McCann is determined to track down the killer, even though she knows her superiors don’t want her anywhere near such a high-profile case, not after what happened before.
But, at every turn, her investigation reveals more questions than answers, more lies than facts. And someone powerful is watching her every move. Can Alice uncover the truth before she’s taken off the case – and before the killer strikes again?
Did you always want to be a writer?
I’ve always loved reading, and English and History were my favourite school subjects but when I went to UCC, like a lot of people who like English and History, I did Law. I chose it partly because it sounded glamorous (trust me, it isn’t) but mainly because I hoped I’d get a job out of it. This was pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland, where jobs were ever dwindling. Deep down, I probably did want to write but that longing took decades to float into my conscious awareness. Writing novels was something other people did, people from England or America or, at a push, Dublin. The idea of me being able to write a book, let alone get it published, seemed as distant as the moon.
What inspired you to start writing?
On a Sunday in September 2014, I was out for a walk with my niece Elizabeth. We saw three black-faced sheep sitting under a hawthorn tree, heavy with red fruit. It was a striking image and, on the drive back to Cork, I kept thinking about it. When I got to my house, I wrote down what I’d seen and turned it into the start of a short story. At the end of the story, three people were dead. I began my first novel a few months later. Crime, naturally.
Tell us about your new book, The Seventh Body. Where did the idea come from?
I walk up and down Barrack Street in Cork most days and I thought I knew ‘every crack in these dirty sidewalks’, as the Glen Campbell song goes. But, unknown to me and to everyone, the street was hiding a big secret. In October 2021, the skeletal remains of six men were found on a building site. They were historical remains, dating from between the 1400s and 1600s, and I immediately began imagining a seventh, more recent, body. I was busy writing another book at the time, but I filed the idea in my head. A few years later, it’s out in the world.
What do you hope this book instils in the reader?
One of the things I love most is getting sucked into a crime novel with believable characters, a compellingly twisty (but plausible) plot and an interesting setting. For me, there’s no better escape from stress and worry. That’s what I hope my readers will get. Escape and a satisfying ending.
What did you learn when writing this book?
Enough about archaeology and forensics to get the seven bodies out of the earth in what I hope is a reasonably accurate manner, procedurally. I also learned that the mind plays tricks. I made several mistakes with things I was sure I already knew (for example, that 9/11 definitely happened on a Monday but it was actually a Tuesday). Thankfully, the editing process picked up on that and a few more howlers.
Tell us about your writing process.
I write at weekends and on holidays, nearly always at home, either at a desk or in an armchair and occasionally in bed. But a big breakthrough in this book came to me when I was on a train between Edinburgh and Aberdeen on my way to the Granite Noir crime fiction festival. It’s good to get out of the house every now and again.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
All my books are set in Cork, so it’s got to be Cork but with the grand notion that ‘in the particular is contained the universal’.
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
It’s impossible to pick but three perennial favourite crime novels are: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, A Certain Justice by PD James and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
My house is coming down with books and I have many, many favourites, especially from the Irish crime-writing community, but I’m obsessed with everything by Anne Enright, Dennis Lehane and John le Carré. I’m also a big fan of Mary Costello’s recent short story collection, Barcelona.
What are some upcoming or recent book releases we should have on our radar?
Four crime/mystery novels: The Secret Room by Jane Casey; Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard; It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara; and The Stolen Child by Carmel Harrington; and Twenty-Twenty Vision, the new collection of short stories by Mary Morrissy.
What book made you want to become a writer?
Most of the books we read as kids were set elsewhere. Books set in Ireland were less available but they were important. I loved Irish Fairy Tales by Sinead de Valera and Flight of the Doves by Walter Macken. I adored the Kevin and Sadie series by Joan Lingard and there’s a character called Sadie in all four of my books.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
I’ll pick two: The 100 Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi—essential to understanding the roots of the current conflict and the destructive role of empire—and Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, a beautifully written page-turning crime novel and a brilliant exploration of the damage done (to all sides) by racism and prejudice.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
A book I’ve had languishing on my ‘to be read’ pile for ages: Lullaby by Leila Slimani. Superb.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
Getting to the page is the longest journey you’ll ever make. Once you get there, write something. After that, write something else. There’s more to it, but beginning is the main thing.
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
If I started, I’d run out of words, so might it be more than words can say?
The Seventh Body by Catherine Kirwan (Hachette Books Ireland) is on sale now.
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