The Curlew's Cry

The Curlew’s Cry is the debut novel by Irish author Tom OBrien. Set between London, Dublin and rural Roscommon, this contemporary Irish family saga explores a long-buried crime, hidden family secrets and the enduring question of nature versus nurture. When a discovery in a west of Ireland bog exposes a secret from the 1970s, its consequences reach across generations.

The Curlew’s Cry begins with a discovery in a west of Ireland bog that exposes a secret buried for almost thirty years. As forensic scientist Eve Kelly searches for answers, the trail leads back to London in the 1970s and to a hidden history that challenges everything she believed about her family. Moving between London, Dublin and rural Roscommon, the novel explores family, identity and inheritance, and the enduring question of whether character is shaped more by nature or nurture.