Iron Annie

DEBUT An Irishwoman making her way up in the world of petty crime in Dundalk comes to life in Cassidy’s first novel, told in the first person with a thick Irish dialect. Aoife recounts the impact of her affair with Iron Annie, a newcomer to town. Aoife meets Annie at a bar where she’s in male drag. Although warned by friends, Aoife takes Annie over to Britain with her to sell off a huge haul of pure cocaine. Their tumultuous relationship sets plans disastrously awry. The story is recounted in episodic chapters with a winding narrative including snippets from Aoife’s life and her early relationship with Annie. The book’s excitement comes more from the lively telling than the plot development. Although Cassidy brings a compelling, complicated bisexual antihero to life, the book loses steam at the end.