'Kathleen O’Dell was a 1960s Hollywood star until she became pregnant. Actress is the story of a mother’s fading glamour and her daughter’s sharp-eyed observation, beautifully written without being showy; incisive, acerbic, angry but also tender. It’s also a story of Dublin in the Sixties and Seventies, a world not that remote in years, yet now utterly vanished. Blackly humorous, slyly subversive, and utterly human, this is a superb piece of work. One of my books of the year!' - Recommended by Karina Clifford, Dubray Liffey Valley. 'Written with all the ingenuity and twisty tautness of a thriller' The Times From the Booker-winning Irish author, a brilliant and moving novel about fame, sexual power, and a daughter's search to understand her mother's hidden truths. This is the story of Irish theatre legend Katherine O'Dell, as told by her daughter Norah. It tells of early stardom in Hollywood, of highs and lows on the stages of Dublin and London's West End. Katherine's life is a grand performance, with young Norah watching from the wings. But this romance between mother and daughter cannot survive Katherine's past, or the world's damage. As Norah uncovers her mother's secrets, she acquires a few of her own. Then, fame turns to infamy when Katherine decides to commit a bizarre crime. Actress is about a daughter's search for the truth: the dark secret in the bright star, and what drove Katherine finally mad . . .
