Limerick author and theatre-maker Karen Fitzgibbon launches her new novel, Tell the Truth, at O’Mahony’s Bookshop, Limerick, on Thursday April 9. The book is the third instalment in her Lana Bowen series of psychological crime thrillers.
Tell the Truth centres on the trial of Tadhg McMahon’s murder. Marion McMahon, the accused, harbours a secret that could clear her name — yet she refuses to reveal it, because prison, somehow, feels safer than freedom. Meanwhile, juror Stephanie Fitzgerald, trapped in a stale marriage, finds herself drawn into a dangerous flirtation with a fellow juror, blurring the line between observer and participant. When private investigator Lana Bowen is asked by a former colleague to speak with Marion, she senses that something is badly wrong – and the deeper she digs, the higher the stakes become.
The series has won strong praise from some of Ireland’s most prominent voices in crime and literary fiction. Patricia Gibney has described the writing as full of mystery and suspense, while Donal Ryan called it the definition of a page-turner. Siobhán MacDonald praised the constant sense of menace, and journalist and broadcaster Edel Coffey has called Fitzgibbon a striking new Irish voice in the thriller genre.
Fitzgibbon brings a distinctive background to her fiction. An actor, producer, director, and educator based in Limerick City, she has spent more than two decades working across theatre and film with both community and professional groups, and holds a licentiate in theatre studies from Trinity College London.
Tell the Truth is published in April 2026. The launch takes place at O’Mahony’s Bookshop, Limerick, on Thursday April 9.