In eleven carefully crafted stories,
Lesley Mahoney O’Connell helps readers recognize and feel her character’s strengths, flaws, and compromises.
Most stories are set in New England coastal villages. All are sensitive and thought-provoking, the characters mostly quiet but intelligent people who see themselves as outsiders.
“Intimate, insightful and deeply human… Ripple Effects marks the arrival of a writer with remarkable emotional intelligence and a gift for illuminating resilience at the heart of ordinary lives.”
— Kathy Fish, author of Wild Life: Collected Works
Captivating, clear-eyed stories of women and men at crossroads moments....You’ll be glad to know these people and enriched by the time you spend with them.”
— Ron MacLean, author of We Might as Well Light Something on Fire
Lesley Mahoney O’Connell’s stories are insightful and poetic and as fluid as the water motif running through them. Her characters stay in your mind.... This is a wonderful debut collection.
— Jessica Francis Kane, author of Rules for Visiting and This Close, long-listed for The Story Prize