Derry Cloney - Tom Phelan PRICE: IRP£8.99 PUBLISHER: Brandon

At the heart of this wonderfully humourous novel lies Derrycloney Lane, where Kate Glanvil tries to keep the peace, while Lizzie Burns plots to steal her dead brother's farm. Missus Bradley, who imitates the cry of boiling lobsters, protects the defenceless Benny Cosgrave. Young Liam Glanvil visits the swans at the lake hearing the music of Saint-Saens, and he writes letters to a nun. Meanwhile, Crip Quigley pines for his dead mother, and Billy Bates listens to the trains on a deserted railway bridge at night and dreams about Miss Hippwell.