Mary didn't have a Mam

About the Book

Let your imagination run wild in the hilarious yet moving story of orphanage survivor Mary O'Hanlon. Just seventeen when she emerges through the gates of 'the Holies', she struggles against the odds to build herself a life in Ireland of the 1970s. Drawn to the handsome but troubled Joe Waters, she rejoices in the birth of her son, determined that his childhood will be everything that hers never was.

Mary Didn't Have a Mam is a roller coaster ride of riveting adventures, packed with a host of colourful characters whose actions never fail to shock or entertain. There is a bank manager, Cecil Barlow, who dies in a botched game of Russian roulette, his demise testing the skill of Grimston & Sons, who have never been known to turn out an unhappy corpse. Brain-challenged Bok has a penchant for arson, and proves a match for the best as a member of the notorious 'Hards' gang. Old timer, Mick Waters, survives an attempt on his life, when the 'faster' and 'stop' buttons on a treadmill are switched, and collar-wearing, rogue dog Rasputin, invades St Christopher's church, challenging the authority of Fr Damian Molloy.

Baby nuns, undead corpses, exploding asses and widows' balls abound in fast-moving Ballydaf. Amid robberies, acts of God, murders and excorcisms, Mary O'Hanlon is blackmailed when she threatens to expose the abuses in the orphanage. Will her gamble pay off as she risks everything to bring down her former minders? Or will she pay the ultimate price for her refusal to stay silent?

About the Author

J.D. Cotter is a university business graduate. He is married with four children, no dogs and hardly any cats. Mary Didn't Have a Mam is his first novel. Derry has also written a number of short stories.