Dervla McTiernan

Dervla McTiernan is an Irish-Australian crime novelist. McTiernan is the author of seven novels, including the four-book Cormac Reilly series and three standalone novels, as well as audio novellas. Her books have sold more than one million copies around the world and What Happened to Nina? and The Murder Rule are both currently in development for screen adaptation.

Early life and career Dervla McTiernan was born in County Cork, growing up initially in Carrigaline and Douglas there, before her father's work in the bank took the family to Dublin, aged six, and then Limerick. She is one of a family of seven.

McTiernan studied corporate law in University College Galway and went on to become a solicitor, training in Dublin. She returned to County Galway, to Oranmore, to build her legal practice, working in it for about twelve years. By then she was married to her husband Kenny, an engineer and they had a daughter, with a son on the way. Ireland hit a recession and the couple decided to move to Australia. She is now also an Australian citizen. Her first novel, The Rúin, was published in 2018. The Rúin is the first book in the author's bestselling Cormac Reilly series. The Rúin was awarded the Davitt Award for the Best Adult Crime Novel, the Ned Kelly Award for the Best First Novel, the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original and the Western Australian Premier's Book Award. It was also shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award, two Irish Book Awards, the Kate O'Brien Award and it was named one of Amazon US Best Books of the Year.

In 2019 McTiernan published the second book in the Cormac Reilly series, The Scholar which won the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback novel and was shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award, a Davitt Award and a Ned Kelly Award.

In 2020, McTiernan published the third book in the Cormac Reilly series, The Good Turn, which debuted in the Australian bestseller charts as a number one bestseller and went on to win a Barry Award and be longlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards.

In 2022, McTiernan published her first standalone thriller, The Murder Rule which was a number one bestseller in Australia and was named a New York Times Thriller of the Year.

In 2024, McTiernan published What Happened to Nina? which was a number one bestseller in Australia. It was named a New York Times Thriller of the Year, it won the Australian Book Industry Award General Fiction Book of the Year. , and it was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Standalone Mystery . It was also long listed for the Crime Writers Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.

In 2025, McTiernan published the fourth book in the Cormac Reilly series, The Unquiet Grave, which was an Australian number one bestseller and it was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards. In 2025, The Unquiet Grave was the most borrowed book across Australian libraries.

McTiernan has also written four audio novellas, The Fireground, The Wrong One, The Roommate and The Sisters.

Writing style McTiernan's novels combine police-procedural and psychological thriller elements with recurring themes of family, institutional failure and the justice system . Reviewers have compared her work to that of Tana French

Setting McTiernan's books have been set in Ireland, the United States and Australia.

Irish-set books The Cormac Reilly series comprising The Rúin, The Scholar, The Good Turn and The Unquiet Grave is set in Ireland, largely in the city of Galway, Ireland. .

The Sisters and The Roommate are audio novella prequels to the Cormac series, set in Dublin, Ireland .

What Happened to Nina is set in Vermont, USA .

The Wrong One is set in Connecticut and New Jersey, USA .

Books set in Australia Three Reasons for Revenge is set in Melbourne, Australia .

The Fireground is set in Western Australia .

Reception All of McTiernan's books have been widely and generally positively reviewed.

Awards and recognition + Year Work

Result 2018

The Guardian'''s Not the Booker Prize

Davitt Award Davitt Award best adult crime novel Ned Kelly Award best crime fiction RUSA Reading List Mystery Australian Book Industry Awards General Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted 2021

General Fiction Book of the Year 2022 Barry Award Best Paperback Original 2025 What Happened to Nina|Australian Book Industry Awards General Fiction Book of the Year

International Thriller Writers Award Best Standalone Mystery

Crime Writers Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

Adaptation In 2019, it was reported that The Rúin was optioned for screen by Irish actor Colin Farrell and his production company. The Murder Rule and What Happened to Nina are currently in development for screen adaptation .