A beautifully written debut from Claire Adam about sacrifice and violence in contemporary Trinidad

Book is heavy with weight of too many voices and lacks discernment as it switches between them

Mazen Maarouf’s collection of stories weaves the domestic with the horrific

Oyinkan Braithwaite writes about sisterly love and murder in a light-hearted manner

Tales of an unexpected nature combine horror with fairy tales and a feminist focus

The best debuts and emerging voices from Ireland and abroad in 2018

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah tackles race in America in this vibrant, inventive book

Jamie Guiney’s collection of stories is a mixed bag, with some stark moments of clarity and emotion

Debut collection of 21 short stories whose cleverness is hampered by a lack of restraint

Rediscovered classic from a black American writer imagines a different Deep South

Niviaq Korneillson’s debut novel is an uneven tale of the lives female twentysomethings in a country whose backdrop is largely une(...)

Amy Arnold debut examines trauma and the resulting breakdown in communication

A young woman's diagnosis with breast cancer becomes surreal B-movie material

Owen Booth’s original debut gives a profound account of life, family and fatherhood

A debut collection of stories about young people starts well but finally fails to convince

Alia Trabucco Zerán explores repercussions of the Pinochet era on the next generation

Stylish writing and interesting subject matter are lost in a plodding narrative

A second novel by the Syrian author proves to be a laboured love story rife with cliches

Samantha Hunt’s stories are smart, benevolent explorations of complex emotions

Wendy Erskine is a startling new voice from Belfast that comes alive in short story format

Review: This tense debut about steroid abuse is very much of the moment

A dog and two teenagers bring an inventive second novel about commune living to life

Darragh Martin’s debut delivers a history of the last 30 years with heart and humour

A debut collection tells interlinked stories of race, friendship and sexual violence

Boyne's latest novel A Ladder to the Sky is inspired by the literary world and the writer's experience of an "unhealthy" crush on (...)

English translation of a masterful, deeply mysterious novel about female isolation

The astute, captivating story of expat life of an American woman in Brazil

Novel about people on the cusp of immortality makes a case for quality over quantity

Debut novel about a letter detective builds an enchanting world but gets lost in subplot

Review: Beagin’s debut novel should be a hit with readers and awards lists alike

Sakaya Murata writes with a deadpan humour in this sure-fire hit of the summer

New fiction offers fresh perspective on the complexity of migration and displacement

There are some similarities to Highsmith and Tarte, but the execution is lacking

Paul Howarth’s stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWitt

A sharp and engaging tale of a millennial woman making her way in the world

An intelligent, probing read

Review: Author’s attempts to widen the lens make for an overwrought narrative

Both online-only formats and print journals provide vital platforms for new and developing writers

‘Kismet’ reflects on social media’s role in our feelings of inferiority

West has the wisdom and lyrical prose of a folk tale whose power grips from the beginning and demands a single-session read.

New fiction: a genuine tour de force about a woman in her 20s whose life is falling apart

Debut novel already lined up for film version lacks the style of less heralded new releases

A plucky female heroine helps a war-torn London in a highly original debut

A captivating generational tale about the impact of racism in the American South

The Trick to Time review: A beguiling, simple story that hides a tricksy, troubled tale

Morocco in the 1950s is a captivating setting for this uneven but admirably sinister novel

Paolo Cognetti’s coming-of-age in the Alps story is vividly rendered and wonderfully lucid

Gabriela Ybarra’s captivating debut is written with the forensic eye of a true crime writer

Power's affinity with the short story form comes through in this debut collection

A slow burning, beautifully written debut on the art of reflection

A staunch Presbyterian woman shows little mercy to her loved ones, or the reader

An uneven debut set between ’90s Ireland, California and Eastern Europe tries to cram in too much

The plight of Korea's 'comfort women' hits home in a thought-provoking debut

Review: The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow, a debut novel by Cork author Danny Denton

A stellar debut set in Georgian London blends mythical sea creatures and merchant life

The ‘French Gone Girl’ is a tense and evocative tale of a nanny’s descent into murder

An extraordinary, powerful debut that looks at the aftermath of a rape

Life after death makes for an engaging topic in an imaginative and funny debut

An inventive debut about the conflicting impulses of smart millennial women

The year’s best novels and collections from emerging authors at home and abroad

New fiction: An excellent debut charts a family’s chaos in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

A Belfast writer’s striking debut collection of stories shows much potential

Too much information and stilted dialogue spoil this tale of exploitation in Singapore

‘Marvel’ actress Krysten Ritter sets high school past on fire with debut thriller

A consultant oncologist's debut gives a detailed picture of medical life in interlinked stories

This debut collection is big on creativity but, overall, short on satisfaction

Jane Harris’s third novel is an unashamedly old-school adventure story in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson

The captivating Man Booker shortlisted debut explores the arbitrary nature of justice and the difference between action and though(...)

A captivating collection of modern motherhood and marriage with plenty of heart

This stunning and fearless debut novel is about adoption and the desire to belong

A debut novel from an Irish author shines on the subjects of trauma and memory loss

The restorative power of art gets a colourful makeover in this debut YA novel

A remarkable California teen comes to a realisation about her predatory father

A vivid retelling of Shakespeare’s Lear set in contemporary India by Preti Taneja

A marginalised Yorkshire family battle their community in a well-written but flawed debut from Fiona Mozley

Sharp and unflinching portraits of Chinese immigrant families in the US

Bernie McGill’s novel about glic women during the advent of radio has a beguiling protagonist

Kate Murray-Browne finds illness and dread as a family moves house in London

The power of the imagination shines in a captivating debut on the Yorkshire coast

Gail Honeyman’s moving, inventive debut is about a young woman set apart from society because of trauma

Orlagh Collins’ debut YA novel gives a snapshot of everything from bankruptcy to first love

Private and public grief come together in an engaging new novel about loss

It is fifty shades darker as submissive sex and rubber-clad gimps vie for attention

Love in Row 27 brings the First Dates formula to the skies

Ethel Ronan’s debut sees an overweight father trying to make sense of his son’s suicide

Debut novel looks at the different roles that one Irish family adopts during second World War

‘Conversations with Friends review: Sally Rooney offers searing insights on affairs and relationships

A highly unorthodox detective story sees a bipolar woman investigate her brother’s suicide

Debut novel from acclaimed short-story writer Billy O’Callaghan lacks finesse

Arja Kajermo uses fable and charming illustrations to bring a family’s struggles to life

Hopdance review: Stewart Parker’s posthumous memoir novel captures figments of a lost year

Actor Lisa Harding’s debut novel is character-driven and highly dramatic

One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel review: an emotional tale

Paula Cocozza’s beguiling first novel charts the love affair between a lonely woman and a flirtatiously fantastic fox

Actor Ciarán McMenamin’s debut captures the voice of disaffected youth in 1990s North

Sara Flannery Murphy’s intriguing debut merges the worlds of the living and the dead

Michèle Forbes’s story of a doomed romance in the vaudeville world lacks a magic spark

Nicole Dennis-Benn’s first novel shines a light on tourism’s underbelly

Alan McMonagle’s enthralling debut follows an Irish teenager trying to imagine a better life

In the final part of our series on influential books by women writers, we focus on Irish authors