Dervla McTiernan Books

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Dervla McTiernan is an Irish author that writes crime fiction. She was born in 1977 in County Cork, Ireland. Dervla lived in Carrigaline and Douglas before moving to Dublin after her father secured a bank job.

Eventually, the family settled in Limerick. The author, who was one of seven children, attended University College Galway, where she studied law. She trained as a solicitor in Dublin but moved back to Galway to open her own practice.

The legal field kept her occupied for twelve years. Along the way, she married an engineer and started a family. The author blames the recession for her publishing career. It destroyed her legal business because clients could no longer afford to pay their bills.

Dervla abandoned the legal field when the family moved to Australia. Although, she doesn’t think it was a significant loss. The author knew from her first day in University that the Law was not right for her. Nonetheless, she pursued the field, adding two degrees to her resume, finding an apprenticeship, and keeping her law practice afloat for over a decade.

It wasn’t the worst experience. But she loathed the long hours and the career’s adversarial nature. Great lawyers could overcome such challenges because they loved the Law. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for her. She couldn’t stick it out and always felt like an outcast.

After moving to Australia, Dervla couldn’t start working because her son was five weeks old. But even when she returned to work, the author refused to practice law. Instead, she secured a part-time job and used her free time to write.

Writing was a no-brainer for Dervla because she was an avid reader. Even as a child, books were the author’s constant companion. But most of her attempts at writing had failed. She kept generating chapters and paragraphs but never full novels. 2015 was her most productive year because she penned a whopping 40,000 words, creating the foundation for what would become ‘The Ruin.’

But even then, Dervla couldn’t complete the manuscript. She stopped writing and became frustrated with her failure. But rather than giving up, she joined a Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto competition and submitted a short story.

The author took this route because the competition gave her a deadline, which, in turn, drove her to write her short story to completion. To Dervla’s shock, the short story made it to the shortlist, giving her the confidence to scrap the 40,000 words and rewrite the manuscript from scratch.

This time she finished it and quickly queried an agent. The agent submitted the manuscript to publishers in Australia and received six offers. Before long, ‘The Ruin’ had become an Australian and Irish bestseller.

Dervla McTiernan Awards

Dervla has won Barry, Davitt, International Thriller Writer, and Ned Kelly Awards.

Best Dervla McTiernan Books

The author has been praised for her attention to detail and penchant for exploring complex relationships. Dervla’s best books include:

The Ruin: Aisling Conroy couldn’t believe it when they found her boyfriend’s remains in the river Corrib. The police were quick to dismiss his death as a suicide, and Aisling tried to distract herself by downing in her work.

But Maude, Jack’s sister, refused to move on. She thought Jack was murdered and wouldn’t rest until she proved it.

Unfortunately for Maude, she was a murder suspect. DI Cormac Reilly met Maude and Jack decades ago when their mother overdosed. He never forgot the case or the two children he left behind. Now, Cormac’s superiors want him to re-investigate the supposedly accidental overdose.

Some people are convinced that Maude is guilty of murder. But Cormac disagrees.

The Scholar: On most days, DS Cormac Reilly’s superiors wouldn’t have assigned Carline Darcy’s case to him. Carline was a big deal, the heir to Darcy Therapeutics, the nation’s most prominent pharmaceutical firm.

Her investigation was too important. But Cormac was the first detective on the scene because his girlfriend, Emma, found the body one random morning. Carline’s family had their fingers in multiple pies.

In fact, they had funded Emma’s ground-breaking research. Everyone wanted answers, and Cormac was the man charged with getting them.

But Carline’s case was far from simple. The evidence Cormac had uncovered pointed to a Darcy Laboratory. Even more disturbing was the connection to Emma. Initially, Cormac was convinced of Emma’s innocence. But now, he’s not so sure.

When Does The Next Dervla McTiernan book come out?

Dervla McTiernan doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is What Happened to Nina? and was released on March, 26th 2024.

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