Former NUI Galway student and Galway native Catherine Doyle (26) launched her third novel Mafiosa, in Easons on O’Connell Street on 13 January.
Mafiosa is the third, and concluding work, in Doyle’s Blood for Blood trilogy.
Vendetta, the first in the series, was published in 2015 and met huge success when it came out first.
It was followed shortly after by the second book, Inferno.
The story follows teen Sophie Gracewell as she finds herself being drawn into a criminal underworld of powerful and feuding families.
Speaking at the event, Doyle thanked her family, friends and publishers for their support throughout the trilogy.
Ms Doyle completed a BA in Psychology and an MA in Literature and Publishing in NUI Galway.
Following this she went on to finish her first book in 2012.
The trilogy was then picked up for publication a year later by Chicken House, which specialises in the publishing of children’s fiction.
YA Authors Katherine Webber and Melinda Salisbury introduced Catherine Doyle at the event.
The launch itself drew a large crowd and those in attendance included Louise O’Neill, author of the acclaimed Irish novels Only Ever Yours and Asking For It.
O’Neill previously praised the work of Catherine Doyle. Speaking of the second book in the trilogy Inferno she said; “It’s exciting and violent and sexy and heart breaking. Loved it.”
The trilogy has been highly praised and Mafiosa is expected to do similarly well.
As well as success in sales of the books, the young writer also has a large following of fans online.
Doyle has a signature blend of humour, grit and romance that has allowed her work to stand out, particularly in the YA genre where books based on the criminal underworld are few and far between.
In a recent interview with Easons bookstores, Doyle described herself and the books as “one part Disney and one part the Godfather”.
In the same interview, she advised that writing the ending was “bittersweet” but she felt “happy that the characters got the ending they deserved”.
“I’ve been living with these characters in my head for three years, but there is a freedom in knowing that you can go on to write something else,” Doyle said.
She’s expected to publish another novel in the near future, which will be her first published piece outside of the YA trilogy.
Mafiosa and the Blood for Blood trilogy are available to purchase now in Easons and Dubrays nationwide.
-By Deirdre Leonard.
