AN AMERICAN writer living in West Cork will launch his debut novel in De Barra's this week.

RP O'Donnell's book, All the Old Clocks, is set in West Cork in 1988 and follows Emma Daly, who returns to her small West Cork village to work as a librarian, only to witness a murder the local guards are eager to pin on the wrong man.

Forced back into investigator mode, Emma must rely on her detective-novel expertise and a colourful cast of local allies to uncover the truth before the village’s dark past catches up with her.

Originally from Boston, R.P. moved to West Cork in 2016.

O'Donnell explains that the book was originally intended to be a memoir, as he mainly writes non-fiction and prose: 'I started writing a novel by accident. I wanted to write a book to make it easier to get articles. So I tried writing a non-fiction book about moving to Ireland, and got an agent, but then it didn’t sell, and the agent and I parted ways.'

'I’d gotten hooked on writing prose by that point, and the idea of selling a book, so I tried to write the ‘Cannery Row’ of West Cork, a collection of stories and vignettes, with one character at its centre. Who even then was Emma, a librarian.'

The book's official launch takes place this Thursday, April 23rd at 7pm in De Barra's Folk Club, Clonakilty.

You can reserve a free ticket here.